Don't Give Up! 5 Tips for Staying Motivated During Your Fitness Journey

We’ve all felt like quitting half-way through a diet. It’s almost ironic how doing the healthy thing feels so awful in the present.

Luckily, you don’t have to drop out of couch-to-5K every new years! With the right strategy, anybody can set themselves up for success in their quest for fitness.

Read on to see our top 5 tips for staying motivated - no matter the odds.

It’s nice to daydream about what you could accomplish, given enough focus. That resolution to drop 5 pounds in a month sounds almost doable when you’re so amped up at the start.

It’s important to remember that you’re only human - motivation wanes, life gets in the way and there’s only so much effort we can exert before our resolve starts to crack. That’s why it’s so important to set realistic goals for yourself. Shooting too high can only lead to burn-out and disappointment.

New to weightlifting? Don’t aim to become Jay Cutler by next month - try reaching an intermediate level in your compound lifts instead!

Trying to lose weight? Going for a 5 pound loss in just a week will only lead to crash diets and unhealthy weight loss pills. 1 pound is a far more realistic goal.

By breaking down large long-term goals into smaller, more scalable milestones, you avoid giving up early and burning yourself out.

• The Psychological Side of Setting Realistic Goals

If you’re the type to look inwards for answers, you may be wondering just why it is that people set unrealistic goals for themselves.

In truth, it’s likely a combination of two issues that are pervasive in modern culture; perfectionism and the pressures of social comparison.

While it’s great to never stop improving, chasing that ever-elusive “perfect” physique or the perfect lap time will only further contribute to burnout.

This feeds into the aforementioned social comparison, where we often feel the need to be like the photoshopped models we see in magazines, or the Olympic athletes on the television.

Both problems can be solved by coming to an understanding of one’s own abilities - you aren’t instantly going to look like that perfectly angled fitness model in your feed. But you can certainly start, and that’s as good as it gets.

Going at it alone can be tough, especially if you’re the extroverted type. One of the best ways to stay motivated is to have an accountability buddy - or even an entire group of fellow fitness enthusiasts.

Not only will having a fitness buddy ensure you never get lonely at the gym, but it will also give you a sense of accountability when you feel like slacking off. A friend who shares the same goals as you is invaluable.

At the gym, consistency is king - but that doesn’t mean needing to do the same workout over and over.

If you start to get bored of your training, a great way to stay motivated is to change it! 

Try out a different training program, switch out exercises for more interesting alternatives or even make the decision to do an entirely different kind of exercise. Rock climbing and cycling have seen a recent uptick in popularity, if you’re taking suggestions.

Even if your fitness goals are somewhat locked into a specific type of training, it doesn’t mean that there is no room for change. A powerlifter doesn’t need to stick to performing 5x5 sets of back squats every single workout - and neither do you!

Reaching your fitness goals can be an exercise in mental endurance. 

There’s the long mornings of hunger and the burning in your legs after a 30 minute jog - but what most people don’t realize is that these acts of attrition are only short term, and that it is in fact enduring them over a long period that often grinds us down.

To avoid the sort of mental fatigue that comes with dealing with the stresses of staying healthy, a good strategy is to reward yourself for reaching short-term goals over the course of your journey. Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean eating a whole pizza after a week of clean dieting - that’s just counterintuitive.

Things like a new pair of running shoes or a night at the movies can help provide a reprieve without directly sabotaging your efforts - and likely help you stick with it as well.

When striving to be better, mindset is everything. Most individuals never reach their fitness goals simply because they give up when they don’t see immediate progress.

One small setback is hardly worth losing whatever progress you’ve made. If you find yourself slipping into pessimistic or self-defeating thoughts, taking a step back and looking at things from a detached perspective may help.

• Persistence is Key

While it can be smart to reassess your approach if things just aren’t working out right, it doesn’t mean that you should give up!

Keep your eyes fixed on the goal, and remember that everything worthwhile takes time and effort.

Remember: even if you haven’t reached your dream body now - if you give up, you never will.

It is important to keep in mind that achieving fitness is a long-term process, and not something that can be accomplished quickly. The intensity level of someone else's workout should not necessarily dictate your own pace, as individual factors such as lifestyle, age, and training consistency will impact your body's ability to handle certain levels of exertion.

Pushing yourself beyond your limits can be detrimental to your progress and may result in setbacks. To avoid this, make sure to incorporate rest days into your workout routine and avoid consistently training at a very high intensity.

I am a freelance writer based in the Philippines, with a love for all things weightlifting and fitness.