The most overlooked part of every training program? Motivation. It鈥檚 the key to showing up, pushing through your plateau, and making big gains in performance. But staying motivated is easier said than done. That鈥檚 why we talked to coaches and athletes and training experts and got their top tips on getting your mental game in shape. Put their advice into action, and there鈥檚 no limit to what you can achieve.

Choose a Just-Right Goal

Beginning a fitness routine without a clear goal in mind is like setting off on an expedition without a map鈥攅ven with the best of intentions, there鈥檚 just no telling where you鈥檒l end up. Instead, pick a measurable objective, like a personal record in a 5K, completing a century ride, or competing in your first triathlon. Your goal should be a stretch, but still feel attainable.

Keep It Personal

“Almost anybody with the proper training and mindset can accomplish big goals,鈥� says cycling coach Kristen Bonkoski. But keep your goals personal, like finishing your first half-marathon or beating your previous pace. 鈥淲hat you don鈥檛 want to do is set goals based on other people, like 鈥榝inish in the top 20,鈥欌�� Bonkoski says.

Expand Your Goal Setting

Don鈥檛 be afraid to include mental goals, says Brianna Cope, a pro surfer, avid runner, and ambassador for KT Tape. For example, in Cope鈥檚 last marathon, her goal was to squash the negative self-talk that plagued her in past races. Also consider social goals, like running a 10K with a friend or family member, or joining a group ride on a new route.

Set a Schedule

Whatever your goal, you鈥檒l also need a deadline. How long it will take you to train depends on your current fitness level, but six to eight weeks is reasonable for a shorter-distance goal, like your first 10K. For longer distances or bigger reaches, give yourself more like 16 weeks. Setting a realistic schedule helps with motivation because you鈥檙e less likely to get discouraged by what seems like an impossible task.

Stick With It

Everybody has moments when enthusiasm wanes. That鈥檚 normal. But you can prevent these moments from undermining your training. Try connecting with a trainer, friend, or local club鈥攊t鈥檚 harder to bail when someone is expecting you. Calendar out your workouts for the week to make sure a day doesn鈥檛 get away from you. Lay out your gear the night before your workout so you鈥檙e ready to go when it鈥檚 training time.

Embrace Recovery

A surefire way to sap your motivation? Working out too much. Your body needs recovery time to build strength between workouts, and without it, you鈥檙e more likely to feel tired and sore, and suffer the kind of mental fatigue that keeps you home on the days you should be going hard. Here鈥檚 how to best incorporate rest into your training.

• Take at least one rest day per week, maybe two. For athletes who are training hard, Bonkoski also builds in a rest week every month, with much reduced effort.
• Don鈥檛 confuse 鈥渞est day鈥� with 鈥渟pend the whole day on the couch.鈥� If it feels good, try a more mellow activity: swimming, yoga, a walk with a friend. This kind of 鈥渁ctive recovery鈥� keeps blood flowing, helping flush out the waste products you鈥檝e created during exercise and aiding in muscle repair.
• Take care of the basics. Get at least 8 hours of sleep; eat fruits, veggies, and complex carbs to refill your body鈥檚 stores; and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

Boost Recovery

Tape It: Many athletes and trainers swear by kinesiology tape for sore or painful spots. 鈥淭ape allows more blood flow to the area, which can increase recovery,鈥� says , a sports chiropractor and KT Tape ambassador. With , you get flexible support that maintains full mobility and is long-lasting (wear it for up to seven days). Reducing post-workout soreness helps you feel your best for your next effort, and helps keep you on track to reach your goals.

Cool It: For decades, sore athletes have reached for an ice pack to help reduce post-exercise pain. Icing is popular because it reduces swelling and relieves pain鈥攂ut you can do better than sticking a bag of frozen peas on an achy joint. The is a reusable, flexible compression sleeve that comes in three sizes for comfortable use everywhere from knees to elbows to ankles. There鈥檚 no leaking, sliding around, or warming up too quickly: Just store it in the freezer and slide it on after a workout.

