There’s nothing worse than getting home, pouring a glass of vino after a long, hard day then remembering you “forgot” to go to the gym on your my way home. Ha! Happens to the best of us. But what do you do in those times when you have actually promised yourself you’ll make it to the gym in the morning before work only to find when that time comes, it’s just NOT going to happen? Bulk Nutrients fitness expert and PT Ella Martyn shares her tips on how to motivate yourself to work out when you CBF before sharing quick fat burning circuit you can do at home:
Think about your WHY
Motivation comes from within and having a strong WHY is the key to finding your motivation. Why did you start your fitness journey and why is achieving those goals important to you? You know you will feel so much better if you do hit the gym and you will get to skip that self wallowing feeling the next morning when you have #regrets of not getting it done.
Get walking
Incidental activity, like walking, accounts for a large portion of your total daily energy expenditure, even more so than a gym workout. Be consistent with this on a daily basis and track your steps using a step tracker. Take the stairs instead of the lift or go for a walk on your lunch break to get your body moving, so if you don’t feel like sweating out a HIT session or tackling those weights you don’t feel as guilty.
Mobility
We spend hours in the gym ‘smashing’ ourselves with brutal workouts and sometimes forget to take it easy. Your lack of motivation could come from your body being too overworked and it may be a sign that you actually need a rest day. If this is the case then listen to your body, take a rest day and instead focus on mobility. Use a foam roller or other ‘tools’ to do some soft tissue work on the body to free up joints, relax the muscles and get the body moving better for your next session.
Sprints
Go outside, find a street (with a hill or stairs) and do short bursts of HIIT. HIIT is great because you can do it basically anywhere and it is a quick and effective workout. Start with a jog, into high knees, heel flicks then walking lunges to get warmed up. Then set up a marker for around 100m or find a car/lamp post. Your first three sets should be your warm ups, building in intensity, so 50% capacity, 70% capacity 90% capacity. Your first working set is set four at 100% max effort. Slowly walk back to the start as your recovery and go again. Aim for 10 sets, including your warm ups. This should all up take about 15-20 minutes and your workout is done for the day.
Phone a friend
Working out is always way more fun with a buddy, so call a friend to join you. You can hit up a class together or join each other on your own programs. This way you have someone to kick you into to gear and someone relying on you which makes it harder to cancel, because let’s be real everyone hates a flaky friend.
Get dressed and get out
Just getting dressed for the gym, getting in the car and taking that first step through the door can be enough to get you fired up. You may not feel like it now but you’ll feel a million times better once it’s done. Get in the gym have a good warm up, listen to your favourite music and get ready to work. It only takes 60 minutes out of your day to make you feel good. You’ve got this girl!
At-home workouts
If work has drained you of all that you have (we all have those days) and getting out of the house and to the gym really does seem just like too much of an effort, an at home workout is a great option. Whether you have equipment or not you can put together an easy circuit that’s quick, efficient and ticks all the boxes. Get creative with the use of resistance bands or anything else you have at home like a skipping rope or some free weights.
Try this ‘no equipment, no problem’ home workout:
5 rounds
20 x air squats- fast pace
20 x mountain climbers
20 x alternating lunges
20 x push ups- modified to knees
20 x crunches
90s rest
