How To Get Motivated To Workout? Here’s 4 Things To Try

Motivation is hard to come by.

We get motivated one week, then we’re completely over it the next.

How is it reach your goals when motivation comes and goes whenever it wants?

When I sent out a survey to my email list (you should join it here btw). One of the biggest roadblocks my tribe had was “staying motivated.”

I get it.

There are so many things pulling us at different directions that it can be difficult to focus on what we really want - a healthy and happy life!

We get caught up with work, social events, errands, etc., that by the time we finally should work out or meal prep, all we want to do is lay on the couch, watch Netflix, and stuff our face!

So if you’re needing a little bit of motivation today to get off the couch and accomplish your goals, this blog post is for you!

Quick Story

So a few months ago, I decided I needed to update my professional headshots. If you followed my journey, I decided to go on a very extreme diet where I had to eat fish and veggies practically 6x a day. No cheats. No chocolate. Little carbs. It was nuts.

I was telling myself and my boyfriend before I started that I probably would give up. Like all other times I’ve tried to go on some kinda diet, I had always given up. I didn’t even believe in myself before I started.

You see, I have a track record of yo-yo dieting. I get super excited to start a “diet,” and then fail and completely fall off track. I am one who gets super excited the first few days, then lose motivation by the end of the week. I’m sure you can relate.

But this time it was different.

For the first time in my entire life, I had actually stuck to the diet from Day 1 to Day 21. I did not even BUDGE. No little bites of chocolate here and there, no fudging with the portions, no switching out fish for chicken, nothing!

I surprised myself of my commitment and dedication and the results definitely showed.

I had lost 7lbs, 8 inches, and 4% body fat. I felt confident, toned, and amazing the day of my photo shoot.

I’m super proud of how the photos turned out, which you’ll be able to see all throughout my website.

Once I finished my diet, I asked myself:

Why was THIS time different from all the other times I tried to go on a diet? Why was I able to be successful THIS time when I usually would fail?

This question led me to the BIGGEST FACTORS that contribute to actually achieving your goals, which I’ll lay out for you below.

Create A Strong WHY & VISION

All the other times I tried to go on diets, I had no vision. I didn’t give myself a SMART goal, I didn’t give myself an action plan to get there, and I had absolutely no idea what I really wanted!

All I wanted was to “get fit,” “feel happier,” or “lose weight.”

But those goals are just not STRONG enough!

Because I had a photo shoot on the line, I had a compelling enough reason that propelled me forward.

It was because I had a strong enough WHY that pushed me past the days when I just wanted to quit because I had a vision for what I wanted to achieve.

In order to accomplish your ultimate health/fitness goals, you MUST create a strong enough reason to push past the tough times!

People do CRAZY things when they have a big enough reason!

I just recently watched Moana on Netflix and her story of courage exemplifies this idea perfectly.

*No judging for watching a Disney movie*

Without any sailing experience and without approval from her family to leave the island, she decided to go beyond the reef to put this special stone back in its place so that life could continue to thrive in their little island world.

There was incredible danger beyond the reef, but she had a compelling enough WHY to face those obstacles head on and fight whatever came her way.

When you have a strong enough reason, you are limitless. You can do things that scare you. You don’t let the “little things” stop you. Instead, you face them head on and stomp them down!

To relate it back to achieving your health/fitness goals, there are so many roadblocks that can get in the way of your big vision. Things like:

• Free snacks/desserts at work
• Social events and parties
• Family and friend pressure
• Fear of failure
• Fear of success (there is such a thing)
• Fear of missing out

These roadblocks can deter you from reaching your goals. But when you create a strong enough vision for what you want, those problems become small in comparison to the big vision for your life.

So, I challenge you to create a really BIG VISION, or WHY, that’s going to move you forward and push past those roadblocks. Find something meaningful in your life that’s going to trump all of the “small problems” that you may face and stay committed to achieving that goal!

Make The Investment

When I was prepping for my photo shoot, I also had money on the line! I had to invest almost $1,000 for everything that went into the photo shoot. From hiring the photographer, to hiring the make up artist, to getting a spray tan, to buying all the food for my plan and getting all of my outfits, there was a lot of financial investment!

And if I didn’t look my BEST, then all of it would’ve gone to waste.

That INVESTMENT that I made into my goal made it that much stronger!

You might not be prepping for a photo shoot like I was, but creating a financial investment definitely makes you COMMIT.

Think about it all of the financial investments that compel you to finish what you start:

• Paying for a college degree
• Investing into a small business
• Paying a mortgage
• Paying for a certification program

Whatever you invest in financially, you 100% commit to paying it off or following through with it!

Because it’s your hard-earned money, you want to make sure to get the value you’ve paid for!

Conversely, when things are FREE, you are waaaay more likely NOT to follow through.

Why?

