How to Stay Motivated

Some people find turning up to the gym three, four, five times a week relatively easy. For others, it takes a lot to keep moving.

Here are four tips that actually work and help you stay motivated.

1. Set Some Goals

We talk about this a lot at CrossFit Structure. What drives you? If you’re not sure yet, let me plant some seeds:

– Build strength – so that when we’re older, we can stay independent
– Cardio fitness – so as the kids get older and faster, we can keep up
– Look good and feel confident – want to fit into a pair of jeans more comfortably? Feel great on the beach? These are real, valid goals

Whatever it is, make your goals tangible – something you can actually see and feel progress towards. If cardio is your focus, time a mile run today. Set a target of knocking 30 seconds to a minute off it. Work at it for three months, then time it again.

Write your goal down and put it on the fridge. Look at it every day. Write the *why* alongside the *what* – because on the hard days, the why is what gets you out the door.

2. Celebrate Every Win

Not just the big stuff – the PBs, the milestones, the moment you finally drop a minute off your run time. Sometimes just turning up is the biggest win of all.

We see you. We know how fast your day can be derailed – a tough day at work, a sick child, the relentless taxi service kids seem to require. If, in the middle of all of that, you manage to carve out 30 minutes or an hour for yourself – that’s a win. A huge one.

3. Find Your Tribe

There is nothing quite like finding a great group of people to share a workout with. On the days you don’t really feel like training, you turn up to see your people instead. You have a chat, and before you know it you’re smashing out a workout with brilliant people beside you pushing you along.

Surround yourself with people who do the things you want to be doing. The power of good company and genuine friendship is hard to overstate.

4. Try Habit Stacking

This one is really useful if you don’t know where to start.

Building exercise into your routine means building a new habit – and the easiest way to build a new habit is to attach it to one you already have. Take brushing your teeth (hopefully something we’re all doing twice a day). Every time you brush, do five burpees. However you can manage them – just get down on the floor and get back up five times. Before long, those five burpees will feel like nothing.

And nothing motivates me quite like the thought of one day not being able to get myself up off the floor.

One of our busiest classes is the 6am – and the people who come to it are consistently our most consistent members. Why? Because they made a decision to set an alarm and get the work done before the rest of the day has a chance to get in the way.

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Motivation comes and goes. Systems, habits and community are what keep you showing up when it doesn’t. That’s what we’re here for at CrossFit Structure.

If you are new here and want to talk about getting started book your free No Sweat Intro here.