How to Avoid Fitness Burnout

We’ve all been there before: we are hot and heavy into our newest fitness routine, going to the gym or pushing play on your on-demand workouts seven days a week and living our best life. And then, BAM! You hit a wall and find yourself dreading working out. It becomes a chore. That my friend, is fitness burnout. But good news! There are three easy steps you can start taking today to completely avoid it and keep fitness something that is not only enjoyable, but something you want to do instead of something you have to do.

1.) Listen to Your Body. I don’t believe in having a set weekly workout routine with a designated “rest day.” Instead, I think each day you should check-in with your body and find out what is going to feel good on that particular day. Let’s call it Intuitive Movement. What is your mental, physical and emotional reaction when you say, “How about legs today?” or “What about a HIIT class” or “Perhaps some gentle yoga is what I need right now.” Be cognitive of how your body reacts with each suggestion and go from there. A “rest day” may turn into multiple rest days where you enjoy walking or bike riding instead. And that is 100% OK! To avoid burnout, it’s important to be flexible (pun intended) and not be so rigid. Trust your body to do exactly what it needs and wants to do!

2.) Change Things Up. If you are anything like me, then you have your go-to favorite workouts. Shameless plug here (but it is my blog ;)), my barre workouts are by far my favorite ways to move my body! But sometimes I prefer a slower pace yoga flow or get completely out of my element and lift heavy things to put them back down again! If my workouts become too predictable, sometimes I find that I don’t get excited about them. That’s when I change things up that day and choose a dance cardio workout, a stretch video or create a HIIT circuit on the fly! In addition to temporarily switching to a different format, you can also try switching the lengths of your workouts. Try an Express class instead of Full Length, or combine a few different 15 minute workouts together. Changing the time of day you move your body can also be helpful. When you find that your ol’ faithfuls aren’t getting you pumped to put your sassy pants on, it doesn’t mean they aren’t working for you anymore, it most likely means you just need to change things up for a day or so to get you excited about them again.

3.) Accountability. We all need a little help from our friends. When you feel the side effects of fitness burnout coming on like lack of motivation or boredom, that’s when you know it’s time to call in the reinforcements! Inviting your friends and family to workout with you is a great way to get back on track! You can also join a Fitness Challenge (or create one of your own!) to inspire you and reignite that drive. If you have been working out solo at home for a while, even just adding in a group class either in-person or virtually can help get your booty back in gear!

At some point in our fitness journeys, we will all probably experience fitness burnout to some degree, but it’s important to recognize the signs and ways to either avoid it completely or shorten it’s stay. By listening to our bodies, changing things up and surrounding ourselves with those who will hold us accountable, working out and moving our bodies can become one of life’s greatest pleasures!

Looking for a fitness routine that encourages all of the above? Then you’ll definitely want to check out our on-demand platform! We have barre, yoga, dance, stretching and more from 15 minutes to an hour long for all fitness levels! Plus, you can try it for FREE for 7 days! Get access here!

Hope to “see” you at the barre soon!

Cheers,

Heather McCreight