How do I find motivation to exercise when I don't feel like doing it?

You've made it your New Year's resolution to improve your fitness! 🎉

... but after signing up for your gym membership, you lack the motivation to actually go...

Don't worry!

You're not lazy. You just lack motivation.

Finding motivation to exercise is easier than you think. You just need to be creative!

You don't need to limit yourself to the gym when it comes to working out. Instead, explore different types of physical activities to see what best fits your personality and lifestyle. Your goal is to make exercise fun and something that you look forward to doing regularly.

Instead of staying indoors, try taking your workout outdoors (weather permitting, of course!). You can go to a local park to skip rope or go cycling around your neighbourhood.

Skipping rope is a simple and convenient activity because all you need is a rope and a small, open space. Try adding in fun moves like criss-crosses, side-swings, and double-unders.

Cycling is a great option if you don't feel like staying in one place. Experiment with different speeds, try out longer routes, and find hilly areas to add more variety and excitement.

If you feel like staying at home, you can do strength activities like dumbbell exercises or pilates. If you're unsure where to start, check out YouTube for a follow-along tutorial. You can find dumbbell exercises on Juice and Toya's channel and pilates exercises on Marie Steffen's channel.

Here's the best part!

You don't need to stick to just one type of movement. You can take up multiple activities that interest you and spread them out across the week.

A fun way to make exercise feel less like a chore is to pair it with a secondary activity that you already enjoy. You can exercise while:

• Listening to upbeat music

• Playing a YouTube video in the background

• Listening to your favourite podcast

• Chatting with a friend over the phone

Jasmine, Liam, Adrian, and Zoe want to find motivation to exercise after busy work days. They're trying to find an activity that will make their workout more interesting. This is what they each came up with:

• Jasmine recently became obsessed with TikTok. She wants to play videos while exercising and then scroll between sets.

• Liam purchased a fantasy audiobook. He wants to listen to his new book while exercising.

• Adrian and his friend enjoy having intense movie debates. He wants to exercise while actively texting his friend about a movie they recently watched.

• Zoe recently started learning a new language. She wants to exercise while watching a foreign movie with the subtitles turned on.

Gamification is when you add a game element to a dull activity to increase motivation. You can gamify exercise by designing a points-based system.

Here's one way to go about doing this:

1. Write a list of rewards & assign a points value to each one. The points value will act as the "price" to redeem each reward.

2. Write a list of activities & assign a points value to each one. The points value will represent how many points you earn for completing each activity.

3. Exercise to earn your points.

4. Once you've accumulated enough points, redeem them!

Gamification is not only fun, it's also a proven method for staying motivated while on your fitness journey.

If you tend to exercise alone, try exercising in a group setting. Group fitness classes are meant to be supportive environments where you can build your confidence, learn new exercises, and stay motivated by being surrounded by others who share similar goals.

Another way to stay motivated is to tell a friend about your fitness journey. They can help by checking in on your progress.

You can also invite your friend, or a group of friends, to do fun physical activities together, like indoor rock climbing or going to an indoor trampoline park. When fitness becomes something you share with others, it can help you to stay motivated.

Here are a few things you can do to find motivation to exercise when you're not feeling up to it: