5 ways to motivate yourself to exercise in autumn

Is autumn is affecting your mood and energy, leaving you not wanting to exercise? Has your motivation to exercise got up and left the building?

We understand. The initial ‘back to school’ excitement has worn off and all those plans you had to get fit and tackle your health goals before Christmas seem to have been delayed. 

We see it in our email enquiries (September is a bit like January). We get inundated with ‘how to start’ emails at the beginning of September, only to find that the ‘life got in the way’ excuse means those same enquirers can’t get started because of [WORK SCHEDULE/ILLNESS/TIME]. 

Motivation doesn’t magically appear because of ‘back to school’ vibes

I hosted a table discussion with some fellow small business owners last week. They were all there for help with prioritising their health and fitness in order to stay well for their families and their customers but just as you think September will create more ease, everyone else is back at work too and life gets busy. They all felt the same way. From having to fit work around children with SEN, conversations with social workers or just struggling with motivation, let’s call it an autumn vibe: realisation of why, perhaps, those goals didn’t happen in May or June. The realisation being that it still takes discipline and hard work in September, it doesn’t just happen because of ‘back to school’ vibes.

Please don’t put it off until January

I understand because I’ve felt the same. When life de-rails you a little, for whatever reason, it can feel hard to get back on track. And with daylight depleting, increasing dark days due to storms or clouds, our habit brain tends to want us to hideaway and hibernate for months … ‘oh well I might as well wait until January.’ But waiting until January means skipping nearly a third of the year.

How to get motivated

So, how can you combat autumn inertia and motivate yourself to move?  

I’m fortunate to know the evidence, not just of why exercise is so good for you (I’m pretty sure you know this stuff but if you need a reminder check out 61 reasons to exercise for starters), but the science of motivation and motivators. 

So here my five BEST ways to not just motivate yourself but make sure that exercise gets done in September: 

1. Getting moving before midday will increase your light absorption. If you know you are someone who struggles in darker months, it’s even more important for you to get out in daylight. You may not be able to workout with the dawn but if you focus on exercising or getting out before midday it gives you a little flexibility in your schedule but also a cut-off time. Daylight and our minimal autumnal vitamin D absorption availability are at their highest levels before midday. Getting out WILL boost your mood, motivation and energy and vitamin D is essential for your immune system.
2. Work with your body’s natural hormone levels in order to sleep better and help combat stress. Do you struggle to sleep in winter months? You can use your exercise routine to help. Your cortisol levels are naturally higher in the morning so it’s best to do your high impact or high energy workouts in the morning when your stress levels are at their highest. This enables your cortisol levels to wain in the afternoon to help you get sleepy and sleep better. 
3. Switch coffee meetings or phone meetings for walking meetings. I promise, this is such an easy win – physically, mentally and practically. From a communication point of view, talking side by side is less combative. You may find it easier to talk frankly and bash out solutions. I had a message from one of those business owners I chatted with to say she’d started doing this for a regular social worker call and it was revelatory! 
4. Attach your activity to a well established habit, especially if it’s something you look forward to. So many people talk about exercise as something they have to do, that’s a chore or that’s something to endure. Noone’s going to look forward to that. If you can connect a new activity habit you’re trying to crack with something well established it makes it easier to establish the habit. For example: I have children I need to pick up from school. I like to ‘finish’ my week by heading out for a walk/bike ride before I pick them up from school on a Friday. It feels like a brain escape before the weekend and puts me in a better mood. I also like to run before church on a Sunday morning. That means getting out at 8am to ensure I’m back and ready to leave by 9. It’s associated with something else I already do.
5. Schedule exercise into your diary or fit in with someone else’s schedule. Things that are in your diary generally happen unless there’s an emergency or illness. If you run a business or work from home, no one needs to know why you’re not available 11-12 on a Tuesday. It’s just an appointment. My most successful clients do their workouts at regular times. This might be before their husband starts work so he can manage breakfast times; it might be around an existing work schedule, or of course, they have class times in their diary. Consistency works. If it’s a regular habit it’s much harder to break.

EMAIL US at info@fit-school.co.uk

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