How can I motivate myself to exercise?

Do you feel like you need a serious kick up the bum to get moving? Maybe your menopause symptoms are making it harder than ever to find that much-needed motivation? Don’t worry, I’m here with a 3 step plan to get you moving so you can feel fitter, stronger and happier in no time at all.

Tip 1: Cut out the noise

We are living in an age of information and it can feel completely overwhelming sometimes being bombarded with what we should/shouldn’t be doing! In particular, as a female personal trainer, I’ve noticed that there has been an explosion of information around fitness for menopause and female strength training, so where do you start?

I would say at the outset you need to be clear about what is important to you - is it the headspace of a brisk walk or run? Or do you want to really get your heart rate up with a super-sweaty HIIT class? Perhaps you want to improve your strength for your future health? This focus will help you prioritise the type of exercise which is important to you and this is crucial. I’m a firm believer that if you know why you’re doing something and there is a clear end goal then you are more likely to stick to it (which is why I talk so much in my online classes about why I’ve included a particular exercise in the programme and its benefits 😉). Once you know what you want to prioritise, set a really clear objective for your week ahead - e.g. I’m going to do a 20 minute brisk walk or a 30 minute online class, then put this in your diary like you would any other appointment. This is where online workouts can really come into their own - you can read more about mine here.

Tip 2: Remember how good exercise makes you feel

I get so many messages saying “I really didn’t fancy my workout this morning but I did it and now I feel AMAZING 🤩”! It’s true, you pretty much always feel better after moving your body, but our brains seem hell-bent on getting us to forget this fact and instead try to come up with reasons why it wouldn’t be a good idea to get moving in the first place! When are hormones are on the rollercoaster that is perimenopause, or low as they are after menopause, motivation can take a real nosedive and it can seem like a rare day when you actually feel like moving your body.

This is again ENTIRELY NORMAL and, even though I am a personal fitness coach so it is essentially my job to be motivated and to motivate you to get moving, I get those thoughts too! However, the more we focus on how brilliant we will feel once we’ve completed our workout, the more we start to build the positive feedback loop in our brains, so that they start to make the association that exercise is something great, not something to dread.

To really consolidate this process, when you’ve done your workout, tell someone how great you feel or write it down in a notebook. This is a really important (and under-used!) step, but it makes a big difference! You can also drop me a message and tell me, as it literally makes my day when I receive these and I am also very good at reminding you of how good you felt last time if you’re flagging, which might just be enough of a nudge to get you going 😉.

Tip 3: Make exercise a non-negotiable

Time for a home truth here - the only person who can really motivate you, is YOU. As a personal trainer, I can offer help, advice and support but I can’t make you move and even if I could, I’m not with you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to make sure you do the work (imagine that?! 🤣). So - you’ve followed the steps above, you’ve seen that workout in your diary and you are thinking “oh but I don’t feel like it today”…. What now? Provided you’re not ill, injured or have something else going on that means you really would be better placed taking the day off, what do you do?

Guess what? You do it anyway! Switch into autopilot - treat it like you would any of the routine, mundane, but essential things in your week…like brushing your teeth. Bear with me, but how motivated do you feel to brush your teeth? Is it something you get excited about? Do you actively look forward to it? I’ll bet that you don’t, but you do it anyway! This is what I do on the days I can’t be bothered to workout or hear that internal dialogue starting up, telling me to have a little Instagram scroll😳. It may sound controversial but you don’t have to feel like it and as I said above, the days when you do feel like it if you’re in perimenopause or menopause may actually be few and far between. Getting started is often the hardest part. It’s never as bad once you’ve got going and you still get all the post-workout endorphins afterwards!

AND IF YOU’RE REALLY STRUGGLING - REMEMBER THIS…..

Five minutes of exercise is better than zero minutes. Lower your expectations…. and I mean, really lower them 😉. Whilst it is important that we challenge ourselves in order to see progress, but when we’re just starting out or battling with a dip in motivation (especially if this is in response to hormonal changes during the menopause) then every moment counts and I would suggest setting yourself a movement target on those days which is almost too easy and you know you can manage.

So - say to yourself, I’m going to do 5 minutes of movement every morning or have a 5 minute walk to the end of the road and back. This is manageable for most of us and you might even fancy/have time for more when your time is up. It’s all about building a habit. Just putting one brick in the wall at a time will still do the job! Under-promise so you can over-deliver. And if you can get going even on the days when your motivation is at rock bottom then you’ll building that mental muscle of resilience as well which will only strengthen over time, so you’ll have less of those days. If you’d like some ideas for bitesize workouts, I have lots of mini workout suggestions over on my Instagram or if you’re an Online Class Monthly Member, remember you have my mini workout series of classes you can tap into!

If you’re feeling motivated to get moving having read this then why not workout with me? I teach two classes online each week, HIIT and Strength, which are tailored to women who are in perimenopause or post-menopause who want to become fitter, stronger and more confident. Suitable for any and all fitness levels, we work together to tailor these classes to your specific needs. Each class is only 30 minutes long and if you can’t make the live sessions, no problem! Everyone gets the recording to catch up (and repeat) over the following 7 days. Sound good? If you’d like to find out more then head here and feel free to drop me a note with any questions - it’s what I’m here for! 😊