No matter how much you enjoy exercise or playing sport, a dip in motivation is inevitable. Don’t beat yourself up about it, though.
“First and foremost, try to normalise those feelings,” explains Dr Jamie Barker, reader in Applied Sport and Performance Psychology at Loughborough University and co-author of Tipping the Balance: The Mental Skills Handbook for Athletes.
“Just because you feel tired, overburdened or unmotivated one day, it doesn't mean you're a terrible exerciser all of a sudden.”
Through his work with the Football Association, the England and Wales Cricket Board and Great Britain Rowing, Dr Barker knows that motivational troughs are not exclusive to recreational athletes.
“Recognise that even elite athletes will feel the same things at some point,” he insists.
What matters is that you find intelligent ways to get back on track. Here are six psychological strategies designed to rekindle your motivational fire.
- Read more: 11 tips to stay motivated through winter
Nourish your athletic identity
When your love of training dries up, begin your fightback by affirming your own athletic identity.
Tell people you’re a cyclist, a runner or a weightlifter. Post about your training on social media. Join a club. Meet like-minded friends for training.
All of these actions will shift your view of exercise from an optional pursuit into an integral part of your identity.
Over time, you will then naturally develop the consistent behaviour patterns that match your strengthened athletic identity.
“We know that if people identify themselves as ‘a runner’, that will often have a big impact upon their behaviour,” explains Dr Barker.
“So if I say, ‘I define myself as a cyclist,’ just by my saying that to you, it carries a number of behaviours within that which fit that identity. It means maybe I will look after my kit, what I eat, how I hydrate, how I prepare, how I rest and recover.
"When we define ourselves as ‘a cyclist’ or ‘a runner’, we embody those behaviours. It means: I'm going to regularly exercise, and I am going to repeat and reflect those behaviours.”
The more you believe in your own athletic identity, the more committed you will feel.
Group identities can be powerful, too. “I have a jersey from my cycling club and being part of that group has many psychosocial properties which are very motivational,” says Dr Barker.
“You think: ‘because I bought the jersey, because I’m one of the group, I'm going to get out on the bike today, even though it's chucking it down outside, because I feel almost like I’ve entered a contract with this group’. Never underestimate the power of groups on motivation.”
Focus on process, not outcome
When you’re feeling energised, stress-free and happy, outcome goals – such as running a certain distance or lifting so many kilograms in the gym – can be highly motivating.
But when your energy levels drop or your mood deteriorates, these outcome goals can have the opposite effect, injecting an unwelcome sense of pressure into your exercise regime, which could easily cause you to lose interest in it.
“I'm a cyclist, so I can certainly relate to how we get caught up in data,” says Dr Barker.
“We think: ‘I've got to achieve a certain wattage or heart rate zone’. That is very outcome-focused and what that can often do is increase the expectation or pressure.
“And if we're doing exercise recreationally, sometimes we just don't have the headspace to invest mentally in that level of effort and pressure.”
Most of us exercise for pleasure and health. We are not professional athletes, who are paid to suffer. So why inject pressure into an activity that’s meant to be enjoyable?
The solution is to switch your focus from the outcome to the process. “This means we start to think about the processes that underpin the outcome,” explains Dr Barker.
“If I'm trying to achieve a certain wattage on my bike over an hour, that can be quite hard to accept. So I break it down. Maybe that process starts with being relaxed on the bike. It involves focusing on a consistent pedal stroke.
“It's about breathing. It's about hydration and nutrition. If I break it down into those processes, all of a sudden, the outcome feels a bit more achievable.
“I’ve been working with a county cricket team and it’s fascinating to see the reduction in pressure and the enhanced freedom in performance that we see through this simple switch to process goals.”
Habit stacking
If you’re struggling to find time to train during the busy working week, try anchoring your workouts to an existing habit.
This intelligent tactic is called ‘habit-stacking’. It works by ensuring your exercise is locked into an existing ingrained routine.
An example might be to harness your routine days in the office as an opportunity for exercise, by cycling to work. Or perhaps use your weekly drive to the supermarket as a convenient opportunity to visit the gym on the way.
“For many people, the biggest barrier is time,” admits Dr Barker. “How can you fit exercise in? Maybe you can go for a walk or run when you are on a work call.
“‘Can I train while listening to a podcast?’ It’s about trying to double up. Habit-stacking can be effective, because it reduces the burden and the stress that people have about when they might be able to exercise during the week.”
Build a high-performance environment
Having a dedicated workout environment to go into, which is separate from your work or living environment, is an excellent strategy for ensuring you remain committed to regular exercise.
This environment could be a gym, a park, a garden, a garage or a fitness room at home. What matters is that you actively ‘go’ to this dedicated place to do exercise, in the same way that you ‘go’ to work.
This environment should be free of the stresses and chores that are woven into your domestic or working life.
“My cycle turbo trainer is in the garage, so I try to see that as a separate environment from my house,” says Dr Barker. “I'm creating a different environment in which to go and do my exercise. In elite team sports, creating a ‘performance environment’ is hugely important.
“We place a lot of emphasis on making those environments as encouraging as possible. You want to do your training in a nice environment. It’s about making that environment motivational.”
Knowing what environment works for you is important. For example, many people feel more motivated when exercising in a group.
A study by Oxford University found that rowers had a greater pain threshold when training together than when training individually. “Training with other people can push you on,” adds Dr Barker. “If you lift a 150kg bench press, I might think: ‘okay, I’ll try to do what you’re doing’. Whereas if you train alone, you can become your own barrier or blocker.”
Exercise mindfully
If you increasingly get bored when you exercise, try to zoom into the sensory details of what you are doing. Mindful exercise – embracing the sights, sounds and experience of exercise – is a simple way to reignite the lost pleasure factor essential for regular exercise.
“It is really easy to get caught up in thinking: ‘I need to cycle 150 miles a week’,” says Dr Barker. “And we can forget, that actually, it’s just lovely to get outside.
“I went out with a group, doing 22 miles an hour, and it felt amazing. Why? It was the wind in my face, the sun on my back, and the fact I’m going fast, with friends. I’m not thinking about anything other than the task and the surroundings.”
You can achieve mindful exercise when training inside by focusing on your breathing or the rewarding strain in your muscles. But it is often easier outside.
“We know that when we go for activity in green space, it has a naturally stress-reducing property,” says Dr Barker. “So, as a motivational factor, try to be mindful of what you’re doing when you exercise, and where you are.”
Be flexible
It’s easy to assume that committed exercisers stick ruthlessly to their training regime and bulldoze through any motivational dips along the way. That is rarely the truth.
“Flexibility is very important,” insists Dr Barker. “If, in an ideal world, you'd train five times a week, remember that doesn't have to be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Allowing some flexibility can help you feel more in control.
“Think: ‘what's my working week looking like? When are there some possible windows? And what are my contingencies if I need to change plans?’”
Have flexible plans for different weather forecasts, recovery times and energy levels. And don’t be afraid to change your schedule.
If your legs are aching after yesterday’s run, maybe bring forward the core exercises you had planned for tomorrow, and save your next run for the following day when your legs will be feeling fresher.
“An important point to make is that you don’t want to feel like the exercise is controlling you, which is when you can get into issues around exercise addiction or lose motivation,” adds Dr Barker. “Flexibility means you’re always in control.”
