Ploughing through a workout which you hate is not going to lead you to success. Motivation and willpower will never be enough to get you through long term. 

We are also busier than ever. Between family, work and life admin there seems like there isn’t much time for anything else. 

Expecting perfection and thinking you can make 100% of the workouts you plan to do is unrealistic. It’s unsustainable for the long run and often ends up with us feeling guilty and wanting to quit. 

If you can resonate with one or all of the above please don’t despair. There are so many things you can do to ensure you reach your fitness & health goals whilst also enjoying the process! 

The first thing you want to tackle is enjoyment. I’m not going to promise that you will love every single squat, but you do want to aim for enjoying the overall workout experience. Try and find something that makes you feel good whether this is dancing, running, long walks, a fun gym class or simply working out at home. 

Just because you haven’t found the workout you love yet doesn’t mean there isn’t something out there for you. You just need to keep looking. 

The next issue is usually time. We are always time poor. However the first thing to realise is that you don’t need to spend 60 minutes 5 days a week in the gym to get results, fortunately there are plenty of other things you can do to achieve them. Working out from home can be a good option if you have a busy family life as this cuts out the travel time. 

Ensure you timeblock your diary when you’d like to do a workout and treat it like any other appointment. This is not time to squeeze in extra work, it’s a time to recharge and look after your body.  

As long as you have a good strategy and structure to your workouts you should be able to start seeing results in as little as 3 x 30mins sessions per week. 

We want to play the long game. Yes, sometimes there will be a place where we can push a little harder and really go for it. However, there are often times in our life when the “go hard or go home” approach is not going to serve us. 

You want to make sure that you can keep it up for the long term so you get the benefits of exercise long term. Try mixing up your routine with strength training, yoga/stretch and walking. 

Finally we are probably our own worst critics. We expect perfection of ourselves, one missed workout or bad day leads to a downward spiral or stopping completely. 

Practice self love and compassion for yourself. If it doesn’t happen one day don’t worry about it. Instead focus on how you can get the next workout in. Life will get in the way sometimes with work, kids and other things. If you can move forwards with positivity and a smile you will be much more likely to stick to it long term.