5 Reasons Why You Didn’t Get Fit in 2020

While this year wasn’t fun, it probably afforded you more time and home than ever before. You could have built a home gym, watched some youtube videos (or maybe come to a website like ours with FREE workouts) and gotten in the best shape of your life, but you didn’t. We spoke to tons of industry professionals for their input and here is a short summary of what they had to say.

#1 | No Plans, No Motivation

A lot of people are event-motivated. That upcoming wedding, beach vacation, high school reunion, etc. USED TO get your butt in the gym and your diet dialed in… but that’s all gone now!

The problem with training for an event that is 1, 3, or even 12 months away is that the goal is too near-term. Your motivation will evaporate once it happens, and worse, you’ll reward yourself for doing a good job by going right back to your bad habits.

SOLUTION: You need longer-term goals to sustain yourself through low-motivation periods. Go big and plan long. If you’re a skinny guy, plan to safely add 25% of your bodyweight in muscle. If you’re a large person, pick a “dream” weight loss goal. If you’ve never competed, schedule a marathon or a triathlon. Do something that will require big changes and plan in the 2-5 year range.

#2 | No Gym

Do you need $200k worth of fitness equipment, a spa, a juice bar, and a yoga studio to get into shape? Nope.

Even so, all of that stuff puts you in the MOOD to get in shape. So do the trainers and other fitness enthusiasts at the gym. It’s a destination for you to do one thing, get in shape.

Without a dedicated place to go, you’re now forced to train in your “safe place,” your home. It’s hard to look at the place you retreat to relax, sleep, and eat as your new gym, but you need to do it.

SOLUTION: Pick a spot, any spot, to dedicate to exercise. It could be your garage, a corner of your bedroom, or your back porch. Grab the gear you have and place it there. Every time you walk by you’ll remember that your home is now your gym (or at least a small part of it) and that you don’t need to go anywhere to exercise.

#3 | No In-Person Trainer

For many people, training online is tough. You have to pay attention to a screen, the trainer can only see your form so well, and you can “lose connection” when things get too tough. People need an external coach to watch their form, drive them past their limits, and keep them accountable.

SOLUTION: You need more than one person to keep you accountable and on track. You need to join an online group that can keep you accountable. Many trainers have these groups on Facebook or through their websites… you just need to ask!

#4 | No Will Power

You had nothing to do! What you did have was food, booze, and television, and everyone telling you to stay home. Unsurprisingly, this has been a recipe for disaster for health and fitness. Temptation won, but it doesn’t have to forever.

SOLUTION: Planning and tracking is the only thing you have left to keep on track. If you can make your fitness and health less emotion-driven and more program-driven, you can maintain a higher level of fitness when things get rough. Even if you slack a little bit, you can still prevent a total collapse that will require even more time to recover from.

#5 | No Competition

Nothing gets people working out more than knowing that you have an event coming up. Sure, “competing against yourself” is great for motivational posters, but racing head to head with friends or strangers creates an emotional drive that can’t be beat.

This year saw most big events cancelled and many long-term training programs dashed to bits. When the pandemic went from a “3-week shutdown” to a never ending series of cancellations, you may have lost some drive.

SOLUTION: Schedule your new events anyways and start training. If you’re tired of delays, map out the event locally and do it yourself (or maybe find some local buddies to participate).

Conclusion

You can’t keep waiting for this situation to end. You need to find a new way to get motivated and start training. There will never be an ideal time to reset your objectives, so you might as well start today. Use our simple tips and let us know how it goes! If you need more motivation, join our online training group on Facebook.