We all have days when we wake up and think ‘today is the day’. During lockdown, many of us have plunged ourselves full steam ahead into a fitness regime, which – let’s be honest – we’ve not all stuck to. Don’t put yourself down by thinking you have failed, see it as a learning curve and as a way to improve next time.

If you are looking to restart or boost your fitness regime, here are few fitness motivation tips to help on your way:

1. Find the reasons for your fitness motivation

First of all, write down your fitness goals and then assess whether you believe they’re achievable and how long it will take to get there. Secondly, write down your motives and the reasons behind these goals. Maybe you want to do this to challenge yourself or maybe you want to do this for your family. On days when you’re feeling a bit low and wishing you hadn’t started, pull them out and have a read. They’re an encouraging reminder as to why you’ve made this decision and will keep you feeling positive. It’s important to constantly remember why you’re doing this and not let doubts seep in.

2. Focus on positivity

Be your own biggest fan and supporter! You CAN do this, and you will. Write a list of every achievement you make; even if it’s just “I walked to the shop instead of taking the car today”! At the end of the week, you’ll have achieved so much, you’ll push yourself to do even better the next. It will serve as a constant reminder of how far you’ve come and it will amaze you when you look back one year from now. Positivity is a key element in maintaining your fitness motivation and not giving up!

Read more: Fun exercises for those who hate working out

3.Track your progress

Create whatever tracking you like, whether that’s an excel sheet on your computer, a sticker chart, or an X on your calendar – track yourself. You’ll be so impressed with the amount of X’s/stickers/whatever you choose – this is a great fitness motivation, you’ll want to keep going. Every little milestone deserves a celebration and an acknowledgement. If you miss a day, that’s okay, just aim to not miss two days in a row. Tracking your progress will also give you a visual of how far you’ve come and who doesn’t want to see when they’re doing well! You could also invest in a fitness tracker, which will give you a push to get out there and work out. It will provide you with accountability, daily fitness motivation, it monitors your heart rate and sets your fitness goals.

4. Take small steps for fitness motivation

Let’s be honest, we’d all love to have our dreams and wishes fulfilled RIGHT NOW. One of the smartest things we can remember is that sometimes things take a bit of time and that’s okay. Every single little goal is a step closer to the ultimate goal. It all matters and counts. What we might consider as tiny steps are still bringing us closer to the finish line. No tiny step is “not enough” – they’re all extremely powerful.

5. Focus on how it makes you feel

We can all get caught up with tracking numbers and basing our fitness success on what we weigh but this is one of the worst things we can do. Instead of measuring your fitness success on what your dress size is or the amount of steps you have done, try to focus on how you feel after working out. Think of the outcome of your workout and if you feel more energised, relaxed or accomplished. Hold on to those feel-good moments after exercising and how much better your health is for it.

6. Find a workout buddy

If you are ever lacking fitness motivation, try to enlist a fitness buddy to exercise with you and cheer you on every step of the way. A buddy can be more fun, sociable and make those workouts fly by! It will also help by making you more accountable if you have someone else relying on as you won’t want to disappoint them.

Read more: Get More Active Together

7. Put together a great workout playlist

Exercising can be a bit of a chore and boring at times, so try to keep your motivation up when working out. Grab all your favourite songs and create a killer workout playlist on your phone; turn it up when you’re feeling tired at the gym and need to perk up. Opting for a variety of workouts where you can switch up the music will also help to increase your fitness motivation and help to keep your workout fresh.