As we get further from the holidays and deeper into winter, a couple of things often happen. First, that motivation to exercise, lose weight and cleanse ourselves of all the holiday eating and drinking starts to wane. We're in real life now, not the happy chaos of the holidays, and we have to deal with all the obstacles that start to crop up - Work, life, the weather, the kids - All things that leave us tired and stressed.
The next thing that happens is that winter starts to take hold. Short days, long nights and cold weather make it even harder to get out of bed and often provide the perfect storm of excuses for skipping workouts.
Before things slide, now is a good time to take stock of where you are and ask yourself an important question: What do you need to do to keep exercising? This can be a complicated question because there are so many factors to consider - Your schedule, your goals, what you enjoy, what you want for yourself, what else you have going on in your life and, of course, the proper alignment of our planets.
Thinking about this before you lose interest may be just what you need to keep going. Vote in this week's poll and tell us what you need to keep exercising...More motivation? Better workouts? Or is there something else standing in your way? Leave a comment and then scroll down to find some resources to keep yourself going.
Resources to Keep You Exercising
Warmer weather!
I run outside in New England, so I really have to push myself out the door when winter weather hits. While I’m disappointed that we haven’t gotten snow this year, I’m guiltily enjoying the warmer 40-50˚ days we’ve had this winter and my exercise schedule has remained more consistent than it has been in past winters. It’s much easier to keep moving when it’s above freezing!
All I need to keep motivated is a scale. OK, gained about 5 lbs over the Christmass/New Year week. Now back to work and regular schedule, I have the motivation to watch how I eat and push myself hard at the gym to get back to where I was.
I need more motivation, more energy, and more time. Life at 46 years of age is just pain hectic with working 50-60 hours a week, and getting the kids where they need to be. After all of that, I’m just too tired to work out like I used to. My son’s tae kwon do school offered free classes for parents for a month. That actually got me up off of the couch and into the class 2 nights per week. It kicked my butt but helped with the motivation to work out and eat better. Hopefully it will help with energy levels some time soon. Try some type of class. It really helps.
Very interesting poll results. It seems as if there are a lot of things people need to keep exercising. Just remember: You can either think of reasons NOT to do something, or you can think of ways TO do something. It’s often a metter of positive vs. negative thinking. If you make exercise a priority and you decide to do it, almost nothing can stand in your way…
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
That is a line from JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and the words that I abide by whether at the beginning, continuing, or revitalizing something I do.
Making a decision and carrying through the thought with action, empowering resolution with actual effort, these are at the core of my achieving goals and meeting responsibilities.
These apply to everything I do, and my level of success depends largely on the level of commitment and motivation I’m willing to invest. I can take advantage of the knowledge and wisdom of others, but I’m the one who has to do the work; no one else can do the work for me.
Signs of progress, which I suppose translates into having optimal workouts. It gets more and more difficult to sustain a program in which the doable repetitions and weights don’t increase month over month.
A hiking trail!!!