7 Reminders To Make Your Workout Sessions A Little Bit Easier

1. Focus on today’s goal, not your lifetime goal. If you’ve been feeling disheartened, it’s probably because you haven’t been seeing results lately. But you can’t become overly obsessed with the idea of seeing the number drop on the scale or your abs hardening into stone. Maybe those things are your goals over time but your goal for today should be to accomplish something that makes you proud. Maybe that means doing a set more than yesterday. Maybe that means exercising for a full hour. Whatever it is, focus on accomplishing that one simple goal so you can be proud of yourself the rest of the day.

2. Exercising is great for multi-tasking. If you can’t summon up the energy to workout because it’s never any fun for you, then you should change the way you’re working out. Bring a pair of headphones so you can listen to an audiobook or a podcast or your favorite album. If possible, save your favorite show to watch while you’re exercising, so that way you’ll actually look forward to exercising. You’ll actually get enjoyment out of it.

3. Leave motivational reminders around the house. You can follow motivational accounts on Instagram, so you see them when you’re scrolling first thing in the morning when you should be working out. You might even want to set the alarm on your phone to pop up with an inspirational note about how you’ve got this!

4. Exercising doesn’t always look like exercising. If you absolutely cannot bring yourself to run on a treadmill or lift weights in a gym, then you should come up with alternative ways to exercise. You can take hikes with your boyfriend and reward yourself with cutesy pictures at the top. You can put together a soccer team with your friends to play on weekends. You can go to rock wall gyms or dance classes or axe throwing centers. You can get creative with your exercise.

5. Use your phone to your advantage. There’s an app called Zombies, Run that you can use during your jogs around the block. It makes you feel like you’re in a zombie apocalypse and encourages you to pick up the speed whenever zombies are coming. There are also more basic apps where you can track how many calories you’ve burnt and how much water you’ve consumed so you have a way to track your progress and look back at how good you’ve done whenever you’re feeling defeated.

6. You’re allowed to brag. Some people might think you’re annoying for posting pictures in your gym clothes, but if it motivates you to keep going, then go for it. You should be proud of yourself. You should be happy you’re accomplishing more than you ever thought possible. You don’t have to keep your progress to yourself.

7. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. You shouldn’t make a habit of skipping your workouts, but it’s okay to take a break every once in a while. If you have plans with friends or a nasty headache, you’re allowed to go easy on yourself. You’re working out because you want to take good care of yourself — and taking good care of yourself includes taking good care of your mind.