It’s been a few months into the year and you’re halfway through your fitness goal but you don’t seem to be making much progress these days. It’s easy to get frustrated and just give up on going to the gym or eating healthily because you’re not seeing results from your hard work.

Don’t give up just yet! Your fitness journey is literally, a journey, full of ups and downs but at the end of the day, it’ll be worth it when you hit that fitness goal. Whether it’s losing 10 kilograms or wanting to bulk up in order to fill out your wedding suit better, don’t let yourself get in the way of achieving your fitness goal.

Here’re a few tips to help motivate you to keep at it!

CHANGE IT UP

Perhaps running on the treadmill is beginning to bore you because of the never changing view or it isn’t challenging enough.

Increase the incline or pace to give yourself a more intense workout. Add 10 second sprints after every 60 seconds of running to get your heart beat racing. If this isn’t enough, go outside! The terrain will be more challenging and the best reason to run outdoors is all that fresh air you’ll enjoy.

BETTER & SUITABLE MUSIC

Tidy up your Spotify list and put together a playlist that gets you pumped at the gym. If you’re not sure on what songs to include in your list, there are plenty of exercise music playlists to explore and follow on Spotify. Choose songs that have between 120 to 140 beats per minute but do adjust according to your own stride length or chosen exercise.

STAYING HYDRATED

Now it sounds a little strange that drinking enough fluids could help motivate you to exercise but hear us out. Hydration is very important especially if you do high intensity exercises in hot weather. Mild dehydration could impact your mood, judgement, and energy levels. Keep a water bottle around you at all times whether it’s at your office desk or at home to ensure that you keep yourself hydrated.

An easy formula to use in order to determine how much water a person should drink is as shown:

0.035 litres of water X weight in kilograms

For example, a 55 kilogram person should drink (0.035×55) = 1.925 litres of water. During hot days or exercise sessions where you’re going harder, do increase the amount of water you drink in order to stay sufficiently hydrated.

DON’T OVERDO IT!

You might get too enthusiatic when testing yourself at the gym by carrying weights that are too heavy. Take a few kilograms of weights off so you can focus on things like technique in order to fully utilise the muscles in your body. With a lighter load, you’ll be able to feel each muscle relax and tense in contrast to not doing your lifting correctly and potentially injuring yourself.

TREAT YOURSELF

Another great form of motivation is to treat yourself and perhaps revamp your workout wardrobe. Go ahead and buy those beautiful leggings with a matching sports bra. Looking good can make you feel good too!

Additionally, there are also plenty of tech-y pieces that you can get to step up your fitness game. Why not try bone-conducting headphones? These headphones ensure that you’re still aware of your surroundings such as traffic, while providing music to power your workout by conducting the music via your cheekbones.