Since 2008, has been revolutionizing the sports medicine industry with the most technologically advanced and recognized kinesiology tape and recovery products. KT Tape kinesiology tape provides localized increase in blood flow to relieve pain and provide support for muscle pain and common injuries. And now, KT has introduced a line of KT Health products to include topical pain relief, diabetes care, ice/heat treatment, footcare, and more. The purpose of KT is to provide solutions that empower movement to unleash every body’s potential for everyone from everyday athletes to the pros.

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No matter what kind of athlete you are鈥攆rom casual dabbler to elite competitor鈥攜ou鈥檝e likely experienced the soreness that follows a strenuous workout. In medicalese, it鈥檚 called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and it usually peaks 48 hours after exercise. It鈥檚 a normal consequence of pushing yourself to get stronger or tackling a big goal like riding a century, but that doesn鈥檛 make it any more pleasant. It can be especially frustrating when you鈥檙e just starting out and push too hard before you build up your fitness.

Despite the near-universal experience of DOMS鈥攔unners, cyclists, hikers, climbers, and paddlers all feel it鈥攖he underlying cause is poorly understood. The theory is that after strenuous exercise, some combination of muscle spasms, lactic acid buildup, tissue damage, and inflammation lead to pain and soreness. Fortunately, the science around treating DOMS using cold and heat therapy鈥攁nd the tools available鈥攈as made great progress in recent years. Also good news: cold and heat are great for treating other common aches and pains, including injuries, joint soreness, and muscle strains.

The Benefits of Cold and Heat

Cold and heat are both known to provide relief, but they work in different ways, so it鈥檚 important to know when and how to use them. As a simple rule of thumb, cold has anti-inflammatory and pain-reducing qualities, making it a great option for post-workout recovery and treating injuries. Heat increases blood flow and loosens muscles and is good for pre-training warm-up.

Cold therapy has long been known to reduce DOMS symptoms, as it causes vasoconstriction, which reduces inflammation. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like clamping down on a water hose, so fluid gets pushed out, which reduces swelling,鈥� says Dr. Erin Hassler, a sports medicine expert who has worked with USA Track and Field and is a member of KT Tape鈥檚 Medical Advisory Board. 鈥淐old also dampens pain by redirecting the brain away from the affected area.鈥� Indeed, cold reduces pain better than heat, according to this in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. The authors also concluded that cold is best for aiding strength recovery in the first 24 hours after exercise.

And it鈥檚 not just ice packs that鈥檒l do the trick. , an organic compound derived from peppermint oil, causes a cooling sensation when applied to skin. Essentially, it signals your cold receptors that you鈥檙e experiencing a drop in temperature and in turn tricks your brain into numbing the pain. Menthol doesn鈥檛 aid healing, as it鈥檚 not actually making your body cold, but it mimics the chemical process that would occur if you experienced cold, providing similar pain relief. Magic.

But don鈥檛 put all your eggs in the cold basket. Heat is just as good for some benefits and has others that cold doesn鈥檛. That same Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research study concluded that compared to using nothing at all, both cold and heat were 鈥渟ignificantly better to prevent elastic tissue damage,鈥� and both reduced the loss of muscle strength. (The control group lost 24% of strength just after exercise; subjects using cold or heat just after exercise lost only 4%.) Unlike cold, heat is great for promoting blood flow and warming muscles for exercise.

So how do you work cold, menthol, and heat into your own recovery routine? With tools that use research-backed technologies for effectiveness and are easy to use, so you put them into practice. KT Tape, the company that pioneered high-performance that can reduce DOMS by 50%, designed a tool kit of products to help you perform and feel your best. Here are four ways to work cold and heat therapy into your regular workout program.

