Have you ever lost motivation? Well you are most likely going to answer yes to that question. If you answered yes, you are not alone. It seems as though most everyone can gain motivation to start a workout program, exercise, etc. However, as motivation is gained, it can also be lost. Sometimes we lose motivation for no apparent reason, while other times we lose motivation to workout due to tragedies in our lives, within our families, friends, etc. Or maybe we encounter an injury or illness which inhibits our opportunities to follow our exercise goals.
Whatever it may be, motivation is a tricky word. I like to think of exercise as a bell curve in mathematics. Sometimes it is low on the bell curve and sometimes you are on the peak of the curve and your workouts have never been better. However, if you find yourself in a bit of a rut, try to push through it or switch to something else. For example, you may have been running for 15 years and then one day you decide you want to try something different in order to keep exercising towards your healthy lifestyle. Or you may decide after lifting heavy weights for 5 or 6 years that you want to stop lifting and start canoeing or maybe doing calisthenics or free body exercises.
Farmers rotate their crops in order to give the ground “a break” from the norm and to increase their productivity by having a new crop. We need to think of our bodies the same way. We can train, train and train some more but eventually we must change our routines and our exercises to add new stresses to the body.
So, when a loss of motivation comes….greet it! Make it a gift and not a curse. Run a different route and run different distances. Workout in a different gym or even move your workouts outside or into your mother’s basement. The day will come when motivation is not at it’s peak so you must have a plan in place before that day comes. Have a back-up plan in place which allows you to be creative and active! It never hurts to dabble into some different exercise classes, routines and to try adding new foods to your diet!
Ryan Fahey
B.A Human Kinetics
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