3 SECRETS TO FITNESS MOTIVATION

This has been a challenging time to say the least. With so many things closed and put on hold, how can you stay motivated to workout and live the fitness lifestyle? The easiest thing is to make small changes. Don't tell yourself that you'll never have a cheat day again. That won't work. All you'll end up doing is driving yourself insane only to end up going nuts one day and finishing off a large pizza and a container of ice cream. I've seen it happen! So what are some of the ways we can do this? Here are three ways.

MICRO COMMITMENTS

Start small and work your way up. You don’t need to become a fitness nut overnight. Just make sure you do something that benefits you every day. It could be as simple as walking an extra block with the dog, making sure you hit a 2-litre daily water intake goal or swapping your mid-morning biscuit for a piece of fruit. These simple changes will soon become habits, and they will contribute to long-term health benefits

TEMPTATION BUNDLING

This is where you take something you want to do and pair it with something you should do. Let's say you want to have that cheat meal. You have to earn it! Do a workout earlier in the day. Or go for a bike ride, or maybe hit 10,000 steps. If you don't do that, then you can't have that cheat meal! Think of it as a way of balancing the scales quite literally!

HABIT STACKING

Take a habit you already have and add a healthy habit to it. One thing I did years ago (and I still do this) was I practiced my Wing Chun form (a Chinese martial art form called Sil Lim Tao. Bruce Lee practiced it too) at bedtime right before I brushed my teeth. You could do some squats, jumping jacks, pushups, maybe take a walk, etc. along with something you already do.

So there you go! Three ways to help motivate yourself and get in some extra fitness. One thing to remember is all those little things add up. You don't have to make a big production out of it. Just do stuff whenever you can. I read that Jimi Hendrix used to walk around the house with his guitar constantly strapped to himself. That way he played a little bit here, a little bit there, and so on. He of course became one of the most legendary rock guitarists of all time. Just something to keep in mind!