KT Tape Pro Ice

This new product combines the long-lasting pain alleviation of and the immediate cooling relief of menthol. The stretchy, tape has the same elasticity as your skin, so it as you move, releasing and recoiling like a rubber band. And it鈥檚 easy to apply the tape for various needs in places like knees, shoulders, hamstrings, and more. Just follow this with video tutorials for treating specific body parts. Once applied, the tape lifts the skin, temporarily increasing blood flow to the area, helping to reduce pain and soreness. Add the cooling sensation of menthol, which enhances pain relief, and you have the ideal dual-action tape that you can leave on for up to seven days for ongoing pain relief and support. And unlike a menthol cream that can sweat off, says Dr. Hassler, 鈥淚t goes where you want it to go and stays on.鈥�

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Whatever your sport, avoiding or mitigating injuries is as important as logging miles or sessions. But if you find yourself toeing the line between pushing it too far or sitting on the sidelines, one preventative measure can help support your body so you can keep training: kinesiology therapeutic tape. Utilizing this elastic tape to reduce injuries and boost performance isn鈥檛 a revolutionary idea in exercise science鈥攅specially when integrated with other body maintenance and recovery best practices. Using the right tape effectively, however? Now that鈥檚 another story.聽

And it鈥檚 not just elite athletes who can benefit, either. You don鈥檛 need to resemble the colorfully taped Olympic beach volleyball champs who come to mind. When applied correctly, kinesiology tape can ease pain, mitigate injuries, and reduce post-workout muscle soreness in mortal athletes engaged in any type of outdoor exertion or active venture. Here鈥檚 how.

Choose a High-Quality Tape

Not surprisingly, . When you compare options, look for one that offers non-restrictive movement so you can continue to train comfortably. High-quality adhesives help tape to last longer, offering more support to the target area before, during, and after a workout. stands up to your toughest workouts. Made from synthetic fibers featuring an elastic core, this performance tape provides more support than cotton kinesiology tape without restricting movement. The adhesive also lasts four to seven days through sweat, swims, and showers鈥攎eaning it鈥檚 an easy addition to a daily, or even weekly, routine. Plus, rounded corners on each strip reduce snags and peeling.聽

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Learn Correct Taping Techniques

Sure, your old-school gym trainer鈥檚 tape can provide support in a pinch. And modernizing to a kinesiology tape can address a number of common athletic injuries. But creating the perfect balance of support and flexibility is an art. One of the most common errors? Applying the tape right before activity. It needs an hour to adhere; proper advance application time helps it last for days (vs. hours) of continuous use. Strips should also be sized long enough to cover the affected area without stretching 1.5 inches at either end. KT Tape Pro comes in pre-cut strips that take the guesswork out of taping. But before you even take the backing off the tape, watch a video to learn the proper taping technique for the target area (or areas) you鈥檙e experiencing pain. KT Tape has a to help you utilize the tape like a pro. Seriously, you鈥檒l feel like you just walked out of your PT鈥檚 office.聽

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Prep Your Skin Before Applying

Once you have a game plan, it鈥檚 time to prep your skin before applying the tape. Remove any lotions, body oils, or sunscreen. You may want to trim excess body hair. Then, wipe down your skin with rubbing alcohol and let the area dry before applying the tape directly to your skin. For best results, apply KT Tape at least an hour before training. is painless and simple even with body hair, where first applying some baby or mineral oil to the tape, or peeling off in the shower, can also help.

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Make Kinesiology Tape Part of Your Movement Routine

Kinesiology tape isn鈥檛 just helpful for supporting muscle groups and injuries during training. If soreness affects your ability to stick to a movement routine, KT Tape can help your body recover by supporting sore muscles and joints before, during, and after your workout. Studies have shown kinesiology tape helps to aid recovery and reduce soreness by up to 50 percent when worn during and at least 48 hours after exercise. Integrate it into your routine as general preventative (eg. tape before, foam-roll after) and as a key body-maintenance tool to keep you out there performing with less pain and risk of injury.

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moves with you so you can crush every moment and unleash your potential. The product provides long-lasting support and pain relief for muscles, tendons, and ligaments for anyone who loves to move, wherever your adventures take you.

Tips for Pain-Free Exercise

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