10 Tips to Stay Motivated for Your Workouts

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We all have those days where we don't want to exercise and the days where when we do make it to the gym our workouts are awful. It's okay - that's life! This is a lifestyle and we completely believe in the 80/20 rule with everything (it's how we've maintained this healthy lifestyle for over 5 years)! With that being said, we wanted to share some of our tips so that you can get the most out of your workouts!

Tips to Get Yourself to the Gym & Stay Motivated Once You Get There!

1. Schedule your workouts like you would a doctor's appointment - and keep them. At the beginning of the week take a few minutes to write down your schedule and your workouts. Remember to take at least 1-2 rest days per week. If you can't make a workout you have scheduled, don't beat yourself up about it. You can still remain active and do a short workout at home!
2. Have a workout plan! There's nothing worse than spending an hour on a cardio machine and then moving up and down the aisles of machines without a clear plan. I see it all the time in the gym! If you want to succeed with your fitness goals, you need a clear plan. Try one of ours - we have 4 week plans and 12 week plans. We even have plans just for runners! All of our plans outline exactly what to do each day (how many reps, sets, etc). You will reach your goals much faster with a plan!
3. Workout when you can. The best time of day to workout is whatever time you will do it! You will read articles about why morning workouts are better or why evening workouts are better but really the best time to workout is whatever time you can. It would be best to try and keep the same time each day but life happens!
4. Make it a habit. Believe me, I was not an athlete growing up (besides rec league cheering and softball) so I don't come from a background in sports but I actually like the gym now. I never thought I would say that! It might be hard for you at first but just keep going and stick to your plan until it becomes a habit!
5. Don't be afraid to mix up your days. On the days when you are really just dragging in the gym do the workout that you like the most. For example, my favorite is leg day so if I'm not feeling the gym that day I'll do legs because I like that workout. If I have to drag myself to the gym and put myself through a workout that I don't even like it won't be pretty! Do your least favorite workout on the days when you are feeling your best. It's okay to swap out days, just make sure that you are taking at least 2 rest days before you work that body part again and at least 1 full rest day per week.
6. Start playing your favorite playlist before your workout. Gear your mind up for the gym by listening to your playlist while getting ready for the gym. It will pump you up before you even get there! 
7. Complete all reps on each side before switching. Using this trick will make you finish all reps. For example, if you need to do 12 step-ups on each leg, complete 12 step-ups on the right leg before moving onto the left leg. If you try to do 6 and 6, and 6 and 6 again, you will probably quit after the first 6!
8. Find a workout that you like! There's nothing worse than going to the gym and dreading what you do. Of course, there are things that we think everyone should incorporate into their workouts like weights, cardio, and flexibility training but you can be creative with how you do these types of training. Don't like the treadmill? That's fine! Take a class as your cardio! Try one of our challenges and give one of our workouts a try. ;-)
9. Be flexible! Is your equipment taken? Try to do something in its place or skip it and come back to it at a later time. Don't get frustrated - there are alternates for almost everything! Instead of a barbell use dumbbells, bands, etc.
10. Stay motivated. This is hard, right? The title of this is 10 tips to stay motivated but one of the tips is to stay motivated! Yes, we meant to do that. You must find ways to stay motivated. We want you to become your own motivation instead of constantly searching for outside motivation. It's easier said than done but there are a few things you can do to make this happen. Record your workouts (again, our workout plans have a place for you to record everything!) so you can see how much stronger you are getting! Even if you can't tell a difference in a mirror, seeing how you improve in your workouts is a great motivator. Try to avoid using others looks as motivation because you could easily fall into a comparison trap (this post on 5 Reasons You Aren't Achieving Your Dream Body may help!).

We hope these tips help you reach your goals. Always remember, progress is progress - no matter how slow. Never give up!

