Exercise and Motivation

I don’t know about you but when the first lockdown came in, I felt super motivated and decided this was the time to get super-duper in shape. Anyone else have a similar thought? 

For me motivation is a big drive for me to do exercise, and some days this can be lacking enormously; even though I know how much I love exercising and the feeling afterwards. 

I often find it’s more the effort to begin, for example driving to the gym, getting my road bike prepped and ready to go or even finding the right workout clothes that I feel comfortable in. I’m very good at finding excuses to talk myself out of doing the exercise I know deep down I want to do.  

It’s a strange battle I have going on with my own mind and willpower. 

Quite recently my fiancé and I bought a Peloton. This was it I thought, no excuses now- I can quite literally roll out of bed and on to the bike! Very minimal effort is required in order to achieve what I know I want.

After the initial honeymoon phase of having the bike and after struggling with a rather sore derriere, the motivation soon came down and I started to find those excuses again.

The other day I was taking a Peloton class and I was feeling slightly fatigued, my energy was down, and I was struggling to keep up with the resistance they were advising.

Now I must admit since having the Peloton (and no before you ask, I don’t work for them) the instructors or should I say coaches have been amazing. Most have previous elite sport experience and understand the effort it takes to show up to your workout whatever that may be. Their level of understanding, drive and pure motivation is amazing. A lot of what the instructors have been saying has really resonated with me and I’ll share some of the quotes…

‘no ego, amigo’ 

‘short term sacrifice for a long-term gain’ 

‘I am I can I will I do’  

‘go in to this workout with no self-doubt’ 

‘you have no idea of what you are capable of unless you put the work in’ 

‘ride your own race, don’t’ compare’ 

A quick shout out to those instructors, Matt Wilpers, Jess Sims and Christine D’Ercole. 

They constantly encourage you to take ownership of your workout, making suggestions to listen to your body and in general provide great words to keep the motivation up. 

I love that quote ‘you’ll never regret a workout’. For me that’s always the case. I always get the post workout buzz whatever exercise it is I’ve done. Scientifically speaking, this is the case because when you exercise your body releases endorphins and put simply trigger a positive feeling in the body.  

So, do you make excuses too? If so, why and what are they? 

Can you flip it and see yourself post workout, feeling happy?  

Most things we do in life aren’t to make ourselves unhappy so why when it comes to exercise do we start to make those excuses? 

These are some of the questions I’ve been asking myself recently and through self-talk being my own coach, I must admit I’ve seen a shift of focus and more mental clarity. I’m more productive, I sleep better and my workouts both in Yoga and on the Peloton are improving in the ways I want them to. I guess that’s called consistency and it’s hard, but deep down I know it makes me a more content and happier person. 

So, if you’re struggling with motivation today, have a chat to your future self and listen to them telling you how they feel.  

Let go of those excuses to avoid the exercise you want to do. 

See if instead of talking yourself out of it, you can talk yourself in!