How to keep your fitness motivation throughout January and beyond

Posted January 14th, 2019

Be honest with yourself. How many times have you started the year by making a list of promises to yourself? Promises that you’d drop a dress size, lose weight or gain more lean, toned muscle mass. Promises that you’d stop turning to food for comfort and making poor lifestyle choices. Promises that you’d push yourself beyond your limits and find new reserves of strength and fitness that you never thought possible. Yet, every year you find yourself back at square one.

Frustrating isn’t it?

Don’t worry, you’re not alone! The trouble that so many of us have is that while we may experience a surge of motivation after the festive gluttony of Christmas to get ourselves into shape for life, that motivation can be hard to maintain throughout the year. As a result, many of us fall off the wagon by the time April rolls around. Don’t worry, if you feel your motivation flagging, read our top tips.

Tips on keeping your fitness motivation

  1. Remember, your car can’t run on an empty tank… And neither can you!

You may be tempted to get quick results by dropping your calories down to an obscenely low daily intake or adopting one of the many fad diets that do the rounds over the New Year. This is never advisable. Whatever quick results you get will be offset completely when you lapse back into your old ways. Your car can’t run on an empty tank, and neither can you!

It’s so much harder to stay motivated (or even functional) when your body is quite literally starving. Instead, think more about what you’re eating rather than how much. Make sure that you get plenty of fibre and healthy fats to keep yourself satisfied and keep cravings at bay. If you want tips on how to eat healthy to support your fitness programme in the gym, speak to a member of the fitness team. Need more in-depth advice and support? Speak to Vee O’Brien our on-site nutritionist and transformational coach.

  1. Compare yourself to yourself and nobody else

One of the easiest ways to lose track of your motivation is to compare yourself to other people. Don’t compare yourself to friends, family or colleagues and certainly don’t compare yourself to wealthy celebrities who have armies of dieticians, chefs and trainers at their beck and call.

Instead focus only on yourself. Track your progress by weighing and measuring yourself. When you see that it’s working, you’re far more likely to stay motivated.

  1. Work your fitness into your routine

It’s really hard to stay motivated when your commitment to your fitness, jars with your routine. The better you’re able to incorporate your visits to the gym, classes or a simple morning jog into your day-to-day life, the more likely you’ll be to stay on the wagon. We have a full class timetable with over 100 classes a week available to members. You’re sure to find a class that works for you and the gym is open from 6am – 10:30 (Mon – Thurs), 6am – 9pm (Friday) and 8am – 7pm at weekends.

  1. Find a workout partner

If you can get your partner, your family, a friend or a colleague in on the act, so much the better! Having someone accompany you on your journey can make you more accountable and keep you motivated.

  1. Get a personalised programme

Having an exercise programme that is aligned to your goals will give you the motivation to follow it to ensure you get results. Why not try out “Your” fitness programme which is a brand new programme for new members at The Thames Club. It is a truly bespoke fitness journey designed with you in mind. Read more here.

  1. Find A Personal Trainer 

Are you someone who finds it difficult to stick to a training plan? Perhaps the best thing you can do to keep motivated is to find a Personal Trainer. They will help to keep you on the straight and narrow, motivate you when you’re flagging and help you to recognise and celebrate your achievements when all you can see is how far you have to go. If you’re looking to achieve maximum results and want to achieve them quickly, then a Thames Club Personal Trainer could be for you.

We can’t wait to see what you accomplish this year!