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It can be a little hard to get back into the swing of ‘working out’ after you’ve been off for a length of time or sometimes it can be struggle just to get motivated in the first place. 

In all honesty I hate getting ready to work out; I simply can’t be bothered to get changed and struggle to psych myself up to exercising. However, once I’ve peeled myself off the sofa, changed into my leggings and plugged in my headphones, I have a sudden wave of energy and I really enjoy the work out. 

Exercising releases serotonin and endorphins which both increase the feeling of happiness and wellbeing. The freeing of these chemicals in the body and the sound of my upbeat music playlist can make exercise pretty enjoyable… well i think so anyway!

But what do I do to get motivated in the first place?

1. Get in and get changed: As soon as a get home from work I change into my work out clothes. I never exercise in the same clothes twice so they’re always clean which means I feel fresh and comfortable (leggings and baggy tee’s all the way). It’s one less thing to do before I work out and being sat in my gym clothing means I feel more inclined to exercise. 

2. Oven on, makeup off: If I happen to be making dinner I’ll remove my makeup whilst I’m waiting for it to cook or If dinner is ready I’ll chow down before removing my makeup. Doing this as soon as possible means you’re already over half way prepped for exercising. 

3. Just keep pinning: If I’m resting after dinner or want half an hour to relax before I work out I hop onto Pinterest, search for work out warm up ideas or browse the general Health & Fitness section to see if I stumble across anything interesting and worth pinning.

4. Turn up the music and dance: Before I work out I pop on my gym track, either one I’ve already made or a random one on Spotify just to get motivated. My tracks range from running to general gym to dancing to sometimes party anthems, as long as it’s upbeat with a couple fast tracks in there for bursts of exercise I’m happy!

5. Just beat it and snap it: If you can’t track how long you’re spending exercising or you aren’t using any equipment that tells you then try using an App or investing in a product that will. If you set yourself a target then each time you reach your goal you can push yourself to ‘beat it’. Sometimes I track how many calories I’m burning and other times I track my distance. Chose one or the other but being in competition with yourself is a great way to get motivated. If you need further motivated I sometimes take photographs of my finished stats (calories or distance) and the next time I’ll try to push myself to do a little more so I can compare and see progress.

6. Get up and brush it off: It may sound a little silly and to be honest pretty darn obvious but sometimes you just need to tell yourself to shut up and just do it. Quit having that internal argument with yourself about whether you can be bothered or coming up with silly excuses. Brush that little devil off your shoulder, get up and get on with it.

For me once I’m prepped I really enjoy exercising and love the feeling afterwards of achievement or feeling physically tired as that’s when you know you’ve done a good job! Sometimes it just takes a couple minutes to psych yourself up and get energised. 

Beki Xo