Five Ways to Get Your Fitness Motivation Back

Sometimes for no reason at all, it just happens...you lose your motivation to workout. Sometimes it's the short, cold days of winter, an illness, or maybe just a busy week at work, sometimes the proverbial wind gets knocked out of your sails and you hit a slump.

If that's you, now worries. Here's five great ways to get your fitness motivation back!

1. Identify the trigger

Now I know I said that there could be no reason at all for your slump, but chances are it didn't just come out of thin air. Something probably triggered it. Sit down with yourself and a journal/notebook and get brutally honest with yourself for just five minutes. Ask yourself why you aren't motivated and write down everything in your thoughts no matter what. But be sure to stop after five minutes so it's a productive process. But identifying what the trigger actually is, you can deal with it, overcome it, and prevent any future setbacks.

2. Forgive yourself, and move on

Once you've identified what got you to the point of losing your motivation, forgive yourself, let it go, and move on. If you get stuck on a setback, it will probably just sabotage you. Sure it's nothing you want to repeat, but you also don't want to serve a life sentence for it either. Just restart the clock, give yourself a clean slate and get moving again.

3. Check your diet

Are you still eating healthily even though your fitness regimen has taken a hit? Healthy eating and exercise go hand in hand. If you're watching your diet, chances are you'll want to keep up the momentum in your workouts. The converse is also true. If you've been overindulgent and eating nothing but junk, you're going to want to veg-out on the couch, not go run a few miles.

4. Find a way to put some 'novelty' back into your routine!

It seems obvious, but sometimes a change will do you good. Find a way to make your workouts fun again. If you're a runner hit a new trail, or get some new music for your runs. If you love yoga, maybe a new class or pose routine will get you fired up again. It doesn't have to be a huge change, but it should be enough to make you look forward to working out instead of dreading it and heading for the couch and TV instead.

5. Give yourself an incentive

Bribery works. It sounds awful, but it does. So bribe yourself a bit. If you work out for five days, give yourself a little reward, and up the ante every milestone you hit. Maybe there's a great pair of shoes or some equipment you've had your eye on. Make yourself earn it. "Dangling a carrot" is a common phrase for a reason. It works.

These five tips will help you get motivated again about working out. Slumps happen to everyone, but what makes the difference is whether you come back or give up. Happy working out!