motivation vs. dedication

a question i get a lot is, "how do you stay motivated to workout every day?" and the short answer is, "hahahahaha i'm not." 

cause here's the thing... i love working out. legitimately adore the feeling an awesome workout and hitting new personal bests and working towards new goals. but that does not mean i do a cartwheel out of bed every morning at 4:30 am ready to go to the gym. not remotely. 

motivation is not a constant in ANYONE'S fitness journey. and if anyone says they're always motivated to workout and eat right everyday...they're lying. 

motivation gets you started. and that is HUGE. getting started is (obviously) a big part of your health & fitness journey... but it is not biggest part. the biggest part is gonna be your ENTIRE LIFE of constantly making decisions that will either help or hinder your goals. 

so here's the trick to keeping up with your health & fitness goals: dedication. 

now that isn't something that you can buy a supplement for or make happen magically. it's a constant decision you have to make. sometimes at 4:30 am making the decision to get up and go to the gym and sometimes its at 6 pm when you're gonna make decision to cook dinner or go buy fast food. 

motivation will come and go over time depending on ten million different influences. dedication is constant. 

dedication makes time to go to the gym even when they're busy. dedication preps and/or plans meals so they don't go off track at the end of the day when they're tired. dedication understands that working hard (even when they don't feel like it) gets shit done. 

it's not easy. if it was easy everyone would be doing it. 

but it is worth it. 

even on mornings when i wanted nothing more than to curl back under my blankets, finishing that workout feels so powerful. and i always feel better when i eat something that i made at home fresh instead of something oily from a fast food restaurant. and those healthy eats lead to me being better fueled for workouts. 

it all adds up! 

so you need to get over the whole being motivated for every single workout nonsense. it's not reality. (though you should enjoy your workouts- find something that works for you and makes you like exercise most of the time!) dedication to the commitment you made to yourself/family/friends/trainer will get you to a workout. 

motivation will get you started. dedication will keep you going. 

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not sure where to start or what to do? 

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HOW TO: become a morning workout person

look, I know,  waking up before 5 am is not pleasant.  but sometimes you gotta make sacrifices and lose some sleep to get it in.  and sometimes it is really rough (if you follow my insta stories there are many pre-5am stories about being tired)

 but waking up before the rest of the world getting a whole workout in before most people are even awake feels so good. i fully believe it is the best way to start the day. 

when I first started my working out i would wake up at 4:10 am Monday - Friday.  and i did it with no caffeine (crazy I know) but I would stumble out of bed, put on my workout clothes and walk down to the treadmill and start walking on it all before i was even all the way awake. i would be part way into my warm up before i would even realize i was working out. and by that point i was already there, so  i may as well finish. 

now i wake up at about 4:40, toss on some workout clothes, ingest some form of caffeine (sometimes preworkout, but i did just switch back to coffee) and i'm off to the gym before 5am. I definitely need caffeine more now than i did originally because i'm weight lifting and being groggy during that is asking for disaster. 

anyway... here are my main tips for getting an AM workout in: 

1. be prepared!
   1. that means having your workout clothes laid out,  having your workout plan ready to go, and whatever else you may need ready to go (headphones, coffee, car keys, etc) 
2. ease into it 
   1. i didn't start off working out at 4 in the morning straight out of the gate. i started off waking up 20 mins earlier than usual to go walk on the treadmill, then i went 30 mins, and so on, until i was getting almost a full hour workout in. 
3. make it routine 
   1. waking up early is not always easy. (trust me, i have had some ROUGH mornings) but if you keep making that effort to wake up evantually you'll do it and start moving without even thinking about it. i swear, most mornings i am up and dressed and drinking coffee before i even realize i woke up. 
4. make it something to look forward to 
   1. waking up before the sun is so much more difficult if its for something that you don't want to do at all. for me, the energy i get from exercise and the fun i have playing with kettlebells or hitting PRs drives me to go to the gym. find what makes you want to get up and go and make that your AM workout session. 
5. go to sleep at a decent hour! 
   1. i know this one is pretty obvious, but seriously. if you stay up late, waking up early is so much harder. go to sleep at a decent time and set yourself up for success. 
6. plan some sort of reward for yourself 
   1. could be during your run you get to listen to that new playlist you created or that post-workout snack. whatever motivates you, make it happen. 
7. if you fail, don't quit
   1. look, waking up early won't always happen. that's part of life. however, don't let that be an excuse for the rest of the week's workouts. so you skipped the gym on tuesday, just reset that alarm for wednesday and get it done!

i know, these are all pretty straight forward but this is what i've been doing for 2.5 years and i'm still going strong. 

my morning workouts are genuinely what get me out of bed every morning and what keep my energy up throughout the day. 

i promise, you'll never regret finishing your early morning workout, but you may regret skipping one.