Habits and Motivation
We know at Persist that it can sometimes be so hard to get to your morning gym class when it’s cold and dark, or you’re exhausted after a long day at work and the last thing you want to do is go to the gym and move your body. We want to help you by giving you our best advice and tips to encourage you to get into a good routine with exercising and good lifestyle habits.
1. Think of your WHY
You’re not going to show up every day if you don’t feel as if you have any reason to be there. Think of your why, write down your why, make sure your why resonates with you and your goals and is SUSTAINABLE. Is it to better your future yourself? Is it to prove to yourself you can do hard things? Is it to get one hour a day for yourself? Is it to show up as a strong Mum / Dad for your children? Remember your why, and show up for your why.
2. Plan your workouts Sunday night
Sunday night, before your week is starting, plan out your gym sessions and add them in your phone calendar, write them in your diary and book into them through the app. This way your gym sessions are scheduled in like appointments.
3. Get your workout clothes ready the night before your gym session (if you’re a morning person) … or park them in your work bag!
This will save you time in the morning / time in the afternoon where it is one less thing to think about. A simple act of getting your clothes out ready for you will play on your mind in the morning when your alarm goes off, or you’re heading home from work and your gym clothes are in your bag so you have no excuses… buy new activewear if it will motivate you as well!
4. Set realistic goals
If you currently go to the gym twice a week and your end goal is to be at the gym 6 times a week, don’t go from training twice in one week to aiming for 6 times the next because it is likely you will burn out, won’t make it 6 times a week, and beat yourself up for it. Set realistic goals, take your time, and don’t rush the process.
5. Post-workout endorphins & being PROUD of yourself.
You might be someone who even after training for a year, still looks at it as a “chore”. That’s okay – exercise isn’t everyone’s favorite thing. Once you have completed your workout though, remember the FEELING you get and the high you are on. Journal down how you feel after a workout so as when you don’t want to go to the gym, you can remember the feeling you get after completing a workout. Your endorphins are running wild, you should be so proud of yourself for showing up FOR you, and if you train in the morning, it will set you up for a productive, successful day knowing that you have completed your workout, even if nothing else goes right. And if you train in the afternoons, getting home after work and after training, you will feel accomplished and hopefully your mind is rested after doing a workout after work to let your brain wind down and switch off for the day.
Motivation VS Discipline
Firstly, everybody knows that motivation is most definitely not always going to show up. 9 times out of 10 you aren’t going to the gym because you are motivated. Being disciplined is what gets you in a good routine, gets you out of bed and gets you to the gym on the amount of days you have set out to go. Here are our 5 favorite tips to get you into the gym.
As mentioned above, motivation comes and goes and 9 times out of 10 you cannot rely on it to show up. This is where discipline comes in. Discipline by definition is, “the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior”. Your behavior in this instance is showing up at the gym, creating good lifestyle habits and showing up and bettering your future self. Discipline takes time and effort, but don’t give up on yourself, do it for yourself.
Lifestyle Tips:
Whilst exercising is such a key component of a healthy lifestyle, for a multitude of reasons, we do have some other tips to try and encourage a healthy lifestyle.
1. Getting a good night’s sleep Getting a good night sleep can be so hard for a lot of people. Whilst we certainly aren’t sleep experts, we do have some tips to get a better night sleep and try and help you feel well rested in the morning.
• No screen time 30 mins – 1 hour before bed
This one you would have heard so many times but it really can throw your sleeping pattern. The blue light that comes from your screens prevents the production of melatonin, which is the hormone that controls our sleep cycle. We recommend reading a book or journaling your thoughts for the day.
2. Drink more water
A lot of us wouldn’t be drinking anywhere near as much water as we should be. There are a range of benefits to drinking water which I’m sure many of you would already know about. After all, our body is made up of 80% water. Everyone reading this, drink 1L more water than you already have been.
3. Finding a routine you enjoy
There are so many benefits to a good morning routine. It can really set you up for a productive and successful day, with you feeling your best. Try and incorporate something for your mind (meditation, journaling), something for your body (workout, stretching, walk) and something for your soul which could be sitting outdoors in nature with your morning coffee, having 10 minutes reading a book or playing with your kids.
Implementing a good morning routine will have you feeling excited and ready to wake up and show up as the best version of yourself for the rest of the day.
