7 fitness tips from Olympic athletes for when you're lacking motivation

Lauryn's an advocate of acknowledging and moving on from slip-ups

FOR STYLIST MAGAZINE STRONG WOMEN.

Struggling to stay motivated? Get ready for a dose of easy-to-digest inspiration from five Olympic-standard athletes on how to stick to your exercise regime and make 2021 your strongest year yet.

However noble your fitness intentions, lockdown may have knocked you off-piste. You’ve not left the house for days, got dressed in weeks or seen a gym in months. Do you even know where your running shoes are at this point? But you know, even professionals can lose their mojo sometimes, and who better to get advice on motivation and inspiration than a bunch of super-strong atheletes? 

We spoke to five Olympians to find out how they keep going, what they do to stay motivated and how they come back from failure. From pilates to brain dumping, here are their top fitness tips to fire up your strength journey:

1. CONCENTRATE ON ONE HABIT CHANGE

Lauryn Williams, sprinter and bobsledder (the only US woman to hold both winter and summer Olympic medals!), reminds us to be smart with our fitness goals. “When we think about our goals, we’re frequently way too drastic – we go from eating crisps to being a clean-eating vegan overnight,” she says. “What I’ve learned to do is just choose one thing to concentrate on.” Her current focus is on reducing her intake of fried foods, which she says makes more sense than trying to change lots of different habits at once. “Instead of saying ‘I’m not eating meat and I’m not eating dairy for the whole year’, just take one thing and focus on that.”

2. CUT YOURSELF SOME SLACK

Most importantly, Lauryn emphasises that it’s important to remember we’re still human. “Give yourself some grace if you slip up!” she stresses. “I am the queen of ‘it’s the first of the month, it’s the first of the year, it’s Monday’ – I’ll take any chance to start over if I make mistakes.” Rather than starting again at the next opportunity, Lauryn suggests just acknowledging that things haven’t gone according to plan and remembering that we’re not perfect. “Don’t give up on your goal just because you didn’t do it perfectly. None of us ever do.”

For more: https://www.stylist.co.uk/fitness-health/olympic-athletes-strong-fitness-tips/475827