How to Reassess Your Fitness Goals and Finish the Year Strong
It’s natural to experience a slump in motivation levels as we approach the end of the year.
The year-end decline in exercise motivation happens for several reasons, not least of which is the cumulative fatigue that comes with 10+ months of hard work and the stress of navigating everyday life.
The end of the year can also be a busy and stressful time, with work deadlines, holiday preparations, year-end parties and other social obligations that can make it difficult to prioritise exercise.
Thankfully, you can reignite your inspiration to keep calm and carry on to achieve your goals by following these helpful tips:
1. Change your stale routine
While your commitment to your training plan throughout the year is commendable, it might be time to make a change if you’re struggling to get to the gym at this stage of the year.
Following the same plan for an extended period, repeating the same exercises day in and day out can become monotonous, which is when you start losing interest in training. This can make it difficult to stay motivated due to mental fatigue.
There is also the physical aspect to consider because, when your body gets used to the same routine, it becomes more efficient at it. This can lead to plateaus, where you stop seeing improvements in your fitness levels. This lack of progress can be demotivating.
Adding more variety to your exercise routine by regularly switching up the exercises you perform, their order, your programme structure or training intensity can cure boredom and reignite your motivation to train.
2. Bundle your tasks
While following a training plan or engaging in an activity you intrinsically enjoy is vital to sticking to your plan through sheer enjoyment, there are often tasks or workouts we dread.
When you lack motivation or the willpower to get through a steady-state cardio session or leg workout, bundle your task with something you enjoy.
Compiling a range of playlists to meet different moods and workout intensities with your favourite songs can make a gym session in the cold more appealing. If you’re a fan of listening to podcasts or audiobooks, you can also reserve that pleasure for your hour in the gym.
By bundling an activity you enjoy – music or a podcast – with one you may lack the willpower to engage in – the workout – you’ll be more inclined to get through the session.
3. Incentivise success
Another way to boost waning motivation levels is to get yourself an accountability partner – someone other than yourself who will keep you honest and motivated to stick to your scheduled workouts.
Training with a partner can serve as a type of commitment device because failing to show up for a scheduled session will mean letting down and disappointing your friend.
Hiring a personal trainer or paying for a workout app is another effective option. The cost will create a monetary incentive to make the session or get full value from your investment.
Agreeing to forfeit something you value, like a cheat meal or pay a fine for every missed gym session, is another effective commitment device for some people.
4. Set yourself a mini goal or new challenge
A new challenge is a great way to revive waning motivation levels to keep your training interesting. Sign up for a HYROX class, enter a race, sign up for a group class, or switch up your training with a few fun outdoor activities on days when you don’t feel like going to the gym.
Trying new activities, changing the environment, or even training at different times of the day can help you keep things fresh and revive your motivation levels.
If you are working toward a big overarching goal, it is often beneficial to implement mini goals or projects that move your fitness towards the main objective.
An example is trying to lose 2 kilos (which will count towards your bigger 10kg weight loss goal) in the last month.
Aiming to achieve a new one-rep max (1RM) on your bench press or squat requires a shift in focus to strength training but still moves the needle in terms of adding more muscle, and building more strength is beneficial to so many other facets of life, not to mention the bragging rights that come with some serious numbers behind your 1RM lifts!
Implementing these mini-goals ensures you constantly progress towards your overarching objective, even if you’re not actively thinking about or focusing on achieving the bigger goal. The feeling of achievement that comes with ticking off mini goals en route to the bigger objective can also boost motivation levels and reaffirm your commitment.
5. Stop relying on motivation
While this tip runs counter to the theme of this article, the reality is that motivation is a finite mental resource. That means relying solely on motivation is often ineffective for long-term success.
Motivation is often a fleeting emotion. It can ebb and flow in intensity and can fade over time. Your motivation can also waver when faced with obstacles or setbacks in life. This inconsistency makes it a shaky foundation for sustained progress.
When you deplete your motivation, you will need to fall back on beneficial habits to stay the course. The best way to stay on track with your training plan is to create a system.
Systems determine what you do every day, like how, where and when you train. A fitness or exercise system allows you to focus your efforts on the process by performing tasks you enjoy and that move you closer to the end goal, rather than fixating on an outcome or goal, which requires motivation.
This system might mean scheduling your daily workout for the morning over the coming months to navigate the social commitments. It might also mean getting to bed an hour earlier each night to get sufficient sleep, with the ability to wake up earlier to train.
Your other option is some liquid courage, so to speak. A serving of a pre-workout product like Primal Amino Force or Primal Pre delivers a potent dose of caffeine (200mg and 300mg, respectively), which is a central nervous system stimulant that can increase focus and alertness, help combat fatigue and improve energy levels, making it easier to stay motivated and focused on the training session that lies ahead.