Finding yourself in a workout rut? Try these!
- Do what brings you joy, not what you think you SHOULD be doing. I’m a big fan of moving in a way that you ENJOY, not a way you dread. While there’s a place for pushing ourselves, joyful movement is going to be WAY easier to say yes to – so when you’re in a rut, choose the thing that brings you JOY!
- Give yourself 10 minutes to change your mind – tell yourself if you still want to quit after 10 min you’re allowed to. And legit, even moving for 10 minutes WILL be beneficial to your body! But most likely, once you get going, you’ll feel so good that you won’t actually want to quit! 😉
- Try incorporating some extra movement throughout your day vs. one longer workout. On days I’m simply too busy to fit in 30-45 min of movement, I will instead go for 3 10-15 min walks throughout the day in the pockets that work!
- Take a local in-person class – while classes aren’t for everybody, they can be a great source of accountability, community, and FUN!
- Grab a friend for accountability – or do an at-home workout together! Knowing you have a plan with someone else is always helpful when you don’t feel like moving! It’s a lot harder to quit when someone else is planning on you!
- Tell yourself you’re only going to make it fun today, you’re not going to push that hard. Sometimes moving for the sake of moving is better than putting something off b/c we are dreading how hard it’s going to be! And once we get going, we often find ourselves pushing harder than we thought we would!
- Make your workout fit in the pockets vs. your day having to fit around your workout – I don’t know about you, but my days are rarely the same, and if I relied on a very specific time for my workout every single day, I’d never get it done! Instead, being flexible and looking for the pocket of time in one particular day is more beneficial than trying to form my ever-changing schedule around my workout.
- Try listening to a new podcast or a new artist – Distraction is key, and can make a workout 10x better. I love listening to music, podcasts, reading on my Kindle if I’m walking on a treadmill, listening to an audiobook, or watching a show in the background.
- Make it short, quick, and hard – sometimes time is the biggest hindrance in getting a workout in, so make it short, quick, and hard. You’ll still get amazing benefits of moving, but you’ll get a lot accomplished in a shorter period of time. I love a good tabata workout or some sprints on the treadmill or in my backyard.
- Take out the thing that’s holding you up – don’t want to change your clothes? Fine, wear whatever works best for you. I knew someone who exercised in her pajamas bc she’d talk herself out of it if she had to change when she was cold. Don’t have time to shower after? Don’t stress. Dry shampoo, apply new deodorant, and call it good!
Remember this: any way you move is a GOOD way. This will look different in various seasons, but SOME movement is always better than NO movement, and once in a while, we just need to trick our brains into something. 😉
Either way, I hope you can remember that movement can also be an act of worship to the Creator of our good bodies! When we take the focus OFF us and put it onto Him, we are far more likely to enjoy movement and keep it up more consistently, too.
