How To Push Through A Motivation-less Workout

We’ve all been there. You walk into the gym, determined to do your 30 minutes of elliptical machine, followed by 30 minutes of weights. And two minutes into your workout–BAM!–the Motivation Train has left the station.

What do you do to keep up your workout and make it worth your while? How do you come back from that kind of crash?

Here are some tips on how to keep up the motivation, get a killer workout, and leave the gym feeling happy, healthy, and refreshed!

• Change up the tunes. If you normally listen to music, turn it off. Eves-drop on the lady next to you, or the people on the treadmills behind you. If you don’t normally listen to music, now may be the time to turn it on. I’ve been known to put a movie on my phone and watch that! Running while watching The A-Team? You’d be surprised how motivating it is looking at Bradley Cooper… just sayin.
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• Remind yourself of why you’re there. You did actually make it into the gym, you started to workout. You must have had a reason to be there, otherwise you would have kept on driving straight home. Be honest with yourself. You want results? Dig deep and focus on them. If focusing on your goal doesn’t give you motivation to reach for it, you may need to rethink your goals…
• Change up your workout! You’ve focused so much on to what you’re going to do, you might have zapped the fun right out of it. Is there a Zumba class going on while you’re there? Or that Boot Camp that you’ve been afraid to try? Do something NEW! If it’s trying the assisted pull-up machine, trying a new class, or simply switching “leg day” to a different day, do something different! 
• Call a friend. Tell ’em, “Oh. Emm. Gee. This treadmill is killing me right now! Help! Distract me!” Or, “I’m losing steam! Mayday! Mayday! My workout is going down in flames! Come quick!” [these may or may not be actual transcripts from my phone calls…] Having someone who knows you helping you in the moment will greatly increase your chance of finishing your workout in a good mood. 😉
• And last, but not least: Let the treadmill win. You heard me. Take the day off. Your motivation slump may be your body telling you that it needs a break. Ask yourself when the last full day off you had. Been a few days? Take a break. Say “You win, elliptical. But tomorrow, you better run and hide; I’m comin for ya!” 

What’s your favorite way to whip out a workout when you lose motivation?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

One minute I’m recovering from a quad strain, and the next, it’s 2013. Holy friggin cow. Where’d the time go?!?!

So for the past few months, I’ve been dealing with a few family tragedies, transitioning jobs, and transitioning schools. It’s been quite chaotic, hence the blogging hiatus. But now I’m back, and read to kick some bootie! Let’s get down to business!

2013 New Year’s Resolutions Goals!

• Race each distance: 5k, 10k, 13.1, and 26.2. While I completed the Nike Women’s Marathon in October, it wasn’t my finest moment. (Physically or mentally!) Let’s just say that I’m glad I did it, and I honestly thought about dying. [Dear Random Team In Training Coach: THANK YOU for telling me how little I had to go until the finish!! I honestly had no idea where I was, and you seriously gave me a boost!!!] I told myself that the NWM was the only 26.2 that I’d ever do. But then I decided that I was not going to accept a crappy race. I will do one more. And I had better have a kick ass experience! 😉 And believe it or not, I’ve never competed in a 10k. I’ve done all the other distances, and definitely run bunches of 10k distances, but never for a race. So that’s on my goal list. 😉
• Participate in the #Digital40Days. I read about a yoga challenge through the Lululemon Blog, and I figure it’s a great way to do something different, and create some much-needed calm in my life! Bring on the BLISS!!! It’s free to join the challenge, but for those who want more, there’s more incentive to pay for the extensive program. Come try it with me!
• Eat Clean, 80% of the time. Let’s face it. I’m not giving up my red wine or my dark chocolate. It’s just not going to happen. But, I can control my eating so that I can still succeed in fat loss and strength gain. By knowing that I’m going to indulge from time to time, I can stick to eating clean easier. [Notice how I said “easier”, not “easy”. There are some times where it’s going to be rough. Accept it and move on.] I picked up a copy of Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo. I’m not going Paleo, but I really like getting new ideas for gluten-free foods and ways to prep veggies. Breakfast this morning? The Blueberry Lemon Muffins. Verdict? AMAZING! My son is gluten sensitive, and both of us get bored with the same foods over and over, so getting new gluten-free ideas helps keep eating fun 🙂

For now, those are my goals. I’m sure I’ll come up with smaller, more specified goals throughout the year. That’s what’s great about goals: create ’em, crush ’em, create more!

Oh, wait! I almost forgot the most important goal for 2013! Take my family to Disneyland!!! Spending time with the people most important to me at the happiest place in the world. . . Can’t go wrong!!! 🙂

I hope you are having a fabulous start to the new year! Cheers to health and happiness!!

What are your goals for 2013?