Stories from MY Scale {Why YOU Need to Ditch Yours for GOOD!}

I decided to do this "scale project" after hearing some of my friends and my clients complain about how much they weigh and how their weight fluctuates. I never quite understood this because I never weigh myself. I just never have - I never picked up that habit as a teenager. The only reason I use 157 lbs for the "starting weight" of my transformation is because that is what I weighed when I was weighed for the first day of boot camp the summer I got serious (I randomly found the piece of paper with my weight and measurements on it). I actually do much better when I don't focus on any number - the scale, calories burned, calories consumed, macros, clothing size, measurements, etc.

RELATED: How getting into fitness ruined my body image.

THE PROJECT:

So, against my own advice, as my own little "project", I weighed myself EVERYDAY from February 17 - March 24. My plan was to weigh everyday until my photo shoot (May 1) but mentally I couldn't handle it so I quit early. The stress it was causing me was unbearable. I started weighing myself weekly after March 24. I am proud to report that I haven't even stepped on the scale since May 2 (the morning after my photo shoot - before we left for our beach trip).

BEFORE STARTING:

The week before I started this "project" I took this picture of myself and I was pretty pleased with it even though I was a little bloated from traveling.  I'm not super lean in this picture - I had just returned from my trip to Miami where I spoke in front of 20,000 people. This was also after traveling to 3 different places over Scott's Christmas break and all of the holiday festivities. I knew I had some work to do just to get ready for this photo shoot but for "everyday" life, I was good with it. The Saturday BEFORE I started weighing myself everyday I told Scott that my jeans were getting too big and I couldn't hold them up...Now, enter the scale...

THE RESULTS:

I weighed myself on February 17, 2014. I started journaling my food, supplements, and water again preparing for my photo shoot. I weighed myself the next morning and had magically lost 1.4 lbs. Next day the scale went down again .4. But then on that 3rd day it went up .6. The first week was a roller coaster ride to say the least but check out the chart below - overall I ended up losing 1.8 lbs. Keep in mind that I am weighing myself on the same scale at approximately the same time each morning. The graph below is pretty much how each week looked...up and down...up and down - taking me on a roller coaster of emotions.

I also journaled how I was feeling and what other people told me. The days that the scale went up were days that I was grumpy and unhappy. I said that scale didn't effect me but that wasn't true. Even though I considered myself a strong person physically and mentally it still took control over me.

Thought: Why do we only "believe" the higher number on the scale?

Below is a graph of my overall weight throughout the entire time period...as you can see still the roller coaster up and downs.

I weighed myself daily but only took my measurements once a week. I found it very amusing when I graphed out my measurements and looked back at the numbers. Never ONCE did my measurements increase. Some weeks they would be the same as before but they didn't increase even as my weight did.

I love it - it's like my hips are saying "Nope...not gonna change anymore!".  I have a really small waist and larger hips (which my small waist makes appear even larger). I used to hate this but I've learned to embrace it because I have an hour glass figure that most people don't have!

I obviously blocked out my stats because they don't matter. I don't want anyone comparing their stats to mine. But I will share with you how I did it. I basically did my own coaching program. About 4 weeks before the photo shoot I tried to focus on eating more whole foods and tried to get away from the multiple shakes a day and protein bars. I still had shakes and bars but not as many. I also tried to hit my gallon of water per day. Then 2 weeks out I went to the Masters and the next day to California with Scott. Not an ideal situation when preparing for a photo shoot but it was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. I packed as much food with me as I could. We made healthy choices for our meals but we also allowed ourselves a few treats. With traveling and hiking as much as we did I did eat protein shakes and bars on this trip. We also ate out at least once per day. Once we got back from California I basically did my own 21-Day Jump Start but a shorter version. I followed everything that I outlined in this post. I switched to only whole foods and eliminated those that bloat me. The entire time leading up to the photo shoot I was doing the She Sweats Extreme workouts (there were a few workouts where I went back to the 12-Week Transformation since the photo shoot date kept changing). I didn't live in the gym but I made sure to make my time in there count. The Extreme is just that - Extreme...which is why it's only 4 weeks. This consisted of me still lifting weights but circuit style with HIIT as my cardio. As many of you know, this is not the way I prefer to train on a normal basis so it's been awesome to be back to heavy lifting and incline cardio! As far as supplements, I used the supplements that I take on a daily basis (Daily Essentials Kit, CLA, Fish Oil) and added in a few extra towards the end. I'm picky about supplements though because most of those on the market are loaded with junk!

