Staying Motivated to Exercise Regularly: 7 Things You Can Do When You’re in a Slump

When we’re in a routine, we feel great, and we’re enjoying exercise, it’s easy. We love getting out there or hitting the gym, it makes us feel good, and it’s an enjoyable part of our daily routines. Often, however, it only takes something small to throw us off track. A holiday, an illness, or a busy period at work can mean that we miss a session or two, and suddenly we don’t want to go out, we’re making excuses, and we’re no longer enjoying exercise. When you are in this kind of slump, it can be hard to enjoy workouts, you can feel as though your progress has stalled, and it can be hard to get back into the swing of things. If you are in a slump, here are some of the things that you can do to stay motivated.

Just Do Something

When you are busy or not feeling your best, exercise might be the last thing that you feel like doing, but the longer you stay away from your fitness routine, the harder it is to get back to it. Instead of taking a day off, try to do something, even if it’s a much shorter, or easier, session than usual. This will help you to stick to your good habits and stay motivated through your slump.

Change it Up

Just because you’ve always run, been swimming for years, or always considered yourself a weightlifter, doesn’t mean that you always have to be. If you aren’t enjoying exercise, instead of stopping, try something different. Cross-training can help you to build strength and cardio fitness, but it can also improve your mood and help you to find new exercises that you can enjoy. Try classes at your gym, hiking, or team sports in your local area.

Prioritize Nutrition

Often, we get into a slump because we’re tired. So, it makes sense that making other changes to fight fatigue, boost energy levels, and to avoid illnesses will help us to enjoy exercise and stick to our regular routines.

Good nutrition fuels our bodies. It protects us from illness, boosts our energy levels, and helps us to both push ourselves and recover more quickly. Take a look at your diet. Make sure you are eating plenty of protein and getting the right vitamins and minerals. Adding supplements can also help. You can try this dopamine supplement if you are struggling.

Focus on the Gains

Often, it’s the people that exercise to lose weight that have the biggest slumps. Instead, try to focus on all of the things that you gain from exercise. Think about muscle strength and cardiovascular health but also things like time to yourself, good mental health, and increased confidence.

Workout with a Friend

Spending time with friends helps us to feel happier and more positive and exercising with friends can have the same effects. You are also less likely to cancel a workout if you are doing it with someone else.

Set Some Goals

Having goals to work towards can help us to stay on track and keep focused. Try to keep goals small and reward yourself when you hit them.

Ditch the Guilt

There will be times when you can’t exercise and have to take time off. If you feel guilty about it, it will affect your mood, and make any slump worse. Instead, be kind to yourself. If you need time off, take it without feeling guilty.

Remember, even those of us who exercise regularly, and enjoy it, sometimes have slumps where exercise is harder, we don’t enjoy it, and we have to force ourselves to get out. Don’t feel guilty, just try your best to find new motivation and enjoyment.