Working out is a big part of my life. After nearly two years of back and forth with working out consecutively and then falling off the wagon, I discovered that I'm the kind of person who needs structure. Previously, I tried following a plan in a book for cycling, I joined 30 days of yoga, and even shared an excel sheet with a friend for accountability. Although all of those things were fun, I'd eventually stray away and find myself doing nothing and feeling bad about it. In January of this year I asked for a Garmin for my birthday and hired a coach. I was approaching another season of road that I wanted to compete in, since the year prior my training was pretty much non-existent, and I chickened out. Rewind to now, and I'm approaching a year of working out fairly consistently and although I'm supposed to train 6 days a week, I still have bad days (or even a few weeks) where I don't feel like doing it. I know that I love it and regret it when I don't work out, so here are some tips that help me stay motivated:

- Don't let your day affect your workout. I'm extremely guilty of this and if my day was upsetting, I tend to go home and do nothing. I've found that I should at least do yoga if I'm going to skip my planned workout. 

- If you do skip a day, just don't turn it into a habit. It happens, but remember tomorrow is a new day to get back on track. Don't give up just because of a missed day or missed week! 

- Find someone to help keep you accountable. Having a coach helps me because it didn't work when I had a friend or boyfriend as my accountability person, but this doesn't mean a friend won't work for you! Also, posting to my Instagram helps me! 

- Keep trying. If one method doesn't work for you, try something else. My best friend LOVES things like 21 Day Fix - so find what works for you! 

- Remember how far you've come and remember how much of a boss you are! Every little bit of effort is worth it, don't forget to be proud of what you've done! 

- Set a goal. Personally, I need something to work towards with some kind of accomplishment factor involved - which is partly why I race. If you aren't into competing against other people, maybe try tracking your own PR's and attempt to meet or exceed the accomplishments from the month prior. 

- Make it fun. I find myself going to as many group rides as I can during the summer because I have much more fun riding with other people. I also love photographing my rides and adding a social factor into it with apps like Strava. 

Do you have any tips for staying on track? Let me know, I'd love to hear them!