We all know that exercise helps us manage our weight, prevent disease, strengthen our muscles and bones, improve our mood and enables us to live a longer and more enjoyable life… so why do such a huge percentage of us HATE it???

Feeling unmotivated and uninspired when it comes to your fitness is a common experience, it happens to the best of us. 

It’s easy to ride the wave of self-loathing when you attach these feelings to your sense of self-worth… telling yourself that YOU are the problem when in actual fact this attitude often comes down to just a few common issues that can sabotage your goals. 

Addressing these 5 things can ensure that exercise is something you look forward to! Not something you dread…

1. You don’t like the TYPE of exercise you’re doing

It’s simple. You’re not going to be able to sustain something you hate doing. There is no amount of motivation that will overcome that, you will always find an excuse. So instead of dragging yourself out of bed and hitting the gym, only to hate every second of it… why not try something else?

Instead of an hour on the treadmill why not join a sporting team?

Instead of lifting weights why not try a boxing class?

Instead of a high-intensity workout why not try hiking or a long bike ride with a mate?

Working out shouldn’t feel like work. It should feel like play. There are so many ways to reach your fitness goals, so find what works for you!

2. You’re waiting for everything to be perfect before you begin

“I’m waiting until Summer comes because it will be lighter outside in the mornings.”

“I’m waiting until I’ve got less on at work to really get into it.”

“I’m waiting until I lose a little bit more weight to start running again.”

Stop waiting for perfection because it doesn’t exist. If you wait for perfection, you will never achieve anything. 

Health and fitness is all about starting with good intentions and aiming for progress and consistency, not perfection. It’s not going to be smooth sailing all the time and that’s the beauty of it. Just START. 

3. You're exercising for the wrong reasons

If you’re one of those people who thinks a workout isn’t worth it unless you’re dripping in sweat and can barely move or breathe afterwards, listen up. 

You don’t have to be in pain to see results. You don’t have to suffer for it to be ‘worth it’.

In fact, thrashing your body every single session will only ever lead to injury, burn-out, immobility, poor recovery and so on. This kind of mindset makes exercising a chore whether you like it or not, so it’s not surprising that you’re not motivated to do it. 

It’s OK to want to push yourself to be better but just make sure you’re exercising because you understand it’s important for your physical, mental and emotional health… not because you want the world to know how hard you pushed. 

4. You aren’t prioritising exercise

If you want to exercise more consistently but you’re just sitting at your desk at work hoping to finish in time to get to the gym, it’s never going to happen. An hour isn’t just magically going to show up on your calendar 3-4 times a week. 

There are so many things competing for our time; kids, work, errands and don’t even mention a social life… but if you want to start exercising more, you have to be intentional about it. This means scheduling it in and prioritising it. 

Prioritising something will always mean the sacrifice of something else and that’s OK!

5. You want it to be easy despite knowing it’s going to be hard

Expecting exercise (or even hoping) that it’s going to be easy, is a one way road to hating it and never wanting to do it. Why? 

Because exercise, especially in the beginning, SUCKS. 

Even when you reach a moderate to high level of fitness, there are still sessions that hurt. It’s important to be realistic about the experience and understand that over time it will get easier but that it’s not going to be that way from the start.

Start slow and build progressively over time. This is how to ensure you enjoy what you’re doing and that you can sustain it over the long term.

So, do any of these sound like you? 

Exercise isn’t always going to be fun but if you can address these 5 things you will find that over time, your motivation and enjoyment will increase and you’ll actually WANT to move your body more and more!