Author: Scott Thomson
Our lunch breaks are precious and give us a chance to reset and get ready for a productive afternoon of work. However, after a busy morning, it can be tempting to spend this time relaxing in one place, especially when working from home. It’s no surprise many of us are finding it hard to stay on track with our fitness routines.
Scott Thomson, Global Athletics Director from F45 Training has put together eight top tips on how to make the most of your lunch break and find the motivation to get your fitness journey back on track!
1- GET A WORKOUT BUDDY
A friend can help motivate you to achieve your fitness goals and empower you to try new workouts together. Fostering positive social relationships from those who are supportive and encouraging of our intrinsic goals not only helps to keep us accountable but creates a sense of camaraderie to drive confidence and mental willpower to persevere. Swap lunch dates with studio dates, and you’ll achieve your fitness goals while also getting in some much-needed quality time.
2- CREATE RATIONALE AND PURPOSE
To make a habit stick, you need to understand the purpose behind doing it. Figure out your “why” and write it down – remind yourself how becoming more physically active can help other aspects of your life as well. When you begin training, ask questions to gain clarity around what exactly it is that you will be working through during a training session. This educational component or sense of learning to gain clarity creates a sense of perceived control, which drives confidence, empowerment, and autonomy.
3- THINK OF THE TIME YOU ARE SAVING
It’s easy to get bogged down with work or plans with friends in the evening. Having your workouts at night may lead to you just forgoing it after a long day of work (which could leave you feeling guilty). By prioritizing working out at lunchtime, you have less chance of creating excuses during the day and putting it off at night.
4- PREP EVERYTHING ELSE
Make things easier for yourself by removing any hurdles that may be in the way of you and your next workout. Go ahead and lay out your gym clothes the night before, fill up your bottle, pack yourself some post-workout snacks. Ridding yourself of these trivial tasks may help reduce your chances of making last-minute ditches.
5- MODIFY
Scaling exercises to optimize technique and/or intensity is a crucial part of functional, smart training. Not only does this put us in a position of control to boost autonomy, but it also keeps us mentally engaged and intrinsically focused to master technique before progression. It’s also perfectly fine to do a regressed version of a workout before working your way up. We all start somewhere when it comes to fitness and the only way to move forward is to keep moving.
6- BE CONSISTENT
Creating a routine can be tough or daunting at times, but in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle it’s important to keep consistent with your workouts and healthy choices. You may not be motivated everyday but staying disciplined can help you achieve your goals one step at a time. It only takes 21 days to form a habit. Stick with it for at least three weeks and you’ll find that showing up gets easier with time.
7- SCHEDULE WORKOUTS
Another way to ensure you stay committed is to book-in to a class or studio session on the regular — extrinsic motivation can be an incredibly useful kickstarter at times. If you don’t have access to an external fitness class, make yourself an appointment to workout or be active for a specific time of the day. You don’t skip an appointment at the doctor’s so why would you skip an appointment to work on your own health?
8- TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT
You may lose inspiration doing the same type of training over and over, mixing up training styles can be a refreshing way to reinvigorate your interest and motivation to keep active. Ask around to see if you have any friends who are doing something different and offer to join them. You never know, you may find a new passion or community on your fitness journey!
You’ll be an overachiever in no-time with Muscle and Health’s motivational workout tips. This next article tackles the urge to stay indoors and hibernate when the weather turns chilly: 6 WAYS TO STAY MOTIVATED TO WORKOUT IN THE WINTER.
