Year in, year out, there are two periods when people struggle with their motivation.
One is Christmas, when turkey and champagne replace training and consistency. The other is summer – the season of weddings, festivals, holidays, and fun in the sun. With so much going on at both times of the year, staying on top of a regular routine isn't always easy.
Life is to be enjoyed, not restricted. But long periods without exercise can significantly impact your mental health. If you find yourself going week after week without making progress, then naturally you’re going to start feeling a bit rubbish, which makes it even harder to get back into the swing of things.
Good news, there are ways of making it work. Here's what you can do now to stay on track with your goals. Let's get into it.
Long, chilled summer days are the best. They give us a chance to rest and recharge, which is always good for our brains and bodies. The trick is balancing those long summer days with maintaining your fitness goals.
It’s easier said than done, but there are a few things you can do to set the right tone.
If you’re losing focus, take a step back to look at the bigger picture and work out where you’re going wrong. How’s your lifestyle? Your sleep? Your diet? If something needs to change to stop you from missing your sessions, then change it.
When you make a conscious effort to eat and sleep well, you’ll move and feel well too, starting a positive cycle that’ll lead to long-term results.
If you don’t take care of your lifestyle, you’ll struggle to stay motivated and your energy levels will dip too, making things even harder.
It’s important to have a strong why: A meaningful goal that motivates you to do better. It could be to feel good, be fitter and stronger, or anything else that moves the needle for you.
If the goal is strong, clear, and sits at the front of your mind, you’ll naturally find yourself with an extra push to exercise or make a healthier food choice.
Life isn’t binary. But it’s easy to get into an all-or-nothing mindset where it feels like if you’re not following a full programme, it’s not worth doing anything at all.
When it comes to making progress, the difference between one session and no sessions a week is much bigger than the difference between one and five.
Getting even a few minutes in is far, far better than nothing at all – helping you to maintain your progress and stay positive. You also don’t need to stick to your normal routine in the summer.
If it feels like too much, then change things up and focus on what you enjoy most, even if that’s just moving your body for half an hour a couple of times a week.
If in doubt, try the 10-minute rule. Get active for 10 minutes, and see how things go from there. Most of the time, you’ll end up finishing a full session. And if you don’t, you might just need a few days off. Then try again.
It's true – accountability really works. Having someone checking in on you and your progress, or even training alongside you, will push you to be and do your best. Seek out the right support, and rely on it when motivation starts to dip.
And last but not least, don’t stress too much. You can’t change what you haven’t done, so focus on getting your lifestyle sorted and living life to the fullest.
Your fitness goals will follow, and after a few weeks of even a small amount of progress, you’ll have the bug back in no time.
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