Get Energized for Exercise (even when the couch is calling your name)!
“It’s time!” you say.
“Time to get my butt in gear and start working out. I know I’ll feel better (and look better, too)”.
So you sign-up for the gym/buy the new running shoes/dust off the yoga mat in the closet.
You create an amazing plan! It has a workout routine for each day of the week, and color-coded to boot! (Thanks, Pinterest and new planner from Target!) You even have the cutest new workout outfit, because you know that if you look good, you’ll feel good.
“It’s foolproof!” you say.
Then day one of the new exercise regimen comes. . .
. . . and you just can’t get your butt in gear! (cue the wah-wah-wah-waaaaah)
You’re tired and feel unmotivated.
The alarm goes off and you hit snooze/you just want to sit with your hubby and watch one more “This Is Us”/you’re convinced you’ll feel ready tomorrow.
How do I know this scenario so well? I’ve been there too many times to count.
Just like you, I’m a smart, motivated woman who knows what to do. It feels like it should be easy. But I was so tired. Not just physically tired, I was mentally and emotionally tired. Resting just felt so damn good!
Every chance I had to work out, all I wanted to do was sit on the couch with a good book (or the latest binge worthy show).
But I had been inactive too long and no amount of resting seemed to help motivate me. And I know how important working out is to our health. Also important to my sanity (which is critical to my children’s health, if you know what I mean).
I knew I needed to get moving. I knew something needed to change. With some of the tips below, I went from not working out consistently in 10 years to waking up at 4:30am most weekdays to workout for an hour.
The following tips will help you get the energy to workout, even when the couch is calling your name!
1.) Just Do It!
I know, I know! Seriously, I can feel the glares coming through the screen at me. This feels a bit like a slap in the face. “You know I don’t have the energy to workout! Yet, you’re telling me to!”. But stay with me here. Working out is probably one of the most energizing things you can do. It will leave you feeling motivated and ready to tackle more!
If you really want to get the ball rolling on exercise but can’t seem to get any traction, just schedule one workout and do it no matter what! Follow through on that one session and see how you feel. Often you just need to get started, even if it’s terribly forced, to create the energy and momentum you need.
2.) Baby steps
I’m a firm believer that something small and maintainable done consistently is more important than bigger and more impressive feats done spontaneously. The baby steps usually make for longer and more lasting change than the major overhauls. Maybe you want to incorporate more yoga. Instead of paying for classes at inconvenient times at the yoga studio across town, find an free app, get a mat, and just do 10 minutes a day in your own home. It might not feel as sexy as going to classes, but if it works for you and you can keep up with it, you can build upon it.
If you truly feel you have no energy to workout, start with something that doesn’t take too much of your energy (physical or mental). Maybe your baby step is putting on your workout clothes and shoes at the time you want to workout. Find the step that you have no problem following through with. Start small and work up to more once you’ve established consistency.
3.) Be prepared!
My husband was an Eagle Scout, and I’ve heard the moto a million time: Be Prepared. It’s important for Scouts, and it’s important for you, too.
You already have too many legit reasons to want to stay put (you know, that cute family of yours), don’t let dirty workout clothes one of them.
It’s so easy to let the dinner that needs to be cooked/ the workout clothes that aren’t washed/ the lunches to be made/ the sweet, clingy child get in the way of your plans. When establishing a new habit and struggling to get up and moving, not being prepared just puts the stake in the coffin of your well laid plans. If this happens enough, you can’t create the consistency, so it never really becomes a habit.
Preparing helps so the only thing you have to get over is energy and motivation. Layout your workout clothes in advance. Have dinner prepped or in the pot. Talk to your partner or kids and let them know your plans. Know all will be well. And get out the door. Prep so the little things don’t get in the way!
4.) Love your workout!
This seems so easy, but I’ve seen many women set up a workout regimine that they don’t love, just in hopes to lose the weight, feel they should, etc. And there is no shame in trudging through a workout, if you do it and you enjoy the benefits. But if you are struggling with consistency and energy, you will be more likely to stick to (or even do) a workout you love!
Maybe instead of the boring treadmill, you find a great dance class. One of my clients started walking dogs from a dog shelter as exercise. Find ways to make your movement pleasant and enjoyable. Maybe add a stellar playlist! Or do it with a friend you love hanging with. Find a way to make what you do or how you do it so fun and amazing that you won’t want to miss it!
5.) Shift your mindset
This past November, I realized that if I wanted to get my workout in, I had to wake up at 4:30am to do it. The thought filled me with dread. I’m not a morning person, so this pained me to think about it. But I was dedicated to keeping up on the momentum I’d built over the 6 months, and this was the way to do it.
What got me though was thinking about how I’d feel when I was done, knowing I wouldn’t have to find time for my workout in the day (it was already done and nothing in my life conflicts with 5:00am😉). I knew I would feel great, and would feel even better knowing I was honoring my desire to be healthy. Concentrating on how I’d feel when I finished helped me not dwell on waking early and the workout itself.
When you want to exercise, it’s easy to feel tired and unmotivated. But instead of focusing on how you currently feel, concentrate on how you will feel when you finish. Think about how you’ll have more energy, how you'll feel proud of yourself for sticking to it, and how when you’re done, it never seems as bad as it does before you workout. Focus on the future results, not the current conditions. The shift in mindset will help you get out the door and moving!
6.) Find time of day you have most energy.
I don’t workout at night. Period. By 8:00pm when my kids are all in bed, I’m so ready to curl up with a good book, or cuddle on the couch with my hubby. I’m toast! I don’t have the energy to workout, and certainly don’t have the motivation to. But from the crack of dawn until 11:00am, I am game! Everyone is different.
Find the time of day you feel most energized and will happily want to work out. This will help propel your energy to get you up and going! Whether you are a morning person, a night owl, or love mid-day workouts, find the time that you feel the most energy to move. You won’t have to rally so hard if it is a natural energy peak for you.
7.) Just be active.
A while back, I had a client that really wanted to start a workout routine. She was trying to figure out what she should do: weights, HIT, cardio? But as we talked, I discovered she just really wanted to live an active lifestyle. She wanted to ride horses and work in the stables, and take hikes with her family. So, we started formulating a plan around incorporating more of those instead of intense workouts. And talking about living an active lifestyle had her much more excited than when we talked about proper exercise (instant coach clue that we were on the right track).
So often, when we think of healthy movement, we instantly go to exercise. But in reality, it is just as good (if not better) to have an active lifestyle, then to sit all day and workout for 1 hour of it. If going for a family hike, jumping on the trampoline, or walking to the get the mail (vs. driving to pick it up) feels more doable, find ways to incorporate that into your days instead of forcing exercise if that feels like too much.
A final word. . .
The last thing I want you to know is that I have tried about a dozen times in the last 10 years to start back up with an exercise plan, but could never get much traction. But I don’t believe those were all in vain. I believe each time we try something, we learn from it, grow from it, and sometimes it takes the 100th try before something sticks. Keep it up and know that is part of the process. There will be times you’ll slip, times you falter, and times you’ll need a break from it. Allow yourself the grace to see those slips as part of your growth instead of failure. “Failure” mindset breeds stagnation, while grace breeds motivation.
Hopefully you got a little something from this article to help you gain some traction on your exercise plan!