Feeling thrown off by all these long weekends and school holidays and social events? Never fear, we have some tricks to motivate you to get back into the gym! You want to keep to your training schedule. You have the best intentions at the start of every week – but somehow that long term consistency is eluding you. How do we kick start our motivation, and when it starts to fade, hold onto it? Here’s some proven tips and tricks for you to try… Reward yourself If you want to step up your motivation to train consistently, consider dangling a very big carrot in front of yourself – a beautiful handbag, a fancy dinner out, a spa treatment, a nice watch… pick something you’ve wanted for a while. Then set a training schedule (2-4 sessions a week) and at the end of each week if you’ve completed the sessions, put aside some cash for your reward. You can scale this kind of reward up or down – try putting 1 or 2 dollars in a jar after each session and using it to buy yourself lunch after a few weeks, or go all out and book a holiday and use that date as motivation for achieving your fitness goals. Join forces with a friend You’ve heard it time and time again – because it’s true! If you team up with a partner, friend or colleague to hit the gym, you are much more likely to stick to it. You can keep each other accountable, remind each other of why you’re there, and complain about your sore muscles together over a coffee. To make this even more effective, check in with your workout buddy at least once a week to see how they’re doing – lift them up when they’re not feeling it and they’ll do that for you too. Commit to a challenge Committing to a set period of training with specific goals to achieve can help kick start your efforts and get you in the routine of working out regularly. This is a great idea for those who want to keep themselves on track but don’t necessarily have a set idea of exactly what they’d like to focus on with their fitness. Chat to one of our Big 5 coaches aboutour upcoming challenges if you’re keen to get motivated! Working through set tasks as part of a group gives you a sense of community and connection, and establishes an instant support network for any positive changes you’d like to make going forward. Plus, competing against others or as part of a team can make exercise feel more like a game or a social activity rather than something you “have to do”. Remember, to stick to training for the long term, you need to enjoy it! The more you enjoy something, the less it’s going to feel like a chore.

MORNING VS EVENING SESSIONS – WE PUT THEM TO THE TEST It’s an age-old debate… should we exercise in the morning or evening? And does it really make a difference to your results? Research has shown some small differences between morning and evening exercise in terms of performance and the effect exercise has on the body – but are these big enough that we need to overhaul our workout routines? Read on to find out… Benefits of the morning sweat session Whether you bound out of bed excited for your morning workout, or you hit the snooze button several times before dragging yourself to the gym, the affect is the same – you’ve already done your workout before most people are even awake! If you’re currently a morning exerciser, you may be familiar with the huge range of reasons why a morning workout is the best. These include: Better energy and productivity throughout the day Feeling better while training (because you have an empty stomach) It can be easier to stick to consistently long term (which is key to results!) Frees up your evenings for other things Plus research shows morning exercise has a positive effect on metabolism and can aid with weight control. And benefits of the evening workout In the other corner, we have our evening exercisers – those who have soldiered through their days juggling all their responsibilities, and still squeeze in time for their workout. Those of you who are regulars at our evening sessions know how hard it can be to show up sometimes after a long day, but it’s always worth it for how good you feel afterwards. Some other great things about evening exercise include: It helps you walk away from and wind down from work Can help you sleep better Your body is fuelled from eating during the day and ready to perform No early morning alarms! Plus research shows some improved performance in the evening – ideal for weightlifting and intense cardio The verdict Don’t get too caught up in whether morning or evening exercise is “better” – the workout you are actually going to do is far superior to one you intended to do! Work with your natural energy highs and lows to determine which might suit you better – those with higher energy levels in the morning would obviously do better in the morning training sessions, whereas night owls may find the evening sessions better suited. Just get it done!