28 Jul, 2022
Had a break from fitness but struggling to find the motivation to exercise again? Or, maybe you’re just ready to hit refresh on your fitness regimen after falling out of love with exercise?
In this blog, we’re taking you through the 5 steps to get back into exercise again. Word of warning though, this is not a quick fix solution. This is about helping you find the motivation to change your relationship with fitness and health – so buckle up and get ready for a mindset reset!
A reason many of us have a negative attitude towards exercise is because we view it, or have used it, as a tool to look more physically attractive. Or, that it has to be a grueling activity to be the ‘fitspo’ goals of all our peers. Although it’s totally fine to have these as goals, it shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all when it comes to exercise. This is especially the case if you’ve been struggling to get back into exercise, as these goals can put a lot of unnecessary pressure on you. Instead, try changing your mindset on exercise as being a tool to feel happy and healthy. It’s a way to do something good for your body that will help you live a longer, more fulfilling life – a practice of self-love that you are deserving of!
To help switch to this mindset, you have to view exercise as a long-term habit. Something you can do in a sustainable way that allows you to consistently practice it week on week, year on year. To help you stay motivated to do this, remind yourself of the following health benefits of exercise when practiced consistently:
It’s time to view exercise as an investment into your health!
When it comes to finding motivation to exercise, sometimes you’re just missing personalisation in your approach! A nutrigenomics DNA test is the type of personalisation we could all benefit from, where it could be the key to understanding your body and helping you find your mojo when it comes to exercise. Here, studies suggest that making health choices that are informed by your DNA may make you more motivated to do so.1 For example, motivated to train for a 5km run when you know your DNA makes you suited to endurance exercise. With the myDNA Personalised Wellness Test, unlock 30+ actionable insights from a variety of health and wellness categories. For fitness, learn about your Power vs Endurance Profile, Stamina, Recovery and Injury Prevention. These DNA insights can be used to understand the training approach you should be applying to your workouts, and how best to recover and avoid injury – win!
Lastly, to further ensure your fitness routine is personal, choose exercise you know you’ll enjoy and love doing. If intense HIIT workouts aren’t your thing, try Pilates, walking, yoga, a social sport or a mix of everything – the options are endless. Get out there and work out what you enjoy, and then keep doing it. As you get fitter and better at doing the exercise you enjoy, you’ll naturally want to challenge yourself and try new workouts or sports.
To keep yourself accountable and keep that new found motivation up, it’s time to set a goal! To do this, get a trusty pen and paper out, and work out what you really want to achieve from incorporating more exercise into your routine. Try to choose goals that are about building towards something, like lifting a certain weight or being able to run a certain distance, rather than goals where you’re running away from something, like your weight. This is because physical appearance and weight loss can be hard to control, especially at the beginning of a new health journey. Oftentimes, we may actually gain weight! Where the new muscle we’ve grown may actually cause the scales to increase, despite fat loss! On the other hand, choosing a goal that you can build towards is often more easy to control and measure, which makes these goals feel more rewarding and motivating as you see your progress. Plus, as a side effect of choosing these goals, you may notice positive changes in your appearance anyway!
Once you get an idea of what goals you want to achieve, get SMART about them! That is, make sure they’re Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound. To do this, read our article on SMART goals.
To continue feeling good and getting the most out of your new fitness routine, consider making other small, achievable changes to your lifestyle. For example, gradually including more veggies on your plate at mealtimes, or going to bed 15 minutes earlier each week. Don’t overhaul your lifestyle all at once as this may be too much to stick to. Small changes made at your own pace will help you maintain your new-found healthy habits, which will lead to a healthier lifestyle you can sustain in the long-run.
As you make more and more healthy changes to your lifestyle, you’ll notice your mood and energy levels improving. This will naturally flow into your fitness routine, where you may notice positive changes in your attitude towards exercise and better performance results – helping you to enjoy fitness again!
Consistency equals success! On the day’s you can’t workout or you over indulge, don’t be hard on yourself. One day here and there will not ruin your progress, so don’t give up. Just get back into your routine the next day!
Remember, health and wellness is a journey, where everyone’s journey is unique! A myDNA Personalised Wellness Test can help you find the approach to fitness and exercise that works for you. Order today to start harnessing the power of your DNA.
myDNA, health and wellness your way.
1. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12687-017-0310-z