Motivation to train: how to really keep at it

It is 6:40 p.m. The sports bag has been standing in the hall since the morning, packed and mildly reproachful. It is drizzling outside, and the thought of the sofa is suddenly astonishingly convincing. Anyone waiting for motivation to train at exactly this moment usually waits in vain – because the feeling rarely comes before the first step. It comes after the first ten minutes.

Motivation to train: the short answer

Motivation to train is not a state you wait for, but a by-product of starting. Anyone who sets a fixed weekly appointment, keeps the entry hurdle small (clothes laid out, ten minutes as a minimum goal) and makes progress visible needs considerably less willpower. The routine takes over as soon as the decision no longer has to be made anew every evening.

That sounds unspectacular. That is exactly the point: the people who have trained regularly for years are rarely the ones with the strongest will – but the ones with the fewest open decisions.

How much exercise is recommended anyway?

The target is lower than many people think. According to the exercise recommendations from hepa.ch, the WHO recommends all adults at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week – or 75 to 150 minutes at high intensity. At the lower end that is around 20 minutes a day. Cycling briskly to work counts just as much as a class at the gym.

How well Switzerland is doing is shown by the figures from the MonAM monitoring: in 2022, 75.7 per cent of the population kept to the national exercise recommendations, and 30.1 per cent are considered «trained». That share has risen since 2002 (61.1 per cent) – though it has recently stagnated.

What changed in Swiss sporting behaviour in 2026

The Sport Switzerland study by the FOSPO from August 2026 shows a stable picture: 52 per cent very active, 17 per cent inactive in sport – both figures practically unchanged from 2020. Hiking, cycling, swimming, skiing and jogging remain the most popular sports, but they have lost popularity to strength training and yoga.

One detail from it is worth a second look: for the first time, gyms count more memberships than sports clubs. That changes the motivational situation. At the club the team is waiting on Tuesday – at the gym nobody is waiting. So anyone who moves from a club to a gym loses the social commitment and has to replace it deliberately: with a training partner, a booked class or a fixed entry in the calendar that is treated like a dentist's appointment.

Three typical hurdles – and the smallest workable step

Eating and drinking around your workout

Anyone who goes into training on an empty tank or with a full stomach makes keeping at it unnecessarily hard. A light meal one to two hours beforehand is more comfortable for most people than a lavish meal shortly before. You will find concrete ideas and timing tips under Before the workout.

With drinking, the basis is simple: according to the Swiss Society for Nutrition, an adult needs 1 to 2 litres of fluid a day under normal circumstances – and the need rises considerably in heat, with physical activity or hard physical work. Tap water is quite enough for most sessions. For longer or sweatier sessions many people also reach for a sports drink: Herbalife CR7 Drive sachets Açaí Berry 270g is a drink powder with carbohydrates and electrolytes in practical single portions – it fits in the side pocket of a rucksack and makes drinking on the move a habit.

After training, what counts above all is that something sensible makes it onto the table at all. Anyone who gets home late otherwise soon ends up with bread and jam. Herbalife Protein Powder Formula 3 240g can be stirred into water, milk or a Herbalife Formula 1 shake and so raises the protein share of a meal without your having to cook.

And the evening afterwards? Some people value a fixed closing routine that audibly ends the day – shower, tea, capsule, book. Herbalife H24 Restore 30 capsules is a food supplement from the H24 sports line and can be built into such an evening routine without fuss.

From a good resolution to a habit

Experience shows the first three weeks are the most strenuous, because every session still has to be consciously organised. After that nobody asks any more whether it is Tuesday – you simply go. A time-limited starting frame such as the Herbalife 21 Day Challenge is practical for exactly that: a clear end, a clear plan, no endless discussion with yourself.

A tip from practice you rarely read: plan the misses in. Anyone who allows themselves from the start to skip two sessions a month does not throw everything over after the first missed week. Perfectionism is the most common reason why training plans die in February.

Motivation to train is in the end less a question of character than of organisation: a fixed appointment, a bag laid out, something sensible to eat afterwards. Browse through All Herbalife products or pick up further everyday ideas in the Herbalife blog – and enter two appointments for next week today. If you have questions about the right combination, we are happy to advise you personally in Kloten.

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