Well… It’s March 3rd and there is ice on the grounds and school and work are cancelled. Oh, and it’s Texas. These things don’t happen in Texas. I should be enjoying the beautiful spring weather, not bundled up in my house drinking hot tea to stay warm. I think this winter is going to be the death of me.
With the cold weather, my motivation to workout usually decreases to just about nothing. When I have the option to stay in my warm bed for an extra hour or to get up and go run in the sub-freezing weather, the bed usually wins. No matter how motivated I may have been the night before, my attitude in the morning is usually much different.

These are the 5 things I remind myself of to get motivated to workout when I wake up and just want to snuggle back in under my ten blankets (okay, maybe it’s more like three, but you get the picture):

1. Better sore than sorry– I hate going to bed at night, regretting the fact that I didn’t work out that day. Instead of getting that extra hour of sleep, I could have worked up a sweat, boosted my metabolism, improved my mood and let loose some stress. Don’t go to sleep sorry. Go to sleep sore!

2. Wake up and don’t give up– Even though I have been working out since before I can remember (not really, but sometimes it feels like that!) I still struggle with actually taking that first step out the door. Especially if I try to workout later on in the day, because by that time, I’ve thought of about 1,000,000 reasons for why I can skip my workout. To misquote Nike, just get-out-of-bed-and do it.

3. Even a bad workout or run is better than none at all– I tell myself this every time I feel like I am struggling through a run or a workout. I know that even if I don’t beat my best time, or if I am struggling to do one more rep, that at least I actually made that first step out of the door. That puts me ahead of everyone else still snoozing away!

4. You don’t always get what you wish for; You get what you work for– I feel like this explains itself. It’s something I have found myself saying in my head over and over when I lose motivation! If I don’t work towards my goal, then I can’t complain when I don’t see results. No matter how hard I wish I could run a certain mile time, lift a certain weight or do a certain number of sets, there will be no progress unless I work towards it.

5. Watch what you eat– I know this may not be related to motivating myself to work out, but it does motivate me to think about what I am eating… Especially when no one is looking! I used to sneak bread, chocolate and cookies when I was younger, and am paying the consequences now. I have a problem with self-control (especially when it comes to my sweet tooth), and I need to monitor what I’m eating and how much of it I’m eating. If I have an unhealthy diet, no matter how much I workout there will be no results. And how demotivating is that?!

Do you have any fitspirations that motivate you to keep on going?