Are you wondering how to get motivated to exercise? Almost everyone goes through it at some point- trying to find the motivation and reason to get up and exercise everyday. It’s a hard thing to do. Only those who really enjoy exercise or have the willpower to make themselves do it day in and day out really succeed. Some of us need a little extra help to get going. There are small mental things we can do to help us achieve the fitness level we so desperately want.
Tips To Motivate Yourself to Exercise
Challenging yourself to meet small goals along your fitness journey is a fantastic way to keep motivated. I figured this out after I caught myself saying “there are no changes happening” or “I don’t think I am really getting anywhere”. Actually just working out a couple of weeks your body will have made so many tremendous changes that you might not be able to see. So I figured out if I can make set small goals along the way this would probably help me achieve success. Here are a couple of the little things I did. Hopefully they will help you too. Also remember, that exercising is a great example to set for your children and encourage them to try it too!
Set Reasonable Exercise Goals
Set your fitness goals first. The goal should be your target weight, or size that you want to reach. But, make it reasonable. If you are looking to get into the same size that you were in high school, it just might not be practical. A healthy weight is far more important.
Also, set your goal in steps. If your goal is to lose 30 pounds, set it in stages of 10 pounds each. This will help to fight discouragement. If you want, give yourself mini rewards for the milestones. A fitness goal will help you to determine reasonable exercise goals to get there.
Running
I absolutely despised running. I never enjoyed it and had it set in my brain that I couldn’t do it. For this reason, I decided I would start small. The first goal I set was to jog 1/2 mile, then a mile, then 1.5 miles and so on until I could actually run a 5K race from start to finish without stopping. Each time I reached one of this goals it felt fantastic and I could not wait to get to my next goal. Today I can run 5 miles without any problem. I actually enjoy it now.
Weight Lifting
I wanted to increase my overall muscle tone and the amount of weight I could lift. The amount I wanted to increase by was a lot. I accomplished this in a similar way to my running goals. I just increased my goal by ten pounds at a time. Because I achieved goals more frequently, it made me feel good and want to keep going. I am not all the way to my overall goal yet but I am getting close and feeling great.
Figure Out Your Why
“Your why” are medium to long term goals. Doing this helped me a lot. If you enjoy activities such as hiking, cycling, motorcycle riding or bee keeping (you get my point) then exercise could help with just about every activity. Why do you want to exercise? To become a better athlete? To become slim? Or to become more healthy? My mental picture was how I would look laying on the beach. This helped to keep me going on days when I just didn’t feel up to it. I put a picture of a beach in the Cayman Islands on the wall in the room where I did my workout. This gave my exercise reason.
Pick a Reward For Reaching Your Fitness Goals
I found a great way to keep myself focused was to have rewards. If I accomplished this goal or that goal then I would get a certain reward. It could be a trip the movies or a night out on the town. Anything you want so long as it will keep you motivated and going. This pertains to diet also. Don’t try to go from eating completely unhealthy to cutting out everything bad in your diet. This makes a much higher percentage of failure. Allow yourself one treat a day weather its a coke, cookie or small piece of cake. Don’t overdo it.
Whatever you want your reward to be, make sure to choose it in the beginning. This will help you have your eye on something to persevere through the toughest times. Let’s not kid ourselves; there will be some tough moments. But, with the proper plan, we can do it!
Enjoy Your Exercise
One thing that will help to keep you on you exercise plan is to actually enjoy the exercise you are doing. There are many fantastic types of home exercise equipment to chose from. These include things such as treadmills, home gym’s, exercise bikes or even exercise videos. I have found videos really help to keep me motivated to finish a workout. Read some exercise video reviews to get a fell for what might be the best type for you.
You don’t have to join a gym to get the proper exercise. It’s costly and can take up more time than a busy life can give. I love my yoga DVD’s, because they offer great strengthening techniques and can easily be done at home. The kids can join in with this as well.
Other options that will not cost money are walking, biking, or dancing. I mentioned dancing because that is another fun activity where the kids can get involved. If the family is doing it together, then the family is getting healthy together.
Whatever form of exercise you choose, just make sure you keep it up. About 3 days a week of cardio and strength training is adequate to maintain a healthy body. If you want to lose more, and quicker, add a couple more days.
I hope these tips for how to get motivated to exercise are helpful to you. Challenge yourself to exercise and share your experiences below to help others find ways to stay motivated to exercise. It is a tough thing to do but knowing others are at the same place as you always helps. Good luck and have fun during that workout.
Related Posts:
Why Should Kids Exercise And How To Get Kids To Exercise