I have people ask me everyday…….”Where do I start?”,or “You don’t understand what it’s like to struggle getting motivated. You workout all the time. What would you know about why I don’t like working out?”

So many people fail at maintaining an active lifestyle because they don’t know where to start, or they don’t know how to STAY motivated, or they haven’t yet discovered what they like doing, or all of the above. Take it from me……we ALL lose motivation. What matters most is whether or not we can push through that loss of motivation. Trust me…..I have had my share of hard times that have caused me to fall flat on my face and lose all desire to take care of myself. I have walked through some very tough seasons in my life where I struggled with turning to food for comfort, skipping workouts because I just didn’t have the motivation, or mental/emotional strength to make it through a workout. We ALL get knocked down. The question is…..will you get back up?? And when you do get back up……what then?

My advice is rather simple……figure out what you love to do and do it!! Find what will keep you active and just do it. What do you enjoy doing? Or what would you be interested in trying? Cycling? Zumba? Running? Weight lifting? Swimming? Find what you love and make it a priority. But you also need to recognize that even doing something you love can become routine and you might find you are skipping workouts because you are bored. So, what should you do when/if this happens? Well, I have some pretty strong opinions on what types of training and exercises will benefit you most, but for the sake of this article, just keep it simple. If you are starting from zero activity……then step one is to discover what you enjoy doing and just get started. Then simply focus on getting off the couch and get moving. Walk 30 minutes everyday, climb stairs, join a gym, try a group fitness class, enroll in a bootcamp, play a sport, something…..anything to get yourself active again. Or, do what I do……make a space in your garage just for you. Next, make a recurring appointment (that you NEVER cancel!) with yourself in your calendar on specific days and put in 30 minutes of good, solid, hard work. Now, I know what you are saying, “why in the world would you need to workout at home? You work at a gym!”. Just because I work in a gym doesn’t mean I workout all day. Actually, I would argue that it is harder for me to have uninterrupted “me time” as a full time personal trainer than most people. Hence the workout space at my house. Sometimes, I NEED “me time”. No phones, no people, no interruptions, no distractions. Even if it’s at 4:00 am.

Getting in a 30 minute workout in my garage early one morning

Once you do that….once you make appointments with yourself and get moving, then you can refocus on setting new goals and what types of training you need to reach those goals. My guess is that you will discover along the way that what gets you started will not be enough to sustain you as you get stronger and then you will need to set new goals. And those new goals will more than likely require a new training plan. And when that time comes…… I know a good trainer.

Be brave. Step outside the box. Get off your backside. Make yourself a priority! Our bodies were made to move!

Now, for the sake of getting you up and doing something, write down 3 things you enjoy doing related to being active. It could be as simple as playing football in the yard with your kids, walking the dog, hiking in the woods, or maybe something that requires some skill like signing up to play for an adult tennis team. Then simply pick one and do it.

See if you feel better tomorrow.

No excuses!

“Me-time” = a happier and stronger mommy