Maintaining Motivation when the Motivator has Gone!

Many of us train with an upcoming event in mind. Be it a run, CrossFit event, or adventure travel. I personally had three major events this year I was training towards and two minor events.

But now, three have been cancelled, one has been re-scheduled (hopeful at best) and one is aiming to still go ahead.

That, coupled with the closure of gyms and the move for us to isolate at home, well it has made the whole motivation thing to train a little more difficult! And that is coming from someone who loves to train a minimum six days per week. And when I speak to others, there is a lot of similar comments, “It’s hard to train now when my event has been cancelled” to “What’s the point in training when there is nothing to train for and I can’t go to the gym?”

So why then, are some of us feeling this way? And more importantly, how can we turn this on its head and see this time as an opportunity instead of a hinderance?

Firstly, training towards an event always seems to be easier. There is an event to work towards, perhaps someone (friend or foe) to compete against during both the training and the event and for some even more serious punters out there, a progressive program to work through. But cancel the event (or even a prolonged postponement), and these factors fall away or at least become temporarily irrelevant.

And then there is routine. ‘Routine sets you free’ can be true. It can also limit us in situations like this. Our normal training programs are disrupted, the equipment we usually use isn’t available. And we may not always know where to turn next? This can also cause the motivation to wane.

And this is where the good news starts! There is so much help online now. If you are looking for generic guidance, simply jump on You Tube and type in the search bar ‘Body weight exercises for……’, ‘Animal exercises for……’ and away you go.

If you are looking for something more specific to you and your training needs, or want to do tis in a more controlled way contact your suitably qualified health and/or fitness professional for a tailored program, adapted to your current exercise environment.

And if you are dealing with an injury that has been holding back progress with your training, now is the perfect time to get it under control by working with your local Physiotherapist or Exercise Physiologist.

My simple suggestion is this; see this unusual time as an opportunity for you to train in a different way, to mix it up and try something new in your training regime. This will not only help you keep motivated, it will also give you a wider repertoire of exercises and training methodologies for when those events do return and you have to be ready.

And they will return. So keep the wheels turning!