How Former Athletes Lose Their Drive to Exercise (And How to Rekindle It)
How to rekindle your drive to workout again.
By Kelan Ern Updated: 04/17/25
Image generated by Canva AI
When I was in 4th grade, I fell in love with football.
For years I did conditioning drills… worked on my 40-yard dash… and hit the weights to build my strength and power. I felt pulled to work out. Almost no motivation was required. But when I reached college, something changed.
I decided to hang up my jersey (due to a low back injury) and for the first time, working out became a real struggle. For the first time, I had to find motivation.
But why? Why did it become so hard to stay motivated after years of exercising with little push needed?
Because my purpose for working out had vanished.
My reason for exercising evaporated like a puff of smoke in the air. Since then I’ve learned that I’m not alone in this. Many collegiate athletes struggle to find the drive to work out once they stop playing sports.
After personally going through this 'motivational challenge', here are four key lessons that helped me rekindle my motivation to exercise (and uncover what smolders it out).
4 Ways to Recover Lost Motivation to Workout
#1: Find a New Purpose
More importantly, find a new driving purpose - a new compelling reason to exercise.
Something that excites you, something that rekindles your drive again. Maybe losing 5… 10… or 20 pounds on the scale motivates you. Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe finding a way to be an athlete again does.
Here are some ideas:
Find a new sport to play
Sign up for a Warrior Dash
Sign up for a Tough Mudder
Sign up for a 5k (or 10k)
Sign up for a Hyrox (hybrid fitness competition)
Sign up for a charity walk
Schedule a hike
Set a strength goal (for bench press, squat, or deadlift)
Set a walking goal
Set a running goal
These can all re-spark your drive to move more. More importantly, they can bring out that inner athlete in you again. That side of you that loves to compete or be part of a team.
Now as powerful as a new purpose is, here’s something that will smolder your motivation fast unless you catch it.
#2: Inward Comparison
Inward Comparison is comparing yourself to your previous self.
We’ve all heard we shouldn’t compare ourselves to others. But comparing yourself to where you were years ago… or even decades ago can be just as problematic. It’s constantly measuring yourself up to how fit or strong you used to be. And this constant comparison can hammer down your self-confidence and motivation.
Especially when you put on top of it the belief: "I should be better than this!" This was a major de-motivator for me.
When I went to the gym, I would would imagine how much I used to be able to squat... bench press... or hang clean. Then I'd compare it with the numbers I was currently lifting and beat myself up.
I’d think to myself:
I should be stronger. I should be able to bench press 250. I should be able to squat 315 again.
The truth was, no I shouldn’t!
Not because I wasn’t physically capable of those numbers. But because I hadn’t put in the work. If I would have kept working at it, yes! But since I didn’t, I can’t be surprised.
So what do you do instead?
#3: Honest Starting Location
To travel anywhere you need two pieces of information: a) Your ultimate destination (whether that's the Grand Canyon or scenic Des Moines Iowa) b) Your starting point
If you aren't honest about this second detail, you won't arrive at your destination. Because different starting points require different routes. Some people have to take back roads and country highways to reach a destination. Others need to drive along the interstate. While others just have to go down the street.
Same with fitness goals.
Some people have 100+ pounds to drop… or a reconstructed knee … or haven’t exercised in 20 years. Each starting point requires a different route. If I’m going to help a former football player who had rotator cuff surgery, I’m going to have a very different plan of attack than working with handyman who hasn’t lifted a weight in his life.
Your route should be individualized for you.
But to do that, you have to be honest about your starting location: your weight… your blood pressure… your mobility… how many pushups you can do… how far you can walk… or just how much exercise you are currently getting each week. This may stir up some hurt and dissatisfaction but it also grounds you in reality.
And guess what?
That might just be just the ignition switch you need to fire up your exercise and nutrition habits again and kick it into the next gear.
Once you know where you are starting. Be at peace with it because it doesn’t mean you have to stay there for long.
#4: Focus on Constant Improvement
Focus on improvement even if it’s gradual.
Even if it’s baby steps (or crawls) forward. Focus on walking those few extra blocks… lifting 5 more pounds… doing 10 more minutes on the elliptical… focus on bettering your best. Just push yourself a little bit more each time. Better you best over… and over again. Do this and watch as you start to close the gap between where you are and where you used to be.
Even if you are no longer an athlete. Even if it’s been years since you’ve exercised. Even if you aren’t happy with the shape you are in today.
It’s time embrace your inner athlete again. It’s time to storm the field again. Just in a new way.
Kelan Ern
P.S. If you want to awaken that inner athlete again and restore your athleticism - check out a free issue of Mind-Body Breakthroughs - where I do a deep dive on the mindset, habits and strategies of the fittest athletes on the planet.
