After the 5,698 days of January… February seemed to flash by in a stomp of Baby Nik’s hooves and all of a sudden we find ourselves hurtling through the third month of the year. Already!
January is typically the time that we’ll all set ourselves some big goals for the year. And as we set these goals, excitement and motivation are running high. But then life gets busy. The to-do list builds up, and all those plans and good intentions can be left to gather dust at the back of the cupboard.
If you’re feeling a bit like you’re not on track to hit your goals this year and you’re not sure how to get back into the swing of things… this post is for you! We’ll share some top tips to help you find your motivation and get your fitness goals back on track. Because it’s never too late in the year to start working towards a new adventure.
March is the new January: it’s not too late to get started
In the same way that we have a tendency to proclaim that we’ll “start on Monday” – January is often held up as the only time of the year that you can set goals and make a fresh start. Miss the boat or struggle to keep the momentum up… well, you’ve blown it now and you’ve got to wait until next January, right? Nope! Don’t beat yourself up and certainly don’t let yourself believe that just because we’re a few months into the year there’s no point getting started.
This whole ‘total life overhaul on 1st January’ thing kind of just sets us up to feel like we’ve failed. But actually, when you think about it, January is a pretty tough time to be trying to tackle new challenges. It’s cold, it’s bleak. And all the tasks that pre-Christmas, festive-you decided to leave for future, January-you to deal with are suddenly right on top of you. Add to that the pressure of trying to get into a new routine and work towards a new challenge… well it’s no wonder it can all feel a bit overwhelming and you find yourself running out of steam (and motivation) by the middle of February.
The first thing to know – and to allow yourself to acknowledge – is that if you’ve got to March and you feel like you’ve not made the progress you were hoping for: you are not alone. You are definitely not a failure. And it’s most certainly not too late to get started.
March is the new January. The weather is (or at least it should be!) starting to get better. You’re into the swing of the year. There’s no such thing as the perfect time to get started… but now is as good a time as any. So let’s do this!
Enter a race or an event to stay motivated
There’s nothing like a deadline to get you motivated! If your fitness goal has been a bit general (“ride more often”, “start running”) let’s make it more specific. Finding an event to enter puts a solid date in your diary that you’ve got to work towards – giving you that extra nudge of motivation to get out the door. Don’t think of it as something scary and looming, think of it as something exciting to work towards! Nail the training and you’re going to enjoy that event so much more, and have a huge sense of achievement at the finish.
If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to choosing an event or a race to enter, it’s worth having a little browse through “Find a Race” for a bit of inspiration.
Find your Herd: Join a club or find a training partner to make it fun and keep yourself accountable
Getting the training sessions done all on your lonesome can be well… lonely. And that makes the snooze button on your alarm clock and the comforting folds of your duvet feel all the more tempting. Having someone to train with makes the sessions more enjoyable and it’ll keep you accountable. Your far less likely to bail on a session if you know your friend is going to be left hanging around on poolside or your club mates will be giving you a right old ribbing in the group chat because they’ve been waiting for you to show up for a bike ride!
Find your Herd and you’ll have people to laugh with, people to pull you through the tough moments and most importantly… people to talk into stopping for that mid-ride slice of cake with.
If you’ve never been part of a running, cycling or triathlon club before – it might all sound a bit scary and serious. But trust us when we say 99.9% of clubs are incredibly friendly, have members of all abilities and will become such a fantastic community of likeminded people for you to go on new adventures with. And don’t forget, if you’re not quite ready to go and join your local club yet – you can always chat with fellow members of the Stolen Goat Herd for advice and inspiration over on our Facebook group.
Ask for help
Don’t be afraid to ask for help with achieving your goal. This might be getting a coach or seeking expert advice from a nutritionist (for example) so that you have a better idea of what it is you need to be doing to achieve your goal. But it also might be sitting down with the people in your life and identifying what other life stuff you need help with in order to achieve your goals. You can’t spin all the plates, all at once and when you’re working towards something there’ll be compromises that have to be made. Something has to give – so take the time to work out what can go on the backburner or what could become a shared responsibility so that you can keep things sustainable. Don’t burn yourself out trying to do everything, perfectly, all at once. It’s not good for you and it’s not great for the people around you either.
Pressure might make diamonds… but it can also just turn you into dust so make sure you keep the balance so you can keep the joy. Having fun along the way is the key to success!
Re-assess your goal
It can be difficult, especially in this perpetual motion world we live in, but take a moment to stop and be introspective. Why haven’t you been training or taking the steps you need to achieve your goal? Is it external factors such as work or other busy life events? Or is it something more intrinsic? Why did you want to start working towards this goal in the first place? Deep down, is that goal you set yourself back in January genuinely something that you want to achieve? Or was it something that you almost felt like you had to put out there because of the January goal-setting pressure.
Your goal needs to be something that genuinely moves you. It’s a tough conversation to have with yourself, but if deep down you just don’t care about achieving it… that’s actually fine. It’s okay to change your mind, or to admit that maybe now isn’t the right time. Shift your focus, give yourself the freedom to find something that genuinely does excite you. Suddenly getting on track won’t feel so hard. If you need a bit of help with setting a goal – and actually achieving it – then check out our goal-setting blog post. It’ll help to find your ‘why’ and discover a goal that’s going to put a bit of fire in your belly. Just don’t blame us if you end up signing up for something wild and exciting!
And, if after all of this you’re thinking “actually, I’m not sure I have the capacity to be working towards some big goal or event right now” – that’s not something that you need to feel ashamed about or beat yourself up for. Let’s face it, this world we live in right now feels particularly upside down so if you need to just focus on putting one foot in front of the other right now… the big goals can wait. All we’ll say is, whenever you can try and find a bit of time for a little bit of adventure. You’ll be amazed at what a difference a quick spin round the lane on your bike or a jog with your favourite playlist in your ears can make to your perspective.
How will you be finding your Freedom in 2023? Whether you’re training for something epic or just making the most of your everyday adventures – with our ranges of swim, bike, run and triathlon kit we’ve got everything you need to adventure in more ways than ever before! Take a little browse around the site and treat yourself to some #NewKitDay joy – there’s nothing like new SG gear to show off to boost your motivation!