Because when things are free, we don’t see the VALUE in it.

Even though tons of FREE things out there are probably worth a ton of money, we haven’t put the financial or emotional investment in it so we are less likely to use it or value it.

When money is on the line, you automatically put VALUE into that thing, and are much more likely to use that investment than waste it.

Your health should be your #1 investment.

You can argue with me all you want, but I truly believe the #1 thing you should be putting MOST of your money into is your well-being!

If our well-being is not at its best, everything else is affected by it.

To be the best student, employee, dancer, sister, friend, entrepreneur, and athlete, we must make sure that we look and feel our best!

If you want to feel vibrant, energetic, focused, clear, beautiful, and confident, it always comes down to how we treat our bodies!

Everything we ever want to have or achieve stems from our health!

If you want to stay committed, you have to INVEST!

For example:

• Buy a gym membership if you know it’s going to compel you to workout often
• Get a personal trainer or nutrition coach if you know it’s going to keep you accountable
• Buy a book or online guide if you know it’s going to teach you long-term healthy habits
• Buy organic as much as possible and high quality meat because you understand that paying for QUALITY is best for lifelong vitality

Create Social Accountability

I decided to share my journey on social media and allowed everyone to see what I was going through. It was a chance for me to express my feelings and narrate the entire journey with friends and family, and it was built-in accountability to keep going!

Because people were watching me transform on a daily basis, I felt pressure to keep going.

I also told friends and family.

I warned my boyfriend that I would be going on a massive diet change for 21 days so that he could understand that our kitchen and pantry is going to look a little crazy for 3 weeks.

We usually like to eat some “fun foods” together at night like sweet potato chips, or Quest bars, or whatever we want, but I told him that I will NOT be joining him for 3 weeks and he should not TEMPT or LURE me in one bit!

Making sure that your friends and family are on board with what you’re doing is crucial, especially when it means that you’re going to be eating vastly different than your household.

Let people know that you’re committed to making lifestyle changes and tell them WHY!

And expect a little bit of backlash.

Your friends and family might not be so gung-ho about what you’re doing because #1 it might make them feel bad about their own bad habits and #2 change is hard.

If it means that they won’t be able to bond with you over drinks and cupcakes as you usually do every weekend, they might not approve of this new lifestyle of yours because it impacts the way you socialize or connect.

Assure them that even though you’re creating a new lifestyle change, you will still be able to have the same connection and relationship, but the way you do it might be different.

Who knows, they might jump on board with you because you’ve inspired them!

I encourage you to jump on social media, share your story, and let your closest friends/family know you’re committed to changing your life, with or without them! I promise, they WILL join you on the journey, it might just take a little while for them until they see how much YOUR life has changed!

Reward Yourself

Having this awesome photo shoot with this awesome photographer that I’ve always wanted to work with was my reward at the end of this journey.

I was so excited to finally have these amazing photos and I knew what it would feel like to accomplish my goal.

I had this end goal, or prize, for myself that kept me going!

It’s important to make sure you have some kind of reward after all of your hard work, dedication, and commitment.

WARNING: You don’t want to reward yourself with a week-long streak of cupcakes, pizza, biscuits, and burgers after a good stint of clean eating. We don’t want to ruin all of your hard work!

Instead, find a different way that you can treat yourself!

A massage, getting your hair or nails done, buying a new pair of shoes, or treating yourself to a few cocktails are great ways to reward yourself!

Recap

Let’s recap everything we just talked about!

In order to get and STAY motivated on your health and fitness journey, it’s important to:

• Create a strong VISION and WHY that will keep moving you forward
• Financially INVEST in your well-being to keep you committed and accountable
• Create social ACCOUNTABILITY
• REWARD yourself after weeks of hard work and dedication

And just in case you’re needing something to help you stay motivated and accountable, I want you to check out my 3-week online challenge called the FitLIFE Challenge!

With all of my past experience working with online clients, I’ve learned that the biggest struggle is staying motivated and having accountability.

In the FitLIFE Challenge, you get BUILT-IN accountability to your nutrition and fitness goals where I provide you online video lessons, PDFs and guides, and access to a private FB support group where I teach you how to master your nutrition, meal prep, and workouts!

It’s literally everything I’ve ever taught, all bundled together that covers things like creating a customized meal plan, working out for your body type, how to be confident, and so much more.

I’ve put my heart and soul in the program to help you become the best version of yourself, both physically and mentally!

I’d love for you to check it out. Become a FitLIFER and join the challenge today!

Want fun workouts ON DEMAND anytime, anywhere? Check out JJF On Demand where you can access real-time workout classes from the comfort of your own home. From Cardio/HIIT and Strength to Dance and Yoga, you'll get a variety of fun, challenging, and sweaty workouts right in your living room! Get a 7 Day Free Trial Here!

Jenny