How to Find Motivation to Workout

This post is going to be a little bit different today. I’m going to be talking to you about finding motivation to get on the rowing machine. Just to be clear, this video is NOT for the person who is struggling to take a rest day. This is for you if (for example) you have made a commitment to get on the rowing machine three days a week, and you’re just really struggling to find that extra motivation to sit down and do it. I know it’s so tough sometimes. This post is about helping you get that extra bit of motivation. I’ll be going over a couple of things that you can do that to help you get on the rowing machine when you know you should.

Community

Let’s dive right into it! The first two points do go together and can happen simultaneously. The first one is that you want to find a community. This is SO important. It’s hard to row in your own bubble and muster it up to get on the machine every day. It’s very, very hard to be in your own little world and do that week after week. One great thing that you can do to help give yourself that little bit of motivation is to join a community.

This community can be in-person or online. What’s great about today is that we have both options. There might be a rowing gym or a gym that has some rowing machines if you like working out with people around. If you have your own rowing machine at home, finding an online community can be a great resource because now you’re able to see other people row and see what they’re doing. You can see what they are working on and what they’re able to do. You shouldn’t be comparing yourself by any means, but I think seeing the community come together for challenges is inspiring. That can help give you a little motivation if you’re seeing others doing it, and it’s a little bit easier for you to get on the machine as well.

Accountability

The second one is getting some accountability. That can come with joining a community, depending on what that looks like. If you decide to join a challenge in the community, that can give you some accountability.

You can also get accountability through working with a coach. If you need a little bit more one on one accountability, finding a coach that you trust and that you enjoy working with could be an answer. It could be someone that you’ve seen on Instagram or Facebook, and you decide you want to start working with them. That can be helpful to have someone hold you accountable to get on that machine.

Your Why

Next thing I want to talk about is taking the time to remember why you’re doing this in the first place. This is a big one, and I want you to think and dig deep on this one. It’s easy to say, “oh, you know, I want to row because I want to use lose X number of pounds in X number of months”, et cetera, et cetera. I want you to know that’s valid, however I still want you to dig deeper.

Why do you want to lose that weight? Do you want to, if you have kids, play with your kids more or be more active for them? Do you have a goal to do a different type of athletic event? Do you want to feel better? Do you want to sleep better? Finding those deeper whys are really going to help you give yourself that little bit of extra motivation to get on that machine.

There are lots of ways you can help remind yourself. You can use sticky notes or post-it notes and put them wherever they will remind you the best. That could be your mirror or your desk if you work from home. You could use a reminder on your phone. If you know you’re going to work out at 3:00 PM on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, then that reminder could pop up on your phone 15 minutes before you’re going to work out. Find something that works for you, where you can remind self why you’re doing this. That’s going to help you, especially on the days that you’re struggling.

Easy Access

Now it’s time to talk about giving yourself easy access to your machine. If your machine is somewhere where it’s hard/uncomfortable to get to, it can become a hassle. Some examples are going down into the cold basement or driving 20 minutes away to a gym. See if you can make it easier on yourself.

Is there a gym that’s closer? Can you bring your machine up from the cold basement and put it in a spare bedroom or the corner of the living room? You may have to take it apart and store it into pieces depending on the machine that you have, but that might help you get onto it a little bit quicker because it’s easier to access.

That’s a very tangible thing that you can do right away to help get that boost of motivation. Then it doesn’t feel like such a huge hassle to get somewhere or get to the cold basement, because nobody wants to do that! It’s not fun. So, make it easier on yourself with easier access to your machine.

Warm Up First

The last thing I want to encourage you to do is try the warmup first. If you know that you have a longer workout planned, it’s hard to get it started because you can think “oh man, you know, I have to do all of these meters or all this time, and I’m not feeling it right now”. But you KNOW that when you start, you typically feel better about the workout.

Try the warmup first. Commit to putting on your clothes, doing the warmup that’s 5 -10 minutes, and then see if you’re able to keep going. Sometimes you might not be. You might try the warmup and think “I’m exhausted today and I think I need an extra rest day”.  Then go ahead and take it! That’s perfectly okay.

What can also happen is you sit on a machine, try the warmup, and now that your blood’s flowing it’s a little bit easier to try the first piece and see how it goes. Or you may be ready ready to sit down and crank out what you can.

Trying the warmup first, getting going, getting moving, getting started with a drill can help you get started on your workout if the that’s what you’ve committed to do that day.

Recap

I’ve gone over a lot of tips here. To recap the different things that we went over:

• Find a community – It’s helpful to have other people to row with whether it’s in person or online through a community or a coach.
• Find some accountability – Getting that will certainly help give you some more motivation to get on that machine.
• Remembering your why – Remind yourself why you’re doing this and why you want to work out.
• Easy access to your machine – Whatever that may look like: a closer gym, machine out of the basement, anything like that.
• Try the warmup first – Get your clothes on and try the warmup. Especially if you’re at home and give that a shot. If you still feel like junk after the warmup, then maybe need an extra rest day and that’s okay.

Thank you for sticking to the end of this post, learning all about how to find that little bit of extra motivation. If you are looking for a community, I do host a free Facebook group called Indoor Rowing for Women. Feel free to check it out!