The song “Elevate” from the Enter the Spider-Verse Soundtrack is one of those songs that sticks with you. You can use it on a run for some direct motivation, or just feel pumped when you watch the movie and think, “well that was catchy” and move on with your life.

Or, like me, you can over-analyze it to death and take it entirely out of context.

So here we are!

I haven’t written in awhile, and the lyrics of this song are a treasure chest of writing prompts. Like the Hamilton of Animated Feature-Length Superhero Films (TM), the lyric density is huge, and for the next few posts, I’ll break down the lines that mean a lot to me.

I had to get out all alone (alone)
And figure it out on my own (my own)

One of the most frequent questions I get in posting workouts, the occasional recipe and my latest fitness struggle is - “How do I/you/my friend stay motivated?”

We are constantly barraged by our friends’ latest milestone - and we often applaud them, but more often, we make it about ourselves and our own struggles of wondering how to stay motivated. For now, I’ll keep this fitness-related, but it could really apply to anything - learning a language (this is very difficult for me), saving money, building a new habit.

Here are some tips I’ve shared with some friends in the past on how to break through when it feels like you’re going it all alone, figuring it out alone and today it’s just that much harder.

How to Find Motivation

I know it's tough to find motivation sometimes. I don't think there's an easy one-solution-fits-all but here are some things that have helped me and others find joy and a pull to train again.

Make a list of all the things that you've achieved since starting your fitness routine. Even if you can't hit those numbers on any given day, you're not starting from scratch and you've already come a long way. On a given day, even just being that person who consistently shows up is inspiring. As a CrossFit coach for the past few years, I’m much more impressed with the person who steadily builds for 2-3 years than the person who comes in like a tornado, makes quick progress and then disappears into the wind. Even if you're not feeling inspired on a particular day, you're still firing up those around you.
I say this with absolutely no shade to your current/previous gym, but try visiting some other gyms. The best chance to do this is when you're traveling and you can be honest about why you're there, but doing so helps you:
- 1) Appreciate what your home gym has and
- 2) Help you realize how respond to different types of cues, workouts, people, etc.
The gyms you visit could be better or worse, but you may have an aha moment about your current situation
Make a non-fitness goal - going to the gym and focusing on you an hour a day, is probably a great way to get closer to that goal which is independent of CrossFit (you will be healthier, stronger, and more equipped to handle whatever life throws at you)
Make fitness goal - this was a good podcast about goal setting
- Long term - what do you want to achieve? Focus on the why, not necessarily the goal. Write this down.
- Short term - what incremental steps will get you there?
- Likely stumbling blocks - you know yourself, and where you’ve tripped up in the past. How can you set up your life to make this trip-ups as hard as possible to stumble into?
- Process - what excites you about the process of achieving this goal?
Take a weekend fitness class - it could be the CrossFit Level 1, it could be a Weightlifitng seminar. Choose something you're interested in. The beauty of the classes isn't necessarily the knowledge taught, it's the passion of the people teaching that is infectious.
If work or something else in your non-gym life is weighing on you, think about how to address it. It's totally understandable if gym motivation goes down the tubes if you're super stressed or not enjoying the other parts of your day.
Learn and play new sports - try something new, or revisit an old sport/dance. If you start to see your time in the gym as a chance to improve at something you're really passionate about, it starts to make a whole lot more sense. For me, I hate stretching and mobility work. It wasn't until I realized that gymnastics skills are a natural result of mobility work that I could actually stretch somewhat consistently (not to say that I don't still hate it some days).
Visit a friend's workout class - see above, bring the fun and social aspect into the gym. Try Barre, Soulcycle, Corepower, Orangetheory, Bikram, whatever the latest craze. It's really hard to always have fun dragging yourself to a small 6AM class in the dark. I get it. Choose a day a week to make it fun and something to look forward to.
Bring a friend to the gym who doesn’t normally go - you will realize just how much you know, and there's nothing like a beginner to give a fresh perspective on what is different about your gym and what there is to look forward to
Find inspiration elsewhere - If you're fired up outside of fitness stuff, it will translate to fitness. Listen to hard rock, Oprah, podcasts. Write/read a book. Make a collage of instagram quotes on your pinterest board. Go for a hike, see some nature. Find some beauty in the world. Worst case, you get fired up in another area of your life.
Build some momentum - pick a number - 3, 5, 7, 15 days. And no matter how you feel, no matter what else is going on. Get to the gym. If you get that number, choose a new number. Make a visual representation of it, and cross it off each day. Doing something every day makes a difference. Give yourself a small reward at each milestone.
Realize that doing any of the above is a choice. You don't have to go to the gym, you don't have to do Romwod. You don't have to wake up early. It's a choice, you get to do all these things. Celebrate being healthy, not having an injury, being able to pay for a gym membership, having a partner or friends who supports you in all these things.

I'm not saying that doing any of the above will flip a switch and get you to that motivation rainbow, but maybe one thing will help shake off the covers one extra day this week. And that's a start.