Find your workout ‘why’

The start of a New Year is always overflowing with the best intentions: “I’m going to eat clean every day”, “I’m going to work hard and get that promotion” and probably one of the most commonly promised resolutions “I’m going to work out more and get super fit”. Do any of those sound familiar? But where on earth do you even start?

Just like bad habits, good habits take time to cultivate, and those first few weeks really can be the hardest. Between adjusting to your newfound 5am wake up call right through to learning how to live with the permanent aches and pains in muscles that you didn’t even know existed, getting fit is just as much a mental game as it is a physical one. But don’t throw in the towel, because you know what they say… when the going gets tough, the tough get going!

Here are 3 ways to help you find your move groove… and stick to it!

Find your workout ‘why’

First things first, ask yourself why you set this goal? Was it to get stronger? To lose weight? To get lean? To feel good? Getting clear on why you’re doing what you’re doing will help ensure your actions align with your goals. Do you think snoozing through a gym session is going to help you shed kilos or lying in the stretching zone taking selfies is going to help build lean muscle? Not a chance. Having that ‘why’ in the back of your mind will help you push through those unmotivated moments and get you one step closer to your end goal.
If you haven’t watched the Simon Sinek TED Talk ‘Find Your Why’ do yourself a favour and stream it right now. It’s a game changer.

Ease yourself in

The worst thing you can do when embarking on any kind of new regime or routine is go too hard too fast. The last thing you want to do in your first week in is to wind up with an injury that will end up setting you even further back than you were before you started. While the human body is capable of truly amazing things, we’re not invincible and if you’re not used to undergoing rigorous exercise, you need to ease your way in instead of running like a bull at a gate. Start with 1-2 sessions a week and build on it as you start to feel fitter and stronger. Remember, Active Living isn’t a race… is a way of life.

Stay accountable

This is quite possibly the single most important point to consider. You are entirely up to you, and when it comes to getting fit, you can make excuses or you can make results. Of course an extra hour or two of sleep in the morning is far more enticing than slogging it out in cardio/ HIIT class and calling it quits when you start feeling fatigued is tempting, but what are those actions going to achieve? Don’t let yourself down, you’re more deserving than that.