For most of my adult life, I’ve been a full-time fitness professional.
But I have a confession to make.
Fitness can feel like a chore.
That’s right, even “professionals” don’t always feel motivated. And neither do my clients.
That’s normal. Nobody feels motivated all the time.
Fitness is kind of like flossing. You don’t always love it, but you know it’s important.
So what do you do when it all just feels like another item on your ‘to-do’ list?
First, give yourself permission to feel this way.
You don’t have to be someone who “falls in love” with fitness for it to matter. Even if you never totally look forward to it, a little consistent effort still pays off.
Second, when possible, it is worth trying to bring more joy to the process.
At its best, fitness isn’t the end goal. It’s the amplifier for everything else you love.
If fitness is feeling like a chore for you right now, here are a few ways to mix things up:
1. Theme it.
Name your workouts after your favorite hobbies or interests. (If you love Star Wars, you aren’t working out, you’re doing Jedi Training.)
You can try a workout specifically built around something you enjoy or even one that levels up after boss battles.
And this doesn’t just go for workouts!
There are tons of themed cookbooks out there too to inspire and bring some fun to your meals.
My son (11) brought home a Minecraft Cookbook from school last week, and decided he wanted to make “Minecraft Steak”. It was literally just steak with salt and pepper on it, but he was so excited and invested in getting the meal juuuuuust right.
You can even add some flavor to how you track your progress.
Bottom line: Whatever the thing you love, whether it’s Gandalf, gardening, or golf – see if you can bring a bit of that into the mix.
2. Tie it back to life outside of fitness.
For most of us, fitness isn’t about being the “best at fitness.” (Though if competing in 5k runs or powerlifting events is what you love, that’s awesome, too!)
It’s about having the energy and health to show up in the things that light you up. For example, one of my clients, Julie, really hated strength training. She knew it was important for muscle retention and bone health and all the rest. But it wasn’t until we were able to tie specific movements in her workouts back to her passion, archery, that the “chore” part of working out became easier to do.
I still remember how she lit up after she came back from an archery session and said something along the lines of: “the bow just felt so easy to pull!” (Archery people, don’t come at me if I butchered that. 😅 )
Bottom line: Highlighting the connection between your fitness goals and all the other cool stuff you love to do is a cheat code.
3. Add games + challenges.
Movement doesn’t always need to be serious.
Try adding some more games and mini-challenges to your session to spice things up!
Finish your warm-up with the Stick Drop Challenge.
In between exercises, add in some low intensity movements like juggling, or walking on a balance beam, etc. to give your brain a challenge even while your body is recovering.
Roll a D20 to determine what your conditioning will look like at the end of your session.
At Camp Nerd Fitness, my ninja class was full of little games and challenges like these, and people left smiling and sweaty. I remember one camper in particular, Emily, coming up to me and giving me a big hug afterwards because this approach made fitness feel fun and accessible in a totally new way.
Bottom line: where possible, tap into the playful side of movement.
4. Keep it simple.
Sometimes, despite all that, fitness will still feel like a grind.
That’s OK.
In those seasons, don’t overcomplicate it. Focus on the basics: a few key movements, eating some protein, moving a little each day.
Action matters more than perfection.
—
Some of these ideas will click, some won’t, and that’s the point. There is no one size fits all prescription here for everyone.
My hope for you is that you can find ways to make fitness feel additive to your life, without taking it over.
So let me ask you:
What would bring more joy into your fitness right now?
Hit reply and let me know – I’d love to hear it.
–Matt
