January 23, 2025, 4:38 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
Finally, losing weight, getting big muscles, or completing a marathon – with ambitious fitness goals in mind, the motivation to train is initially huge, especially at the beginning of the year. But as great as the initial euphoria is, it often ebbs away just as quickly, and with it, the motivation to exercise. Fitness influencer and celebrity trainer Senada Greca is also familiar with this phenomenon. She knows why motivation quickly disappears – and revealed a “simple” trick to counteract this in an interview.
“Simple” is in quotation marks because Senada Greca’s tip to increase motivation to exercise might seem straightforward initially, yet implementing it could reveal some (internal) challenges. Nevertheless, it may be worth following Greca’s advice, as it could have a long-lasting effect once mastered. And at 41 years old, she speaks from experience. She herself has a long history of body image and eating disorders and years of intensive endurance sports behind her. In her thirties, she discovered the power of weight training for her own health and that of other women and now coaches the training of various celebrities, including Kim Kardashian. So, if SenadaGreca has a tip for greater sporting success, it’s worth listening.
How Quickly Many People Give Up on Training
“Most people give up because they don’t see progress fast enough,” Greca told Lewis Howes, a former American football pro, from her experience in the podcast. “It takes three to six months to see real results. However, many individuals abandon a new program within the first eight weeks.”
Motivation Killer: Unrealistic Training Goals
“Not fast enough” in this case means that goals have obviously been set that cannot be achieved in the short time hoped for. “Progress takes time. It takes time to build muscle, for example. It’s easier as a beginner. The body will react immediately because the training is something new. When you are more advanced, it becomes more difficult. Whether you’re building muscle or losing weight, progress takes time,” explained the celebrity trainer.
Regrettably, many individuals lack perseverance in sports, which is no easy feat. After all, training means long-term commitment rather than rapid change. This is precisely the source of frustration that leads many to lose motivation to exercise during training. “In my opinion, the main reason why so many people don’t stick with it is because they have unrealistic expectations,” says Greca.
Senada Greca’s Tip: the Journey Is the Destination
Greca’s approach to fostering motivation and perseverance begins with setting realistic goals.
She used a specific example to illustrate what she means: “I would advise someone who is just starting out, for whom training is something completely new, to simply set themselves the goal of going to training. Train a little every day and develop a regularity. This regularity is the most important goal you can set yourself. This is how you create a new habit – but it takes time. It used to be said that it takes 21 days to establish a new habit, but it takes much longer. 21 days is a good start, but to really solidify a habit – especially when it comes to training – you need a little more than two months.”
Senada Greca’s motivational motto is: the journey is the destination. Instead of chasing a certain number on the scales or having a certain body image in mind, it is more helpful to set yourself the goal of exercising. This approach provides a sense of accomplishment with each completed workout, which is far more motivating than fluctuating scale numbers or frequent mirror checks.
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Avoid Comparing Yourself to the Past
Another tip from the celebrity trainer: don’t compare yourself with your former self. In other words, at 40, one should not expect to have the physique one had at 20. “It should be about achieving the best version of your current body. That’s difficult because your body is constantly changing, and one year can make a big difference. But ask yourself the question: am I doing everything possible for my body right now in terms of strength training, nutrition, sleep, and recovery – in other words, all the factors that can shape the best me – at this specific point in time?”