What are the most common reasons people give for not being physically active?

In a survey from the World Cancer Research Fund, 38% cite lack of motivation and 35% say they are too tired.

How can I make it easier to get started with a session?

Lay out your workout clothes in advance, decide what you will do before you start, and have short sessions ready. The fewer choices you have to make in the moment, the easier it is to begin.

Why does it help to set fixed training times?

If you still have to consider whether to train, it is quickly postponed. Advice from Harvard Health emphasises fixed routines because they reduce the need to make an active choice every time you are going to train.

What happens if the training is too demanding?

If the training often becomes too demanding, the likelihood increases that you postpone it or skip it altogether. Studies show that the experience of mastery is important for maintaining physical activity, while too high a load relative to your level makes it harder to follow up over time.

How can I become less dependent on motivation?

Establish frameworks that make it easier to follow through: train together with someone, schedule fixed times, or take part in organised training such as group classes, running groups, training courses or follow-up with a coach. They all create a clear framework and an expectation that you show up.

When Motivation Fails – How to Get Started | Hardworkout Magazine

Key takeaways

- Short sessions of 10–15 minutes lower the threshold enough that most people can train even on low-energy days.

- In a World Cancer Research Fund survey, 38% named lack of motivation and 35% named tiredness as the main reasons for not being physically active.

- Setting fixed training times removes the need to make an active choice before every session, which Harvard Health highlights as a way to maintain exercise routines.

- Training that is too demanding relative to your current level increases the likelihood that sessions are postponed or skipped altogether.

- Fixed frameworks such as a training partner, group classes or a coach create an expectation that you turn up, so training depends less on how you feel in the moment.

Why doesn't motivation show up when you need it?

Most people wait for motivation to show up before they train. The problem is that it often doesn't. Everyday life, stress, and low energy make it difficult to get started.

Therefore, training is not primarily about motivation, but about what makes it easy enough to get started.

Lower the Threshold to Get Started

Exercise is often postponed because it feels like too big of a project. If you think you have to complete a long and demanding session, the resistance increases immediately.

How short can a workout be and still count?

Make it easier. Decide on short sessions of 10–15 minutes. It is manageable even on days with little energy, and it is often enough to get started. Many also continue a bit longer once they have started.

Smaller and more concrete goals make it easier to exercise regularly.

In a survey from [World Cancer Research Fund](https://www.wcrf.org/about-us/news-and-blogs/new-findings-show-lack-of-motivation-and-feeling-too-tired-stops-brits-from-being-healthier/), 38% cite lack of motivation and 35% that they are too tired as the main reasons for not being physically active.

Therefore, it pays off to start gradually. Once exercise has become a regular habit, you can increase the training volume. This makes it easier to maintain consistent exercise over time, instead of going too hard at first, failing to keep it up over time, and losing motivation.

How easy it is to get started has a lot to say about whether the exercise will be completed. You can make the start easier by:

- Lay out workout clothes in advance

- Decide what you will do before you start

- Have short sessions ready

The fewer choices you have to make at that moment, the easier it is to get started.

Decide When to Train

If you still have to consider whether to train or not, it will quickly be postponed. It is easier when it is already decided.

Set fixed times during the week. It can be right after work, in the morning, or before dinner. The point is that training gets a fixed place, in line with other appointments.

Advice from [Harvard Health](https://www.health.harvard.edu/exercise-and-fitness/what-can-you-do-to-maintain-exercise-motivation) emphasizes fixed routines because it reduces the need to make an active choice every time you are going to train.

Choose something you can do regularly

The training must be adapted so that you can complete it several times a week.

If the training often becomes too demanding, the likelihood increases that you postpone it or skip it altogether.

[Studies](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1377947/full) show that the experience of mastery is important for maintaining physical activity, while too high a load relative to your level makes it more difficult to follow up over time.

Become Less Dependent on Motivation

It is challenging to rely on motivation every time you are going to train. Therefore, it can be useful to establish frameworks that make it easier to follow through.

For many, it works to:

- Train together with someone

- Schedule fixed times

- Participate in organized training, such as group classes at the gym or regular training groups

This can also include training courses, running groups, or follow-up with a coach. What they all have in common is that they provide a clear framework and an expectation that you show up. Then it becomes not just a question of how you feel at that moment.

What makes training stick over time?

Motivation will always vary. What determines whether you train is how easy it is to start and how much it requires at that moment. When you set up your training so that the threshold is low, it also becomes easier to keep it going over time.

![motivation for training](https://hardworkout.no/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/AdobeStock204492627.jpeg)

Sources:

New findings show ‘lack of motivation’ and ‘feeling too tired’ stops Brits from being healthier – [World Cancer Research Fund](https://www.wcrf.org/about-us/news-and-blogs/new-findings-show-lack-of-motivation-and-feeling-too-tired-stops-brits-from-being-healthier/)

Motivational variations in fitness: a population study of exercise modalities, gender and relationship status – [Frontiers in Phychology](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1377947/full)

What can you do to maintain exercise motivation? – [Harvard Health](https://www.health.harvard.edu/exercise-and-fitness/what-can-you-do-to-maintain-exercise-motivation)