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To progress from using exercise as punishment for overindulging or skipping workouts, to it being a form of self-care and empowerment.

The transition from diet hopping, fearing entire food groups, or simply feeling overwhelmed by nutrition, to no longer feeling guilty for eating any food, not spending more time than necessary thinking about nutrition, and being free from food obsession.

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I’ve been lifting weights long enough that I’m confident knowing when I have another rep or two, or three, left in me (i.e., “reps in reserve” or “reps in the tank,” as it’s known) when performing a set of an exercise. But I can still be wrong.

Like that time a few months ago when I got stapled by my attempted 10th rep on a set of close-grip bench presses. Rep nine came up strong and smooth and I was certain I would get the 10th. Once it came off my chest it immediately grinded to a halt, and then gravity did its thing. (I had safety bars in place so the barbell rested on them and I could easily squirm my way to freedom. Use safety bars when training alone!)

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Do you have short- and long-term goals you want to achieve?

If not, perhaps this will convince you to concoct your own as I discuss why you should have both, and how to go about choosing them.

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This may be coming to you at precisely the right time. Or this may be something you’ll need at a later date. Either way, one thing is for certain: Workout motivation is finite.

When was the last time you had a workout slump? When you didn’t have motivation to work out and your usual drive and enthusiasm wasn’t there? It seemingly vanished, like a well that’s run dry.

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More than ever people feel obligated to “crush” every workout. Many even think they must complete every workout utterly exhausted or experience soreness the following day. If they’re not totally spent or sore, they (erroneously) think they didn’t work hard enough.

Social media contributes to this false notion that every workout must be an all-out effort, and it’s easy to understand why. Social media is a nonstop highlight reel. People watch their favorite fitness experts and athletes posting videos of their personal records and challenging workouts and think this is the norm—that this “go hard all the time!” mentality is indicative of every single workout. This creates the mindset that every trip to the gym must result in a stellar workout and, if it doesn’t, then they did something wrong or the workout wasn’t productive.