August is the month that gets people.

We started the summer so strong, new gear, fresh energy, a training schedule that actually made sense. And then somewhere between the vacation and the long weekends and the "I'll go tomorrow" days that stacked up quietly into two weeks, the momentum slipped.

The summer slump is soooooo real. Don't feel that bad though, it happens to almost everyone. It's a predictable consequence of summer being genuinely disruptive to routine. The days are longer, the social calendar is so full we're living each week fitting 8 days into 7, the heat makes everything feel harder, and the gym competes with literally every other thing that sounds more appealing when the sun is out.

Here's how to navigate it without losing everything you've built.

First: Acknowledge It Without Spiralling

The worst thing you can do when you notice the slump is panic. Two weeks off is not two years off. The strength you've built doesn't disappear. Muscle memory is real, and your body will come back faster than you think once you give it the stimulus again.

What derails us isn't the slump itself, it's the shame spiral that follows it. The all-or-nothing thinking that says if you've already missed two weeks, you might as well wait until September to restart. That thinking has cost more women more progress than any summer holiday ever has.

Acknowledge the slump. Then decide to do something about it. That's it!

Lower the Bar (Temporarily)

This is counterintuitive but it works: when motivation is low, make the sessions easier to say yes to.

Not easier in terms of intensity, easier in terms of commitment. Instead of a full 90-minute session, commit to 30 minutes. Instead of five exercises, do three. Instead of training four days a week, commit to two. When I am realllllllly dreading the gym I give myself a 10 minute rule. If I can commit to going for 10 minutes, getting on the treadmill/stairs and I still want to leave, I let myself leave without feeling guilty. But after 10 minutes I never bother leaving and I end up completing some sort of full work out. It works I swear!!

The goal in a slump isn't to optimize. The goal is to maintain the habit of showing up so that when the motivation returns.

A 30-minute session done consistently beats a perfect 90-minute program abandoned halfway through every single time.

Change Something

Sometimes the slump isn't about motivation, it's about boredom. You've been doing the same program for four months and your brain is as tired of it as your body.

If that's where you are, change something. Not everything!! But something. A new exercise. A different rep scheme. A training time you haven't tried. A new playlist. Something that makes the session feel slightly different from the 47 identical sessions before it.

Novelty is a legitimate training tool, use it!

Take the Training Outside

August is one of the last months you'll want to be outside in the morning before work or in the evening after dinner. Use it.

Bodyweight training in a park, a run on a trail you've never tried, a workout in your backyard, none of it is inferior to the gym. It's just different. And different is exactly what a slump needs.

The change of environment alone can shift your mental state enough to make training feel like a choice rather than an obligation. And a training session that feels like a choice is one you'll actually finish.

Protect One Non-Negotiable Session Per Week

If the summer slump has hit hard and you're struggling to get any momentum back, start here: commit to one session per week that happens no matter what. Not three. Not four. One.

Pick the day. Put it in your calendar. Treat it like a meeting you cannot cancel. Everything else is a bonus.

One session a week keeps the habit alive, keeps the neural pathways active (important!!), and gives you a base to build from when life settles back into routine. It's not giving up on your goals, it's just being strategic about keeping them long term.

Remember Why September Feels So Good

Here's the thing about the summer slump: it makes September feel incredible.

The routine comes back, there's back to school energy in the gym, the air gets crisp, and suddenly training feels like the most grounding thing in your week again. That feeling is coming. You just have to bridge the gap between now and then.

The women who hit the ground running in September aren't the ones who had a perfect summer. They're the ones who kept showing up, imperfectly and inconsistently, all the way through August.

That can be you. (it's definitely going to be me). One session at a time!! 🖤

Related reads: 

→ Plot Twist: June Is the New January 

→ A Love Letter to the 6am Girls (And the 9pm Girls, And Everyone in Between)