Maintaining motivation to workout is difficult, especially when you’re stuck at home in quarantine! Boost your motivation with these 7 science-backed steps.
If you’ve seen your motivation to workout take a hit since your new year’s resolutions at the end of 2019, you’re not alone.
Depending on where you live, thanks to COVID-19 you’ve experienced stay at home orders since March, skyrocketing unemployment rates, and endless anxiety and stress about your health and the health of loved ones.
It’s no surprise your motivation to workout has seen some valleys and peaks.
Motivation is rough. Contrary to popular belief, willpower is not finite, and when put up in a fight against habits and feelings? Willpower loses every time.
So how can you make sure you keep your promise to yourself, get up tomorrow morning, and blast through some heart-pounding movement magic?
7 Science-Backed Tips to Boost your Motivation to Workout While Stuck at Home.
1. Increase Motivation with Kindness
First – be kind to yourself. You’re experiencing an incredibly stressful time – don’t downplay it.
If your body’s not craving its typical training days? Listen to it. Stress is not mental – it takes a physical toll on your body. Chronic stress leads to many adverse health effects, including reduced capacity to heal after a tough training session, so prioritizing self-care is vital to hitting your training goals.
Sprinkle in some self-love with daily affirmations. Take 5 minutes each morning – remind yourself why you rock! Stay consistent – you’ll notice crazy changes in your motivation to soak up every moment… Especially the sweatiest of gym moments.
2. Practice Gratitude to Boost Motivation
When you practice gratitude, you flood your brain with happiness neurochemicals dopamine and serotonin.
Gratitude connects you as a small part of a larger system – it reminds you how limitless your potential is.
This stress-reliever both boosts your mood and helps reassess your goals and invigorate your energy in attaining them. Hear that workouts? We’re coming for you.
3. Vocalize Your Goals to People You Admire
We all know peer-pressure is the worst. But what about prosocial pressure? Research shows when individuals voice their goals, they’re more likely to achieve them. The catch? Sharing those goals does nothing when you share them with the wrong people – it might even make you less motivated!
When you publicly broadcast your goals, you receive a little burst of pride. But sharing without accountability doesn’t motivate you to succeed. Instead, share your goals with someone you respect or consider ‘higher status’ – holding yourself accountable to someone you admire motivates you to work harder.
4. Write your goals
As Tony Robbins says, “Where Your Focus Goes, Your Energy Flows.” A 2015 Study led by Gail Matthews found when you write your goals, you’re 33% more likely to achieve them.
By writing your goals, you physically cement your dedication. Not only do you harness the full weight of your intentions by dedicating time specifically to detailing your goals – you help code the memory more firmly in your hippocampus, keeping it active in your mind.
5. Tidy Up For Motivation Madness
Did you know that a cleanroom makes it easier to work? One study found among 998 participants, the only factor which affected the likelihood of physical activity – beyond the condition of sidewalks, air quality, and traffic noise – was if their home was clean.
Another study led by researchers at Princeton University found “clutter can actually make it more difficult to focus on a particular task.”
Basically? Clean your room. With fewer distractions, you’ll feel motivated more often and hit your training goals.
6. Surround Yourself with Motivation
Make your goals impossible to forget. As the old saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind.” Keep your training goals alive by surrounding yourself with images, quotes, and inspiration that energize you towards achieving them.
Choose anything that lifts you and sets you in alignment with your goals. If you want to get in the habit of training every morning? Pick photos that keep you inspired and quotes to motivate you along the way.
7. Change up your routine!
You might not lack motivation – you might just be bored! We learn through experience. Our curiosity keeps us energized and engaged. When you’re no longer challenged and see your gains stall – it’s not your mindset that needs attention.
If you’re used to CrossFit? Shake it up with Zumba!
Usually a yogi? Try some rock climbing.
Stuck at home? From pilates to HIIT to dance – there are endless opportunities to try new workouts that re-invigorate your muscle gain and engage your spirit.
