Recently I've seen some posts from people that suddenly lack the motivation to work out. I've been going through something similar the past couple weeks and so I thought I would share my experiences :).
Due to a very stressful period in my life, I completely lost all motivation to work out. I had to drag myself through every workout, feeling more drained instead of energized afterwards. So eventually I stopped working out completely for a about six weeks.
I hated it. I hated feeling more and more tired every day. I hated that my muscles became cramped and stiff from sitting behind a computer at work 8 hours a day. But despite all that, it seemed like I just couldn't find the motivation to start working out again.
Eventually a nerve in my arm somehow got pinched and inflamed (nobody can tell me exactly how that happened). That, together with some other lingering injuries made me want to take better care of myself. I wanted to become strong and fit again, not weak and hurt.
Since my previous way of thinking about fitness was clearly not working, I decided to just forget about all my fitness goals and how I thought I "should" work out and go back to basics. I started doing FB reach in the middle of February. I just got up and did my scheduled workout first thing in the morning, before the rest of my day could drain my energy and/or motivation. I had to modify for my arm but it felt great to be moving again! My morning workouts gave me energy and made me feel accomplished before breakfast! I was even sore after some of the Pilates workouts. I was gaining back flexibility and core strength.
After three weeks of Reach I wanted to do more. I didn't feel like I had to but I WANTED to. I still have to be careful with my arm. I can't lift weights or do exercises that put weight on my shoulder. So I started FB Booty last week. I have to be a little creative to modify whenever necessary but I can make it work for me. And most importantly, I'm looking forward to the workouts again! I don't care anymore if I can't keep up with the cardio or that I can't lift any weights. I'm proud of myself that I'm showing up and doing the best I can. And that I'm giving my body all the time it needs to heal.
It feels like something has clicked in my brain. I've known all these things for so long but now I finally feel like I understand. I used to have this "all or nothing" mentality that I also see a lot in this forum. The feeling that if I couldn't work out the right way I shouldn't workout at all. And this has led to me pushing myself even if my body was screaming at me that I should stop. Harming myself as a result. And then stopping completely because I couldn't go on.
But now if feels like I'm working out in a way that I can sustain for more than a couple weeks. So I'm eager to continue this way and slowly work my way towards a healthier life where I have lots of energy again!
So if you find yourself dreading your workouts and skipping them on a frequent basis, try going back to basics. Forget about your ambitious fitness goals for a while and take it easy on yourself. You may not notice how hard you are being on yourself until you take the pressure off.
Lastly, I also want to mention that Kelli's been a huge inspiration for me! She's so incredibly brave in handling her illness and sharing her progress with all of us. Just watching her gives me courage!
Back to basics - Regaining motivation
Hi all
Recently I've seen some posts from people that suddenly lack the motivation to work out. I've been going through something similar the past couple weeks and so I thought I would share my experiences :).
Due to a very stressful period in my life, I completely lost all motivation to work out. I had to drag myself through every workout, feeling more drained instead of energized afterwards. So eventually I stopped working out completely for a about six weeks.
I hated it. I hated feeling more and more tired every day. I hated that my muscles became cramped and stiff from sitting behind a computer at work 8 hours a day. But despite all that, it seemed like I just couldn't find the motivation to start working out again.
Eventually a nerve in my arm somehow got pinched and inflamed (nobody can tell me exactly how that happened). That, together with some other lingering injuries made me want to take better care of myself. I wanted to become strong and fit again, not weak and hurt.
Since my previous way of thinking about fitness was clearly not working, I decided to just forget about all my fitness goals and how I thought I "should" work out and go back to basics. I started doing FB reach in the middle of February. I just got up and did my scheduled workout first thing in the morning, before the rest of my day could drain my energy and/or motivation. I had to modify for my arm but it felt great to be moving again! My morning workouts gave me energy and made me feel accomplished before breakfast! I was even sore after some of the Pilates workouts. I was gaining back flexibility and core strength.
After three weeks of Reach I wanted to do more. I didn't feel like I had to but I WANTED to. I still have to be careful with my arm. I can't lift weights or do exercises that put weight on my shoulder. So I started FB Booty last week. I have to be a little creative to modify whenever necessary but I can make it work for me. And most importantly, I'm looking forward to the workouts again! I don't care anymore if I can't keep up with the cardio or that I can't lift any weights. I'm proud of myself that I'm showing up and doing the best I can. And that I'm giving my body all the time it needs to heal.
It feels like something has clicked in my brain. I've known all these things for so long but now I finally feel like I understand. I used to have this "all or nothing" mentality that I also see a lot in this forum. The feeling that if I couldn't work out the right way I shouldn't workout at all. And this has led to me pushing myself even if my body was screaming at me that I should stop. Harming myself as a result. And then stopping completely because I couldn't go on.
But now if feels like I'm working out in a way that I can sustain for more than a couple weeks. So I'm eager to continue this way and slowly work my way towards a healthier life where I have lots of energy again!
So if you find yourself dreading your workouts and skipping them on a frequent basis, try going back to basics. Forget about your ambitious fitness goals for a while and take it easy on yourself. You may not notice how hard you are being on yourself until you take the pressure off.
Lastly, I also want to mention that Kelli's been a huge inspiration for me! She's so incredibly brave in handling her illness and sharing her progress with all of us. Just watching her gives me courage!