Whether you’re on a year-long plan or a 12-week blast, inForm shares time-tested tips and expert-approved hacks to keep you turning up every single time. After all, when motivation fades, discipline sticks around.

There are two types of people: those who struggle to stay motivated during exercise and liars. Whichever camp you fit in, it’s no secret that staying committed to your health, wellness or fitness routine is about more than just swiping into your local gym several times a week or slogging through a Parkrun: it’s a careful balancing act of the right training, the appropriate nutrition, smart supplementation, ample recovery and, critically, a healthy mental approach to the task itself.

Each is easier said than done, of course. But to nail all angles simultaneously? A daunting task indeed—especially for the 77% of adults who say that they don’t look forward to exercise at all and view it as a chore. Oftentimes, it can be something more serious, “Some people might find exercise to be too time-consuming, [or] to be uncomfortable or challenging,” explains Eloise Skinner, a TEDx speaker and author on purpose and wellbeing. “Some people might have had negative experiences with exercise in the past, too.”

Thankfully, there’s plenty of opportunity to redress the balance, eliminate any friction and transform the endless cycle of dreaded tasks into weeks, months, and years of opportunity, delayed gratification and self-confidence.

Shifting Gears

You can scroll through as many motivational TikToks, double-tap as many viral Instagram posts, and go to as many free trial classes as you like, but if your head’s not in the game, then your body isn’t either.

This is the case for swathes of the population, as the World Health Organisation has found that over 25% of adults aren’t getting close to enough exercise, which the NHS currently stipulates as 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week.

So what’s the fix? “We can identify what works by observing our own behaviour over time,” explains Skinner. “If we notice that one particular strategy or routine is getting us results, we can lean into it.”

Smooth is Slow, Slow is Fast

Michael Sawyer, Operations Director at Ultimate Kilimanjaro, knows a thing or two about easing people into fitness. That’s because he’s directly responsible for getting thousands of budding mountain climbers to ascend almost 6000 gruelling metres up to Africa’s highest summit every single year.

“If you want to enjoy exercise, you should incorporate it into your hobbies, even the ones that require sit-down focus,” he explains. “If you enjoy nature, have a pet, or have children, you can turn what would be a boring forced activity into a fun and interactive one, [including] hiking, running, and walking.” After all, summiting a mountain starts with a single step.

The process of enjoying it needs to be natural,” agrees Sarah Spence, Personal Trainer and Studio Manager at F45 Brixton. “Remind yourself that it’s normal not to enjoy exercise fully and that so many people don’t. “Eventually,” Spence continues, “you will find a way of moving your body that you love, so be patient, be kind to yourself, and try to enjoy the process.”

Mind Games

If you’re like most people new to exercise, you probably have a specific goal in mind, or you feel that it’s just something that you have to do. In a recent survey conducted by ASICS, 77% of adults said exercise is a chore and only exercise for physical gain. Not ideal.

“Having a weight loss or aesthetic goal is, in my opinion, the reason most people dislike exercise,” says Spence. “There are so many reasons to love exercise: it’s good for your mental health, it helps you sleep better, it clears your mind, it’s good for bone density [and] it improves confidence.” Shift your focus, and the weights might shift too.

Exercise Snacking

For those without the time—or the inclination—to commit to long slogs in the park or hours on the gym floor, ‘exercise snacking’ is an exercise methodology that’s continually piqued people’s interest over the years.

Despite the term being coined in 2014, it hit an all-time high during the various COVID-induced lockdowns of 2020, during which we all had to become creative with our exercise. The simple approach is thus: short, sharp hits of exercise repeated throughout the day that, typically, last no longer than two minutes each time.

The results are just as tasty: by way of an example, a 2019 study observed the aerobic fitness levels and lower-body strength of healthy college students before and after a six-week program. By focusing only on rapid stair climbs, performed three times a day, the study concluded that there was an increase in both cardiorespiratory fitness and an increase in cycling peak power output.

What’s more, a 2022 review noted it as “a feasible, well-tolerated, and time-efficient approach” to exercise. Delicious.

Finding Your Maintenance

But what of the fitness veterans and the rise-and-grinders still showing up in body, yet vacant in mind? “So many people think they hate exercise itself,” suggests Spence of those experiencing this dreaded mental plateau, “when they probably hate it because they’re exhausted from the exercise routine they’re trying to maintain”.

Simply put, and to use an old lifting adage, it’s all you. “The only way you will find the exercise you enjoy is pushing yourself outside your comfort zone and trying new things,” says Spence, suggesting to slowly increase training volume once you find your spark. Once that’s achieved, “you’ll never regret it.”