6 Small Ways To Stay Productive In Your Fitness

You know the times: you get home from work late or the alarm squawks at you way too early. You feel tired, sluggish and certainly in no mood to train. Fear not, because thanks to these tips you’ll now be able to conquer the slumps that every single athlete has to battle at some point.

Ultra-marathon runner, Alice Hector reveals the mind tricks she uses to overcome the toughest of motivation meltdowns so you can improve your sports performance and hit new heights no matter how deep your funk.

1. Get to the start line

Do the warm-up, then decide. I never make a call on a session until I’ve done the warm-up. Once that initial bout of oxygen hits your muscles, you normally feel a whole lot better. Starting is often the hardest part, so tell yourself it’s just five minutes, and keep that as your first and only goal to start with.

2. Break down your workout

Tell yourself that you’re going to just do five more minutes or one more set. Promise yourself that after that you can either: A) stop, or B) keep going. When you reach that mini milestone, your brain will register a feeling of achievement and release a small amount of the feel-good chemical dopamine. Once that’s in place, there’s a good chance you may decide on another five minutes… until the end.

3. Be a loudmouth

Not really feeling it? Then take to social media. Once you’ve stated to your friends that you’re going to do something, you’ll feel inclined to do it. It’s simple, but very effective. To keep your homepages cool and hip, you may not wish to post every workout – just the desperate ones (and the brilliant ones).

4. Strike a deal

This can be especially effective during your hard sessions. When you’re struggling to push as hard as you should, then strike this deal: either you work really hard and get the session done in good time, or you add some time or reps. This motivation for getting a session done quicker can provide an immediate performance boost.

5. Make your goal visible

There is a big difference between wanting something and being prepared to go and get it. It’s a great idea to have a few images of your end goal stuck to a wall, or in a book, that you can pull out to help refocus when your mind goes wandering. Staying consistent is the only way.

6. Find your power words

Make positive statements continually. Negative thinking is common; everyone has those inner demons. Become aware of these thoughts early on. Don’t fight with them; simply acknowledge their presence and then substitute positive power words. When you’re thinking ‘I can’t do it’, actually say out loud to yourself ‘I can’, and you’ll find there’s a small switch-around in your mind. It’s so simple, to the point of sounding absurd, but it really can work.

Rack up these small wins and you’ll find it a lot easier to work out even when you don’t want to.

Find motivational advice and more in every issue of TRAIN for HER magazine.