Motivation gone AWOL?

It's July... it's been a really cold winter..and we're smack bang in the middle of it. Yes! we're in 'hump' month ;p

Beeeeeeeeep Beeeeeeeeeeeeep Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep... The doona and pillow start whispering sweet nothings to you as your alarm goes off (again...and again as you keep hitting the snooze button)... they comfort you in your warm coccoon...whispering..it's nice and warm here... why would you want to leave to go to the park/beach (insert place of exercise!).. you can exercise later in the day... and with that, you turn off the alarm and stay in bed for another hour.

When you get up, the guilt hits you - it's a beautiful day with cobalt blue sky - it's a bit fresh (read: cold), but perfect temperature for exercising and getting the circulation going.... so you decide definitely you will go out and exercise after work. All day you feel sluggish and lethargic wishing you'd not listened to that luscious doona.

Afternoon comes, you're thinking about your workout, then bang! an emergency at work happens... you are running half an hour late, so you've missed your usual train, and there goes all thoughts of getting your exercise session in after all.

.....the next morning, it's bucketing down..... the alarm is switched off again, and the whole previous day is repeated...except today you get the train on time, and on your way home a friend who's just come back from overseas wants to pop in and have dinner.... there goes that exercise session again!


Does this sound at all familiar? Just a few days like this can turn you from being regimented in your routine to completely losing all focus and resolve. But how do you get back that motivation that took a while to get going in the first place?

The first thing to do is to reassess your goals - determine what is the thing that will keep you going no matter what? think of a long term goal (say about 6-12 months down the track) and also think of a short term goal - a 3 month goal.

If it's a weight loss goal - make sure you quantify the amount of weight you want to lose, and by which date or milestone. Get pictures of (realistic) body shapes and types that you want to use as visual motivation.

Plan your week's food and exercise so that there is NO deviation - don't forget to plan for unforeseen events and little cheats or rest as well. Try and plan your exercise sessions for first thing in the morning - this way you don't need to rush at the end of the day and those little 'spanners in the works' that can happen are not a problem. Have a plan for a home workout session that you can fall back on as well just in case of rain

If your goal is around running, again, quantify what distance you eventually would like to be able to run. Break it down into small chunks - like the Couch to 5km program - 8 weeks, then another 8 weeks to get to 10km, then work on your pace for about 4 weeks to consolidate your base fitness, then look at half marathon length over the next 12-16 weeks.

Put your workout and nutrition charts somewhere you will see them every day and mark off your accomplishments.

Above all else, enjoy what you're doing and revel in the increased energy levels that you have with every workout, and celebrate your successes - each milestone could have a 'reward' attached - a massage, facial, special outing... these are the things that will help keep you motivated no matter what the weather.