Reading Time: 6 minutes The events of this year are enough to crush anyone’s drive. So how can you stay motivated this school year? Read this article to learn some tips.

Reading Time: 8 minutes Finding the time and motivation to work out can be tricky. Learn six proven ways to motivate yourself to get moving, plus how to sneak exercise into your daily routine.

Reading Time: 2 minutes Here are four ways to change up your workouts and increase your gains.

Reading Time: 3 minutes Find out what works for actually achieving the goals you set for yourself.

Reading Time: 4 minutes Learn the best ways to break old habits and form new ones.

Reading Time: 8 minutes

Reading Time: 2 minutes With a little planning, you can beat those end-of-term, beginning-of-summer-class blues to keep going when the going gets tough. Here are some tips to help you stay motivated.

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—Rachael T., University of Wyoming

Once you get over the initial ugh, starting a workout program can be pretty exciting—and the motivation tends to come more easily in the beginning. But as time goes on, finding the enthusiasm to continue to work out can be a challenge.

The key to long-term health and reaching your fitness goals is consistency, so it’s really important to be able to motivate yourself to get your workout in.

Here are three ways to stay motivated:

Psychologists identify two factors that help keep us motivated: extrinsic and intrinsic. Keeping a fitness journal or tracking your progress on a fitness app can help with intrinsic motivation, which comes from within yourself and is driven by internal rewards (we’ll get to extrinsic later). Think of how good you feel after you complete a hard workout or reach a fitness goal you’ve been striving for. These feelings of personal gratification can motivate you to continue working out. Write them down in a journal so when you need a little push to get your workout in, you can look back at it for a reminder about how great you feel after exercise.

Rewarding yourself is a form of extrinsic motivation, or incentive driven from external rewards. Think about some things that make you happy or that you consider a treat. It can be anything from a trip to your favorite coffee shop with friends to taking some time out to watch your favorite movie…again. Or something more extravagant, like that new gadget you have your eyes on. Try setting small weekly rewards for yourself and build up to a larger monthly reward. Before you know it, a month will have gone by and you’ll be reaping your reward for finishing all your workouts.

Want to take it a step further? Check out an app called SweatCoin, which tracks your steps and actually “pays” you in “sweat coins.” You can reward yourself with fun things like a new pair of shoes, an Apple Watch, or experiences such as a yoga class. You can also choose to donate your coins to help others.

Extrinsic motivation can also come in the form of goals, in both the long and short term. Long-term goals tend to be something larger, such as training for a 5K, an adventure race, or a specific charity event like a walkathon. To help keep you moving toward your long-term goal, set short-term goals too. These can be anything from increasing your cardio workout time by 10 minutes, increasing your weightlifting exercise by five pounds, or trying a new fitness class.

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	Jason K., Memorial University of Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Coach.me
By Lift Worldwide

“Meant to motivate people to achieve their goals, Coach.me can help you do anything from achieving small daily goals (e.g., a few minutes of exercise) to crushing your long-term goals (doing apartment renovations/redecorating). It’s fairly simple—just search different goal categories (that have been created by others) or make your own and add them to your calendar for a certain time in the future for daily/weekly events. With so many people simultaneously trying to achieve their goals, the app uses a peer-pressure mentality to encourage people to achieve them—and it works!”

Useful?   

With Coach.me, you have the support of others anywhere you go! What’s great is that for every goal you add to your profile, other users can comment with tips, advice, and encouragement. For example, if I chose “cook dinner” as a goal, I can ask about a good way to use up leftover ground turkey, and they can help me find a good recipe.

Fun?  

It was fun to see the different ways to achieve each goal. For example, my daily yoga goal provided several different ways to accomplish yoga—a 30-minute mat session or a 2-minute office chair session, which worked well in accommodating my changing schedule.

Effective?

I completed my goals, so this app was very effective for me. The huge variety of reasonably manageable goals mixed with the feedback from other users helped me stay motivated. Bonus: If anyone wants to go further than the app user community, there’s an option to hire personal coaches from different areas to provide one-on-one inspiration!

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Moving much? Ninety percent of college students say physical activity makes their life better (two-thirds said much better), according to a recent CampusWell survey. Consistent physical activity means more energy, better mood, and less stress. But research shows that many of us struggle to be active through life transitions—like going to college.

Good news: Students who believe they can make it happen are more likely to be active, according to a 2015 study in the Journal of American College Health. How can you build faith in your own intentions and goals? Behavioral research shows us: Incorporate activities that work for you, keep your goals realistic, and create a specific plan that anticipates likely obstacles.

Student Health 101 joined up with Bette Vargas, a college fitness trainer, to guide three undergraduates through this process. To see their strategies and plan in full, click on their images. In half an hour, you can make your own fitness plan and set yourself up for a dynamic, low-stress semester.

Bette Vargas is a certified personal trainer at the University of California, San Francisco.

We all want to stay active—what hurts and helps?

“Varied workouts rock—varied schedules, not so much”

Sonya M.

Fourth-year undergraduate
Northern Illinois University

“Physical activity makes me feel strong and agile, free yet in control. I strive to look forward to working out, and I do that by finding variety. The challenge is that every day is different. Things are constantly popping up, in between nursing school and clinicals.”

My strategies

• Find a workout buddy
• Work out early 
• Work out at home

Bette Vargas

“To include the camaraderie of your friends, why not plan a fun event like a hike, swim/pool party, or bike ride? This way, in a stress-free environment, you can talk about how to support each other. You may enjoy taking a variety of group classes to alleviate boredom.”

How I’m going to rock it

“I want to be a powerful athlete—and I want it now”

Wengang X.

Fourth-year undergraduate
Rutgers University, New Jersey

“Daily workouts help me gain muscle, power, and strength, and bring me one step closer to my dream of being a great American football player in my home country of China. It can be a challenge to fit everything in, and when I don’t see results after a crazy workout I wonder, ‘Am I wasting my time?’”

My strategies

• Find inspirational music and videos
• Stay positive through frustration
• Work out at home

Bette Vargas

“Be patient with your development, and keep it simple. Crazy workouts may be counterproductive because you run the risk of injury. Gaining muscle is a long, slow process and will require patience and dedication. Positive change comes when the body is at rest. Speak with the athletic trainer at your school regarding an exercise program for the specific position you would like to play.”

My breakthrough training plan

“Missing a workout’s a bummer—but I can be active en route”

Taylor R.

Fourth-year undergraduate
Hobart and William Smith Colleges, New York

“When I need to relieve stress from studying, I throw on my boxing gloves. Biking or taking a long walk around campus also helps calm my mind. Staying active makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something. But between classes and multiple jobs, I usually rely on a canceled meeting to get to yoga. At the gym, I feel uncomfortable, like people are watching me.”

My strategies

• Get it in my schedule
• Work out at home
• Walk or bike where I can

Bette Vargas

“For some people, a missed session brings discouragement and can spell doom for their workout regime. Be gentle with yourself. Keep it in perspective and get back to it the next day. And walking or biking instead of driving incorporates activity organically. Remember that you have every right to be in the gym. Plus, the people who you think are looking at you may just be staring into space waiting for their next set!”

My moves for staying chill

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“I plan to stay fit this fall semester by training for the an event in Hawaii. Lots of swimming, cycling and running will be involved as I prepare for the race!”
—Anthony Chan, graduate student, St. John’s University, New York

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