A text arrived. It said: “Hey PF, if you’re keen, we’re doing the 80 mins as per program tomorrow. 5:14am at my place then heading…”

My eyes glazed over.

By the end of the message I’d lost interest. It was hot, I was tired and the last thing I felt like doing was grinding out 8o minutes in the heat.

Come to think of it I couldn’t bear to even think about running.

The day wore on. I wrestled with excuses.  

Then it came to me: tackle this lack of motivation head on.

The question I asked, then, was this: How can I motivate myself to run when it’s the last thing I feel like doing?

Here are the answers I came up with.

1. Don’t fight it. Roll with the flow and have a day or two or three off. Have faith that the inspiration will return.
2. Do something short and easy. Do it for the joy of being back on the bike, back on the track or back in the gym.
3. Adjust your workload. Trying to cram too much into the day can sap the joy out of life. Slow down.
4. Don’t think about the big goal. Think about doing the first kilometre, the first rep, or even just getting out of bed.
5. Read success stories, how to articles or watch inspirational videos.
6. Make an exercise date with like-minded people. I run with a group in Victoria Park and do strongman training with some comrades in Cannington.
7. Own your lack of motivation. Talk about it and write about it.  Own the syrup you’re trying to swim through.
8. Don’t beat up on yourself if you skip a workout. Shit happens. There’s no point in getting down on yourself, that just makes it harder to get back on your feet again.
9. Keep your goal in the public eye – like I’m doing with these blog posts.
10. Look failure squarely in the eye. When I did my big ride my sports psych got me to address the worst case scenario. It was a liberating experience.
11. Remind yourself about the good stuff you’ve done and the goals you’ve achieved.
12. Get a good night’s rest.
13. Take it easy on the booze. I haven’t had a drink since September 14, 2013 and I still feel flat. Imagine how much worse I’d feel if I’d ploughed through a bottle of red.
14. Think small. Do a tiny workout even if it’s just a few pushups or a walk around the block. Something small is better than nothing at all. 
15. Mix it up. Go for a ride instead of a run. Go for a swim or paintballing.

How do you get your mojo back if you’re in an exercise slump?

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