Moving something is most difficult in the beginning. There’s no momentum to aid your efforts. The same concept applies in regards to exercise. Getting motivated and into a routine can be very difficult for many reasons: you feel like you’re too busy, you feel discouraged because results aren’t immediate, or you feel like the journey is too difficult.

Don’t get discouraged, and don’t give up. Stop telling yourself that you’ll work out tomorrow, and make the most of today! After all, you’ll never get another shot at today. For every beginner out there; there are several ways to stay with your fitness goals. Finding out what works best for you is important. Here are six different ways to stay motivated as a beginner.

Many people fail to reach their goals because they succumb to their own mind. One missed day turns into a week and, before you know it, you’re out of a routine. To prevent this from happening, find yourself an accountability partner. This is someone who will hold you accountable for your actions (or lack thereof), and you will serve a mutual role for them. If you have a personal trainer, they can also serve as an excellent accountability partner to you.

In order to stay motivated, it is very important to have your home reflect your goals. You’re home environment can sharply impact your motivation. A messy, unkept living space reflects a lack of self-care and laziness. The two aforementioned traits are toxic to motivation and fitness goals. Ridding yourself of a messy environment can help you stay on track.

Listen, macro goals are awesome. But, they’re usually pretty far out of reach in the beginning. Staring at the mountain of the journey that lies ahead can be quite daunting. To keep yourself from getting overwhelmed, set micro goals for yourself. For example, set quantifiable goals such as losing 5% of your body weight, or increasing the amount of weight you’re able to use for a particular lift by 10lbs. These small victories will eventually amount to your larger goals.

Personal trainers will do a great job of doing this for you. If you don’t have a personal trainer, the responsibility is going to fall on your shoulders. Change up the workouts that you’re including in each targeted workout. Many programs and personal trainers will have you target a different body area (i.e Chest, Legs, Core) once a week. They will have you do the same workouts for 4 sessions, then switch up the entire workout for each muscle group. Install this into your personal routine to keep things exciting and new.