You can see in the picture below just how much change happens over the last few weeks!

I've said this numerous times but this year has been really rough for me body image wise. With the rise of Instagram and "fitspirations" it's hard to not compare yourself to others. Almost every female that I speak with has some sort of body image issue. It doesn't matter if they weigh 120 lbs or 220 lbs. If they are a size 0, 4 or 22. This is a MAJOR issue that I see. I try to be transparent and not only show the good but also the "bad". I'm not lean all the time. I usually vary in weight 5-7 lbs but always wear the same size clothes. It's not that I "quit living this lifestyle" for part of the year but it's just that sometimes I don't care about abs or lean legs. Sometimes all I care about is traveling, hiking, and living life. I'm not going to sit back and tell you that you can drink and eat whatever you want and still be lean because I do not think that is the case but you can live this lifestyle, enjoy your life and still be healthy. You might not have a six pack but who said that having a six pack is healthy? Who defines that? To me healthy is when you are eating healthy the majority of the time, staying active, and living life to the fullest. Don't get caught up in girls who post pictures of themselves partying and eating and drinking whatever they want and then the next 5 pictures are pictures of their abs. Everyone is different. There are different body types. Metabolism is different. People have different LIVES. Do you work in an office but compare yourself to a trainer who is in the gym all day? You can't compare yourself to others - it's like comparing apples to oranges. You could have 2 people, same height and starting weight, eat the same things each day, drink the same amount of water, workout the same each day and still get different results! I'm not telling you to come up with excuses for yourself but DO NOT compare yourself to others.

I feel like I bloat and hold onto water weight as soon as I eat something with too much salt or have too many treats but some people (because of their body type or a million other reasons) don't do this. You have to find out what works for YOU. This isn't a quick process. Maybe you can indulge in a treat a day and it doesn't have any effect on you. Maybe you can indulge in a treat per week or maybe just one per month to feel your best...just be patient with the process!

For the sake of your sanity, relationships, body image, and overall well being - get rid of your scale!

If you insist on weighing yourself I would try to only weigh once a month and once a week - MAX!

I have been reading articles on the Miss Indiana stories and I LOVE this quote from her...I really can't say it any better! “You can’t worry about the girl standing next to you because you’ll never be that girl,” Diehl said.  Your body is a gift and you have to love it and have that confidence because that’s the only thing you can do. You can’t worry about being somebody else,” she said.  “You have to be yourself.”

Let us be your personal trainers with our detailed 4, 6 and 12 week She Sweats Workout plans! We guide your workout each day, telling you exactly what to do and what intensity to work at. We have everything you need! Find out more!

30 Minute Winter Workout Playlist

Looking for a playlist for either your weight lifting routine or your runs? Give this Winter Workout Playlist a try. We know it's hard for most people to stay motivated over the winter months but sometimes something as simple as a new playlist can help you push through your workout. It will take you through a 30 minute workout and you'll be one workout closer to warmer weather!

WINTER WORKOUT PLAYLIST

Summertime Sadness - Lana Del Ray vs. Cedric Gervais

Wake Me Up - Avicii

Stay the Night - Zedd feat. Hayley Williams of Paramore

White Walls - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Happy - Pharrell Williams

Numb/Encore - JAY Z

Wind It Up - Gwen Stefani

Hey Ya - OutKast

What is your favorite workout song during winter?

- Whitney

Let us be your personal trainers with our detailed 4, 6 and 12 week She Sweats Workout plans! We guide your workout each day, telling you exactly what to do and what intensity to work at. We have everything you need! Find out more!