Surya G Iacono - How to get back in the fitness groove if you’ve lost motivation 

Firstly, you’re far from the only dedicated gym-goer who suddenly lets it slide. It’s all too easy to skip training ‘just once’ and then find you’ve missed a few sessions. Then it’s difficult to get back into it. However, just because you’ve fallen off the wagon, that doesn’t mean you can’t get right back on it. Here are some of the reasons it’s happened to you – and what to do about it. 

It is possible to learn too much and spend too much time reading about fitness, nutrition and everything that comes with it. And while it seems more logical that people who don’t know enough would be the first to fail, it’s actually the other way around. 

If you start a new stage of nutritional planning and find yourself confused by paleo v no-carb, or macros v simple calorie counting, you’re likely to give up out of frustration. 

The answer is to choose an approach and stick with it. All of the nutritional approaches can work if you follow through on them. If you’re really losing the will to live while choosing, hire a professional nutritionist and discuss your needs with them. 

Too many life-changes at once will lead to burn out. For example, if you stepped your training up to six days a week, set yourself high weight targets, jumped into macros and no-carbing all at the same time, then it’s simply too much, too soon. 

Work up to hardcore, intensive exercise regimes. No-one gets there overnight, and even if you’ve been hitting the gym for years, making changes to your schedule needs adjustment and time. 

The solution is simple. Keep the same goals but take it one step at a time. Begin with upping your workout days week by week. A couple of weeks later, cut your calories by 10% and so on. Make small changes and they add up. 

Enthusiasm at the start of anything is easy. Who doesn’t jump into a new exercise or training plan without feeling confident and focused? The problem comes when trying to maintain this focus, week in and week out. 

Social media makes fitness professionals look as if they love nothing more than their training and strict diets. But we don’t see the bits in between. Recovering from sore muscles, dealing with diet restrictions, dragging themselves out of bed at 6am… you get the picture. 

The point is, it will start to feel dull. All routines do. Try writing down your goals and refer back to them when you need motivation. Rest assured that everyone, even elite athletes, need to force themselves to train sometimes. 

Injuries happen to the best of us. Whether it’s a joint issue from running, a strained muscle from lifting or any other injury, not being able to train is frustrating and demotivating. Even if you’re seriously keen to get back to it, you must listen to your body and allow it to heal. If you jump right back in when it starts to feel a little better, you’re risking a more serious injury and more time off. 

The solution is to take it slow. Ease back in and be smart about it. Start with walking and swimming. Any low impact exercise is good to get the body moving again and to keep active. See how you feel and if it’s going OK, add in more time and more training sessions. 

Switch your workout style. For example, if you’re a runner and you’re suffering from an ankle injury, concentrate instead on strength training your core. Improving your balance and core strength will help your body to recover and help stave off the possibility of further injury.

The most important factor when starting to exercise after injury is to stop if you feel pain. Don’t try and ‘work through it’, you could risk a more serious problem. Successful athletes are in tune with their bodies and work holistically with them to get the best results. Ease back into your training and you’ll be stronger for it in the long run. 

Surya G. Iacono is a fitness and wellness expert and blogger based in London, UK. Surya Iacono's fitness blogs are aimed at keen gym-goers and exercise fans already well into their journey and looking for tips, tricks and ideas to take it to the next level.

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