How to Stick to Your Fitness Goals When You Lose Motivation

Breaking fitness goals is almost as common as making them. Meaning, it can be hard to stay on track. Maybe you committed to three gym days per week, but then you don’t follow through. Or you told yourself you’d run every Saturday morning, and then…don’t. We’ve all been there.

There are many reasons we struggle to meet exercise goals, including dwindling motivation, life getting in the way, and an unrealistic objective from the start. How can we avoid these pitfalls? I interviewed sports psychologists for advice on how to crush your fitness goals once and for all. By the way, if you’ve already fallen off the wagon, you haven’t failed; these tips will still help you get back on track.

1. Lower the Bar

It can feel invigorating to set big goals, like working out six days a week or training for a marathon, but this shoot-for-the-moon approach frequently backfires. That’s because we get caught up in doing things perfectly, and when the bar is set super high, there’s no buffer to adjust when life gets in the way (as it inevitably will).

The solution? Set smaller goals so there’s built-in space for when things don’t go according to plan, says Erin Haugen, a sports and performance psychologist based in North Dakota. For example, if you scale your goal back from hitting the gym six days a week to just three, you have more wiggle room to still meet that target when work runs late on Tuesday. By dialing back your ambitions, you increase your chances of success, which grows your confidence and builds positive momentum, says Haugen. And that’s the mojo you need to eventually reach those loftier goals.

2. Celebrate the Small Wins

When you’re not yet where you want to be with your fitness ambitions, it’s easy to fixate on the gaps. But a better strategy is to celebrate what you are doing. “That’s going to create more momentum,” Haugen says.

Paul McCarthy, a psychologist in Glasgow, Scotland, specializing in sports and performance, suggests tracking the little wins that are within your control, such as how much effort you put into a given workout, or how well you follow through with your exercise plan for the week. This approach, he explains, builds competence and teaches you that your behaviors drive long-term results.

One way to visualize these successes is to put a coin in a jar whenever you complete a workout, McCarthy says. When you have X amount of coins, treat yourself to a reward, like a night at the movies or new gym gear, he suggests. For additional motivation, Haugen suggests sharing your workout wins with others so they can help hype up your progress.

3. Create a Plan B

No matter how well you plan your workout schedule, life is going to throw curveballs that thwart it. Maybe your boss schedules a late meeting. Or the babysitter bails last minute. You can’t control these roadblocks, but you can have a backup plan.

This could look like taking a 20-minute walk at lunch in lieu of your morning gym session, or doing a quick bodyweight workout at home instead of spin class. Committing to these fallbacks (and drafting them up in advance) allows you to keep your habit of exercising even when the specific activity has to change, McCarthy explains.

4. Make Things Easy

This isn’t about being lazy. Instead, it’s about lowering the activation energy it takes to exercise so you’re more likely to follow through.

“For a lot of people, there’s a lot of decision-making that goes on around their training about the what, where, when, and why,” McCarthy explains. Reduce that cognitive load by creating structure and strategy around your fitness goals, he says. For example, you might decide to ride your bike for 30 minutes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning. Having structure and strategy helps with consistency and habit formation, McCarthy says.

Beyond that, find small ways to make exercise an easier endeavor. The classic example is laying out your workout clothes the night before so it’s simpler to make it to your morning gym session, says Anne Friedlander, an adjunct professor of human biology at Stanford University. You could also join a fitness studio that you already pass on your drive from work, she adds. Or, if you’re an at-home exerciser like Friedlander, place your yoga mat or free weights in a visible, easy-to-access spot so it takes minimal effort to start a workout.

5. Fine-Tune Your Mindset

When exercise feels like a slog, you’re less inclined to do it. Two ways to combat this are picking a form of movement you genuinely love and working out with friends, Friedlander says. A third hack is adjusting your mindset, she adds. Instead of saying “I have to exercise,” try “I get to take this break and move,” says Friedlander. This will help you develop a more positive attitude about working out.

In a similar vein, McCarthy suggests thinking about your fitness goals as part of your identity. For example, telling yourself phrases like: “I’m the kind of person who trains even when sessions are challenging,” or “I’m somebody who swims three times a week,” can reinforce the behaviors that bring you closer to your goals, he says.

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