Are You Struggling To Find Motivation To Workout During Lockdown?

May 16

If you’re losing motivation to workout at home due to (yet another round of) lockdown/MCO3, you are not alone. It’s normal to feel demotivated to workout and possibly, frustrated if going to the gym is a big part of your daily life.

That being said, here are a few tips that I’d use to hype myself up to workout when I don’t feel like it. It’s also to keep myself accountable for my health and fitness goals. Just sharing this as I hope to be able to help some of you stay on track with your personal goals;

1. Review your goals and have a plan.

As simple as just reminding yourself and writing down what you’d like to accomplish by the year-end (long-term) and after lockdown (short-term) can provide a sense of clarity and inspire you to focus on taking the right actions.

For example, if your goal is weight loss, say to lose 5kgs by year-end (long-term goal), your short-term goal can be to commit to a meal plan that’d put you on a caloric deficit and ensure that you’re getting 7-8 hours of sleep daily.

2. Setting the right expectations.

When you’re in a lockdown and have limited gym equipment to work with, don’t expect to gain a massive amount of strength and size or maintain your previous lifting numbers at the gym (for those who are tracking). The main point is to maintain your progress prior to lockdown as best as you can using what you can.

3. Block out a specific time of the day to workout.

Make the effort and prioritize some time to workout. If your schedule allows, try working out first thing in the morning before attending to your work desk. Even if it’s just a quick 20-minute bodyweight circuit, it is good enough to stimulate those feel-good chemicals (dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins) in your body which would then help elevate your mood and productivity.

4. Keep your workouts short and simple.

If you’re used to working out at the gym for 2 straight hours, 8 exercises, and 24 sets in total and you’re not looking forward to doing the same at home, try cutting down overall duration while prioritizing exercises that are effective and conducive to your goals and progress. An example would be doing a 60-minutes full-body routine every other day, with only 5 exercises each workout session;

Session 1 - Push ups, Lunges, Banded Rows, Planks & Tricep Pushdowns.

Session 2 - Banded Chest Press, Goblet Squats, Ab Crunches, Bicep Curls & Banded Lateral Raise.

Session 3 - Dumbbell Shoulder Press, TRX Rows, Walking Lunges, Split Squat & Side Planks.

5. Make space at home and invest in basic gym equipment.

The former may sound troublesome, having to move around furniture before and after a workout, but it does help with being disciplined and being committed to your goals as you would appreciate the time and quality of your workout. Speaking of the quality of your workout, one way to increase your “drive” or “mood” to workout is to invest in some gym equipment or what my meat-head friends would call it, toys. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a set of adjustable dumbbells, bands, or just a piece of yoga mat, as long as the equipment can help you to stay committed to your goals and enables you to have a productive workout. Especially if you’re calculative like me, you will find time to maximize the gym equipment to get your money’s worth.

6. Hire a coach.

Having to coach and being coached has taught me discipline and accountability. Not to mention, having a coach will also help you realize what you need to do in order for you to keep progressing during times like these.

Hopefully, you’ve found this article useful to you to help you stay on track with your workouts and goals during this lockdown. Take care and be safe.