As a fitness instructor and bodybuilder, the question comes up a lot, “ How do you stay motivated ?” and I always have the same answer, “ I don’t! “. Motivation is so temporary, and we have to see it as just that. We can’t lean on and depend on motivation to be the driving force for our fitness journey’s or for anything we are striving to achieve in life. Taking consistent action, developing healthy habits and routines, and learning to be disciplined is the foundation for success and longevity in your fitness journey.
The best way to ignite motivation again is to build momentum and you can only build momentum by moving and taking action.
Motivation is nice to have but not a need-to-have to get started or get back on track. Instead, focus on prioritizing the key elements and habits that will help to set you up for success on your health and fitness journey. Schedule your workouts, plan your meals, hydrate properly, get enough rest, and manage your stress. These are all habits that daily add up to creating a solid foundation to excel. Focusing on these habits won’t guarantee that you’ll always be motivated, or even always be disciplined but being intentional and working towards incorporating some of these habits and ones that are specific to your goals, will help you shift your mindset and create a routine and structure in your life, that will make it easier to push through and do what needs to be done, even on the days when motivation is low.
We hear the phrase a lot in the fitness space “ Motivation is what gets you started and discipline is what keeps you going” this is true, but I’d tweak that a bit and say that “Motivation gets you started and continuous action builds momentum”. I think the place where most people fall off in their fitness journey, is losing momentum not losing motivation. The lack of action, and lack of intention, bring them to a stand-still and it feels like motivation is lost because they feel like they’ve failed. The best way to ignite motivation again is to build momentum and you can only build momentum by moving and taking action.
Stop waiting for motivation, stop waiting for the right time, and start taking action, wherever you are, with what you have, be intentional and focus on building momentum and a solid foundation through healthy habits that align with your goals, to help get you on track to smashing those goals and setting new ones.
You deserve to look and feel amazing, and I hope these tips help you set up the framework to do just that!
-Dekel “ Bowflex Barbie” Quant
Photo By: Lifestyles Digital Media Group
