How I Stay Dedicated to My Fitness Goals
Finding motivation to go to the gym everyday is hard. Life is busy, work is long, you have other obligations, you’re tired, you want to spend your time doing more fun things, there’s not enough time in the day… the list could go on and on. There are a million different excuses you could come up with to justify not going. It’s easy to give up on plans when it’s only yourself that’s committed to them.
I know this because I used to be one of those people. I used to make plans to go to the gym 5-6 days a week and everyday I would fail. I had “too much to do” and it wasn’t a top priority of mine. It wasn’t until I became a Group Fitness Instructor here at Whitewater that I started to take my fitness journey seriously. Working out became a part of my everyday routine six days a week. Being at the gym or in the fitness studio is my serenity. It’s my second home – a place where I can put my headphones in, block out the rest of the world, and not think about anything but myself.
However, it took a lot of self discipline, commitment, and finding motivation to help me reach my fitness goals. Not until I began to take “taking care of myself” seriously did I realize how important staying healthy is for me. And part of that was keeping a regular workout schedule.
Going to the gym became just as important to me as going to class or eating a meal. It’s something I never allow myself to skip unless there is a very good explanation. My 
workout schedule became second nature to me, something I don’t have to think twice about. I don’t have time to dread going or purposely filling my day with other things, it’s just something I do.
But it didn’t start out that way at first. My freshman year of college, I found Warhawk Group Fitness as an awesome option for my daily workouts. These classes made it fun and enjoyable to actually go work out which then continually motivated me to keep going. There were many days when it was time for my after class, afternoon nap and I didn’t want to get up and drag my butt to the gym. But guess what? I made myself go anyway because it was something I was committed to.
I first started going a couple times a week between 30 minutes to an hour and kept that schedule for an entire semester. After I knew I could keep up with that commitment, I slowly started adding more days during the week and also increasing my time at the gym. Doing so made it easier to go work out and made me wantto go. But it’s because I set goals and held myself accountable.
If you set a goal for yourself, stay committed to it! Who would like a friend that made plans with you all the time and never showed up? A friend who was really excited to see you and made a promise to get together – and never did? The answer is no one! Same goes for making plans for yourself. Treat yourself like you would a good friend and stick to your commitment. Don’t let your mind take the easy way out to try and justify canceling yet again. It’s time to hold yourself accountable. The more you tell yourself you’re going to do something and actually follow through with it, the easier it is to do it.
I know everyone has a different fitness journey, but I hope sharing a little bit of mine can enlighten, encourage, motivate, or help you to continue or boost your journey.
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Some things that helped me…
- Scheduling my workouts.
Find your routine and stick with it. Going to the gym seven days a week is a little unrealistic (But hey, if you can do it, more power to you!), especially in the summer when everyone’s schedule is filled with 1,000 different things. So set a realistic goal for yourself and stick to it. Whether it’s how many days a week you go to the gym or the amount of time spent there, whatever works best for you and your schedule to come out successful is what you should choose. Your brain feeds on positive affirmation so the more you do it, the more likely you will wantto keep doing it and the easier it is to then build upon. For me, I needed to see physical reminders to work out. Whether it was posting the Group Fitness class schedule on my bulletin board, writing reminders on sticky notes, or putting it in my calendar, it was there for me as a reminder until it became apart of my daily routine.
- Find a gym or fitness classes you enjoy going to.
Finding a place to work out where you feel comfortable and totally in your zone is key to helping maintain a workout routine. If you don’t have a place where you feel welcomed or at ease when working out, you’ll be less motivated to go. For me, it’s my gym at home and Warhawk Group Fitness Classes. Those places allow me to be myself, focus on myself and also have fun and enjoy my workout.
- Bring a friend to hold you accountable.
It’s a lot easier to do something knowing you’re with someone through the good, the bad, the ugly, and the sweaty process of working out. When I first started my workout routine freshman year of college, I almost always had a workout buddy. It helped everything become less intimidating when I knew I had a friend with me. It was more fun to go work out and I always had someone to hold me accountable.
As always, stay fit, stay healthy, stay beautiful Warhawks!
Talk soon,
Ashley Borowski