10 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Work Out

Let me let you in on a little secret: I used to hate working out. I mean genuinely despised it and avoided it at all costs. It didn’t matter if it was gym class at school or after school sports, I always found an excuse to avoid working out. I didn’t see what was so special about it and why people raved about working out. To me, it just meant getting sweaty and embarrassing myself. You read that right, I was embarrassed to work out because I thought people would make fun of me.

I’ve never liked running so I’ll admit I’m not the greatest at it. I was also (still am) terrified of getting hit in the face by a ball so I would run away from them. I also grew up with very athletic family members so it was even more embarrassing that I was the “nerd” and they were the cool athletes. Point is, I was so afraid to work out I avoided it altogether. However, growing up with a family full of athletic people, I felt like I needed to keep up with them. Plus, not to mention I developed an eating disorder and would exercise in order to keep all calories off. 

Sure, my relationship with exercise was incredibly unhealthy, but luckily it has all changed now. The point of this story is to tell you that if you see me on Instagram posting workout selfies, I haven’t always been this way. I don’t want you to think I was born with some amazing willpower to work out every morning and that it didn’t take any effort, because it did. So now I’m sharing ways to motivate yourself to work out.

10 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Work Out

Find what you love – First of all, you need to find a workout program you’ll enjoy. While I didn’t like sports in high school, I learned I really loved Pilates. Fast-forward to today and I love Barre so much my body craves it. Side note, if you’d like to do barre at home, I just got this home-friendly barre! If you’re not sure what you like, try a few different programs and trainers or fitness studios. Maybe you’ll learn you love running or HIIT, maybe you’ll love yoga or Pilates, but you won’t know until you try! So try out a few things until you find a workout program you seem to enjoy enough that will make motivating yourself to work out easier.

Create an awesome playlist – If you like listening to music, create a playlist that makes you want to move your entire body. It will be so much easier to work out if your body is ready to move and you feel energized. 

Find an accountability buddy – One of the best ways to motivate yourself to work out is to find someone who will be there for you every step of the way. Find an accountability buddy that will check in with you daily and push you to work out. You could even work out together via Zoom or in person if you live nearby! This is one of the main reasons I created my fitness Instagram for. I wanted to connect with others to find the accountability I needed. 

Think about your why – Why do you want to work out? Do you want to feel stronger? Are you doing it so you can keep up with your kids? Are you doing it to live a longer, healthier life? Find your why and don’t lose sight of it. Remind yourself every morning or evening (whenever you work out) why you’re working out.

Treat yourself to cute workout clothes – Okay I know this may sound silly but trust me, if you wear cute workout clothes you’ll be more likely to work out. There’s just something about a cute work out outfit that does the trick – give it a shot!

Take “before” pictures – Proceed with caution on this one. I admit I no longer take “before” and “after” pictures. Unfortunately, it was leading to an unhealthy obsession of going back to my “fittest” body. However, if you feel confident that you won’t struggle comparing yourself, taking “before” pictures is so motivating. It really allows you to see the progress you’ve made with your workouts. And I don’t mean just physical progress. When I first took “after” pictures, I noticed how much more confident I looked based on my posture and smile. It was great to keep me going, that’s for sure!

Set your workout clothes the night before – If I set my workout clothes the night before, I won’t have an excuse in the morning not to get up and go after my workout. It’s a great way to motivate yourself to work out because it’ll be the first thing you see when you wake up.

Set yourself reminders – Just like you set an alarm to wake up, set an alarm or reminder to work out. I suggest adding a motivational quote with it so it adds for even more encouragement to get your exercise in.

Create a workout space – If you’re working out from home, create a dedicated space to work out. The less distractions you have, the more you’re likely to work out. Plus, if you have an entire area dedicated to working out, you won’t want to leave it unused, right?

Plan ahead – Last but definitely not least, plan your workout week ahead of time. It’ll take out all the daily guesswork and you can’t make any excuses because the workout will be waiting for you. You can either make your own schedule (if you don’t work out frequently, I recommend you don’t go this route yet) or join a program. There’s lots of workout apps that you can join to work out from home, or you can join a gym or fitness studio and follow their schedule. Either way, definitely plan your workouts ahead of time for success!

Well there you have it! 10 ways to motivate yourself to work out. I hope you found these helpful and simple enough to start implementing now. If you’re looking for accountability, my DMs are always open so feel free to reach out!