Find Your Gym Motivation
We’re talking all about gym motivation in this article, which is hands down one of the top five things people come to SKPT for help to overcome. Whether they’ve stepped foot in a gym before or not, most people can experience feeling lacklustre at some point in their training plan. We’re going to tell you how to overcome motivation blocks; we’ll discuss what it means to lack motivation, why it’s important to be motivated to attend the gym and how you can maintain a regular gym routine.
Physical Health
For many people, overwhelming anxiety about the challenges they may face when going to the gym for the first time- or the first time in a long time, can be enough to stop anyone in their tracks, even though they need to go to exercise to get back to a place of wellness.
Those that are recovering from illness, or have a history of sports injuries can also face motivational blocks about getting back to a good place with their fitness and health.
Exercise has been shown to improve many aspects of physical health including strength and endurance; bone density; heart function; blood pressure; cholesterol levels (including HDL/LDL ratio); insulin sensitivity (which helps prevent diabetes); body composition (i.e., muscle mass vs fat mass); flexibility; balance/coordination
Mental Health
Mental health can impact and be affected by exercise in a number of ways. For example, the endorphins released when you exercise are known to boost your mood and reduce stress, but getting to the class or gym can be stress-inducing too. Reduced mental fatigue, anxiety and stress are experienced by almost 100% of our clients. One thing we like our clients to focus on is setting realistic goals for themselves when starting a new fitness routine-it’s not necessary or even advisable for every person who starts going to the gym regularly to become an Olympic athlete! Instead, we advise that members set smaller goals such as becoming familiar with the repetition of weighing food before prepping meals, increasing the amount of time spent exercising each week by extending their sessions outside of the gym with family or completing one extra workout per week (or whatever works for you).
We understand how hard starting anything new can be and small actions will help keep things manageable while still allowing room for growth over time as well as giving yourself motivation through positive reinforcement from achieving these mini-goals along the way.
Time Management
Time management is a huge factor in your ability to stay motivated to attend the gym. Lots of our members have families, demanding jobs and other caring responsibilities and we get it! One thing we will never do is ask you to sacrifice your social life- we just want you to make better-informed choices. If you’re spending too much time on other things, it can be hard to find enough time for exercise. To improve your time management skills:
- Schedule regular gym visits and stick to them! Set aside a specific day or days each week when you know that going to the gym will be part of your routine (for example, Monday through Friday). You will be in the gym three times per week as part of your six-week changer as standard.
- Don’t make excuses. Commit to the time you’ve carved out for yourself.
Break down big goals into smaller tasks by creating actionable steps towards achieving them. We have a friendly, supportive group available 24/7 to ask any questions and to help you find your way.
Social Support
Social support is a powerful tool for improving motivation- it’s part of the reason why we started the ‘Free Friends Friday’ sessions. When you have a gym buddy or join a gym-related support group, you’ll be more likely to go because you know someone will be there waiting for you. If this sounds like something that would work for you, ask a friend to come along and sign them up.
Financial Considerations
If you’re paying high membership fees, or if you don’t know where to start with an income-friendly exercise venue, then it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all of the gym options available. We offer an easy-to-use finance option that helps you prioritise yourself and not feel guilty about stepping outside your budget each month, you can find out more information here.
Lack of Knowledge
Lack of knowledge is one of the biggest reasons people back out of signing up, but we want you to know that it really shouldn’t stop you. The point of our six-week changer programme is to take you from novice to confident class lover. If you’re not sure what to do in a class, or how to perform an exercise, our professional and expertly trained instructors will have your form and endurance improving in each and every session.
Unrealistic Expectations
You may have unrealistic expectations about what you can achieve at the gym. For example, you might think that if you don’t work out for an hour every day and eat only organic foods, then there will be no results. This is not true! We promote eating well, eating right but never being hungry. Not only will you get access to our unlimited library of food ideas, but our group members are constantly swapping and sharing hints and tips to pack in the tasty. We also offer a meal prep service for those short on time, delivering you fresh, nutritionally balanced and flavoursome meals that help you stick within your daily allowance.
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