How To Motivate Yourself To Exercise
By pam
Welcome back!
How many times have you decided to start exercing regularly, only to find out that you can’t keep up with it? For a lot of reasons and alibis, you fail to follow your exercise program. Maybe you won’t even make it to the first “class”.
You are not alone. Many people out there have also experienced the same thing. There is one key you need to go from dream to reality.
That key is motivation.
Delicious Life tells us how to get motivated to exercise at any time.
Music, please – fill your iPod, MP3 player, or walkman (don’t laugh – I was still using one just a few years ago) with motivating music that gets you moving. I like rock – some of my (newer) favorites are Vampire Weekend, The Hives and Sloan - older faves include U2, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Van Halen.
Set a goal – This is embarrassing, but I’ll tell you anyway. In the early 2000’s, when leather pants were hot, I wanted to get a pair but wouldn’t until I reached a certain goal weight/size. I called my quest “project leather pants” and came up with a whole plan to get me there - eating clean, running on a regular schedule and working out at the gym. After a few months of my project, I succeeded and bought the pants.
Find a partner – Working out with a friend always helps get me motivated.
Just do it – The hardest part about working out is getting yourself to the gym, or pressing play on your DVD player or outside. When I was in training for my events, I decided that I would work out first thing in the morning. Each night I laid out my workout clothes so that they would be the first thing I saw in the morning. As soon as the alarm went off, I’d roll out of bed
and put on my clothes. Once I was out the door, it was easy to get started.
I would like to add one thing to the list. One that is one of the most important for me personally, that is:
Set a minimum – if you goal is to run then set a minimum of walking around the block. If your goal is to go to the gym then set a minimum of five minutes of easy exercise at home. Even if it is pouring down and you’ve never felt this tired, even if you are way to busy allways to your minimum exerice. Chances are that once you get started you’ll want to do more. Even if you choose to stop after you minimum exercise you did it, you kept the routine and you took the time.
The more you keep these motivation tips, exercising easily becomes a habit. So don’t wait for tomorrow. Start motivating yourself to exercise today!
Image by mikebaird.
Related reading:
One way to motivate yourself to exercise is by reminding yourself of the benefits:
Exercise empowers your mind and body
1) Exercise makes you look and feel more attractive and youthful
2) Exercise elevates your mood and makes you more resistant to depression
3) Exercise helps you burn fat and tone muscle
4) Exercise helps you slow down and even reverse the dreaded aging process
5) Regular exercise helps protect you from heart disease and hypertension
6) Exercising at gyms, health clubs, or yoga studios opens up social opportunities, relationships, and friendships
7) Exercising can strengthen your self esteem, which can improve your relationships, career, and happiness
9) Regular exercise helps you ward off disease and recover faster from sickness
10) The self discipline you gain from exercise can help you be a more goal-oriented, successful person, in general
Personal trainers are motivation for some people. It is the most expensive route but it can also be the most effective.
That’s good advice. The number one thing has to be goals setting I think, and setting a goal that gets you excited!
It also helps if you get into the type of exercise that is naturally enjoyable and can actually become addictive. Aerobic exercises are the best for this, if you run, swim or use an elliptical trainer for 30 minutes to 45 minutes with a good period of warm up and cooling down, and most importantnly only train at 70% or less of your maximum. This way you feel strong and refreshed afterwards, and over the days and weeks you build incredible energy levels and the whole thing becomes fun, not in anyway unpleasant.
James@Elliptical Cross Trainers´s last blog ..Elliptical Cross Trainer
I like the advice about working out witha partner, but I think you have to add a bt more to that. What you really need is a partner who is a very serious fitness fan – someone who already goes much more than you and really loves it.
This way their enthusiasm will wear of on you, and more importantly they won’t let you take days off! When you decide you want to have a break, they will not jsut say ‘ok, why not, I will too’ like a lot of less motivated partners do!
Jack@Doorway Pull Up Bar´s last blog ..Doorway Chin Up Bar