The Secret To My Motivation

Remember when I blogged about fitness?? I haven’t done that in a while. My apologies. I feel like, as a personal trainer, I have this wealth of fitness knowledge and it is my duty to share. But at the same time, I’ve developed this strained relationship with fitness since I fell and broke my arm.

In other words, if I can’t do it, I don’t wanna talk about it.

But that doesn’t mean I’ve given up on fitness altogether. In fact, I still workout five days a week regardless of my injury.

A lot of people tell me I’m crazy to still do it.

“If I were you, I’d be on the couch eating ice cream all day.”

Tempting? Definitely. An actual option? No way.

You see, fitness isn’t about motivation. It’s not about wanting to do it. It’s not even about goals or the desire to look good.

It’s about doing it because you have to.

I really hate doing laundry. But if I stopped doing it, my clothes would get disgusting and I’d become really unhygienic. I think of working out the same way. It’s just another activity that needs to get done over the course of the day. Some days, it really invigorates me and I love it. Other days, I do it because not doing it would be like leaving my laundry to pile up.

But my best advice for getting yourself up and working out?

STOP OBSESSING ABOUT IT.

Just stop it.

Stop stressing about the miles you need to cover in your next long run. Stop stressing about if it’s going to rain during your bike ride tomorrow. Stop arguing with yourself as to whether you should go home early instead of going to the gym. Just stop it. Don’t let yourself think about it anymore. When it comes time to get out the door and get moving, don’t even think about the things you’d rather be doing. Just go automatically without giving it any depth of thought.

When I finish my day at work, I don’t let myself think that skipping the gym is even an option. I turn off that part of my brain and drive to the gym without any second thought.

If I’m really dreading a workout, then I change it up. Something as simple as a new song playlist or new lifting move is enough to get me at least interested in a workout.

When it comes to running, I love discovering new trails!! The above photos are of the one I so far like the best here at home. Fine gravel trail, away from traffic, and next to the water.

That would be Moncton off in the distance. A lot different than the skyline view I had from my running trail in Toronto!

Anyways, that is my biggest secret for keeping “motivation.” The fact that is has nothing to do with motivation at all. It doesn’t hurt to choose workouts that you actually enjoy though. Because most days, I’d still rather go running than do laundry.