How to Get It & How to Keep It.
Motivating yourself to workout can be difficult if you have the wrong attitude. Common excuses are feeling tired, stressed or not having the time. The best way to instill motivation is to take a step back and review your fitness goals. Assess how you are going to achieve them and how you will feel after you’ve succeeded. The following tips will ensure you stay motivated for your fitness journey.
How can exercise help you?
Reviewing the benefits of exercise can give you the motivation you need to start or continue your fitness journey. Discovering the short and long-term values can change your outlook on physical activity from negative to positive and can help you to pick up where you left off if you are struggling to continue. Remember; you can only gain from working out and have absolutely nothing to lose!
Set yourself some goals
Start small and plan ahead. Think about the reasons you want to start exercising; to improve your fitness level, to build muscle or tone up? By setting yourself a specific target within a time frame, you have something to work towards. Set realistic, easily accomplishable goals; five minutes on the treadmill and increase the duration or incline each time. If you set the bar too high, you may find it difficult to achieve. Take your time, accomplish a simple workout routine first, then you can develop your goals the further you go. You are more likely to commit if you can visualize achievable goals.
Log your workouts
Keeping a track of your fitness progress and activities can help you visualize your goals. Write down when you did the activity, how long you did it for and how you felt when you completed it. A sense of satisfaction and fulfillment will come when you log your completed activity for the day. When you feel yourself struggling to push yourself to exercise, check back to your log and see how far you’ve come already.
Two’s a company
Working out doesn’t have to be boring; an exercise partner can make training fun and provide you with the support and encouragement you need to push yourself towards your fitness goals. If none of your friends are fitness enthusiasts, then join a gym and try out the exercise classes. Not only are you still implementing your fitness routine but you’ll meet some great people, make new friends and the best thing is you’ve already got something in common! Social exercising helps make the time go quicker and can give a boost on off-days; so buddy up and plan your workouts together.
Improve your mood
Exercising releases endorphins which give you a feel-good factor. The adrenaline rush you feel when you first start to train helps to reduce stress and tiredness. Tiring yourself out after a long workout will also help you to sleep better at night, restoring your energy for the next day’s training!
Exercise is fun
Make sure you find an activity you enjoy! It will be difficult to pursue if you think the work out is boring. Try different classes, sports and gyms to find out which works best for you. Once you find something that you like, it’s easy to fit it into a routine. The exercise becomes something you want to do rather than you have to. If you find it repetitive, change it! If you are working out at home, put on the TV. A distraction while you exercise is a great way to forget your doing something you might not enjoy.
Treat yourself
When you reach your goals; reward yourself. Buy a new outfit or go for a holiday break but make sure your reward does not compromise your training objectives.
By rewarding yourself when you complete a short term goal, you give yourself a sense of achievement and therefore a drive to work harder to succeed in your long term goals.
These are some great ways you can boost your motivation to work out when you feel like you’re lacking. Vision your success at the end of your goals and imagine how you will feel. This will give you the determination you need to push through when you hit a wall. You need to remember you are the only person standing in your way if you make excuses you won’t see the changes. Keep motivated and you will reach your fitness goals in no time at all.
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