Sarahritchie17 I don’t know about you, but if I’m not working out with a team or training for an event, it’s hard for me to motivate myself to go to the gym.
I grew up as a swimmer and was used to working out at least 2.5 hours a day, 6 days a week. Plus there were doubles and extra practices over Christmas and summers. I was committed to the sport and the grueling schedule that came with it for 18 years.
Yet, when I graduated from college and no longer had a coach pushing me, I didn’t know how to motivate myself to train on my own. The first few months, I would workout maybe two to three times a week on average for about an hour at a time. It wasn’t bad, but I knew I could do more. If you are in that place, this post is for you.
The past two and a half years, I’ve been fighting myself to get better in this area; here’s what’s worked for me:
1. Find free activities.
2. Sign up for a gym a little more expensive than you’d like.
3. Gain momentum.
4. Sign up for a race.
5. Write a training plan.
Side note: Of course, these 5 tips are obvious. You can get this advice from nearly anyone. But here’s where I’m going to tell you how they’ve actually worked for me, and hopefully you can gain something from that.
There are times that one or two of these things work for me and times they don’t, but I find that when I am able to push myself to really do all five of these things, I am the best version of myself physically.
1. Find free activities.
I’ve been lucky to live in small cities where there are always free activities. My apartment in St. Pete offered free yoga on Sundays and there was a wonderful running club from the local running store, Fit2Run every Tuesday and Thursday. I’m all about free things that are good for me. Bonus: All the friends I made outside my job while living in St. Pete were through these free workouts.
In New Orleans, I’ve found a Jazz Yoga class that’s every Saturday and a few running clubs.
2. Sign up for a gym a little more expensive than you like.
For me, that’s OrangeTheory. I have an “Elite Membership” and pay $89 per month for 8 one-hour classes. It’s expensive, but it’s a great workout, and I don’t have to think at all during that hour! If you haven’t experienced a class there, you can try one out for free. This is not an ad, I just really like the concept. The instructors play great music to keep you motivated, don’t let you bring your phone in, kick your butt on the treadmill, rower, and in the weight room, and correct your form like a personal trainer. End rant. If you don’t like OrangeTheory or don’t want to spend that much money, I still think you should find a gym that’s just a little bit more pricey than you want to spend (but still within your budget!). What this did for me was make me feel like I have to get my money’s worth each month. It gives me extra incentive to hold myself accountable when I’m literally paying for it.
3. Gain momentum.
I find that if I force myself to go to the gym for three days in a row, I start to gain momentum, and it gets easier to make that effort continuously. It’s as simple as making a habit of working out. If you are lacking the motivation or time, you can also do a 5 minute YouTube ab workout or a 20 minute Pinterest workout to keep the momentum going. Moving your body and taking time for yourself is critical, and anyone can find 5 minutes.
4. Sign up for a race.
This for me is similar to paying for a gym membership. When I make a financial commitment to something, I want to put in the effort to make the cost worth it. When I sign up for a major race, I give myself two months to train. I say “major race” because I realize we are all at different levels in training. For some people, a major race is a marathon and others it’s a 5K. Wherever you’re at, give yourself some grace, but also set goals and benchmarks to challenge yourself. Signing up is a huge step towards achieving those benchmarks, goals, and bucket list items.
5. Write a training plan.
For two events I did last year and one I’m working towards now, I’ve written 2-month training plans. Next week, I’ll be sharing how I develop them and stick to them (as best as I can; I’m not perfect). I’ll be going over the training plan that worked really well for me in training for my first 15K last year.
If you’re looking for ideas on how to train for your next event, come back next Sunday for Part 2.
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Cheers!
Sarah
