Lorna Jane’s 5 Exercise Motivation Tips To Get You Out Of Bed

Lorna Jane. Photo: supplied

Cast your mind to a Saturday in Bondi – or Teneriffe, South Yarra, Henley Beach, Cottesloe – and what is it you see? Blue skies, fresh coffee and maybe a green juice… and a whole lot of activewear. You know what we mean, the fashion forward sports luxe pieces that are taking over your weekend brunches: slim-line yoga pants, brightly-hued sneakers and a sleek little crop top or sweatshirt.

Sound familiar? Take it up with Lorna Jane Clarkson, the blonde, bubbly founder of the eponymous Australian activewear company, which has just celebrated it’s 25th birthday. The business – which Clarkson created while working as an aerobics instructor in Brisbane in the ‘90s – is largely credited with starting an active lifestyle revolution in Australia. Now with over 150 stores worldwide (including stores in the US, South Africa, Sweden and the UAE), Clarkson wants to preach her healthy living message to the world. “Activewear is really fashionable now, all the designers have lifted their game,” Clarkson tells us. “I think it’s fantastic. I’ve been waiting 25 years for this! I’ve been wearing activewear all my life, but I’ve just been looking like a bit of a weirdo.”

We sat down with Clarkson to find out her 5 exercise motivation tips to get you out of bed in the new year.

1. Lay out your activewear before you go to bed
“The first thing I do before I go to bed at night is lay out my activewear for the next day’s workout. I treat it like a special occasion in that sense, so I’m always thinking about what I’m going to be doing [in my workout]. If I’m going to go for a run, I’ll lay out a really cute singlet and a pair of running shorts and even [go] to the point where I put my headphones in. [It looks] almost like an Instagram shot! If you don’t workout the next morning, you have to walk past this activewear and you feel bad about it. I think if you’ve gone to that effort to lay everything out, you’re more likely to get up in the morning and do it.”

2. Exercise in the morning
“I’m fortunate enough that I’m a morning person, and I’ve gotten in the habit of going to be early and waking up early. I find you’re less likely to make excuses if you do it first in the morning because later on, your day gets in the way, something might happen with the kids or you’ll be busy at work. If you get [exercise] over and done with first thing in the morning you’re going to feel great for the rest of the day. And you’ve got less hours in the day to talk yourself out of it.”

3. Do something, even if it’s not the workout you planned
“I always tell myself that I’m going to exercise anyway. I might go to bed planning to do a weight session or a run, but when the alarm goes off and I think ‘I’m so sore, I’m tired’, I make sure that I still do something anyway. We’ve all been there! Maybe if I’m feeling sore I might go for a hike or do some yoga. With a lot of people it’s all or nothing, whereas I think everything counts.”

4. Commit to a friend or personal trainer
“If you’re going to do it for you, do it for someone else. If you go on a fitness journey with someone else, you’re less likely to let them down. When it’s friend, you feel like a bad person for letting them down. And your friend will hold you accountable! If it’s a trainer, often if you cancel you still have to pay. So you’re not going to do that too many times. And it’s a trainer’s job to keep you motivated. If you’re perpetually cancelling, there will be repercussions. When you actually do turn up, they’ll kill you. [Laughs]”

5. Wear activewear
“I know, just through social experiments with my friends and on myself, that if you wear activewear you are more active. It’s that simple. Many people who wear activewear in their day-to-day life don’t work out in it. But they are more active. They’re actually moving their bodies more. They might not be going to the gym or going for a run, but they might be walking to the shops or taking the stairs instead of the escalator. Because when you put runners on and activewear on, you will move your body. It’s a state of mind.”