We’ve all experienced this from time to time, perhaps right now, that you convince yourself you’re too busy, too tired, so we conveniently skip the workout that we’ve planned, and then feel bad about it.
We realize that exercise is beneficial and an energy booster which reduces stress in our lives, helping us to prevent chronic health conditions. Routine workouts helps us manage our weight while allowing us to think on the straight and narrow. Yet, the excuses are too handy and the motivation escapes us.
But realize that exercise doesn’t need to be something that we dread such as extracting teeth, or something that we resign ourselves to do just because we know that we should, or that our doctor tells us to.
There are simple methods which can place you in that state of mind which can help you in getting and staying in shape, this so that you can reap the rewards of physical activity.
Finding An Exercise Goal Which Gets You Pumped
What motivates someone else may not have the same effect on you. The first step in choosing a more active lifestyle is by finding what it is that turns your crank.
Most will just commonly cite the need to lose weight, that flab in the midsection, or just staying in shape as their need to exercise more. Realize that these goals aren’t specific enough and uninspiring.
According to fitness training experts, the best method of motivating yourself to workout consistently is by relating exercise with an extreme secondary goal of some sort which excites you, that pulls you forward and gets your juices going.
To find out what that is, to find what that goal is which will drive you to workout, you need to ask yourself what you enjoy doing. What have you been passionate about in the past to have fun.
Perhaps it’s something simple like giving back to the community that you live in. You could then sign up for a charity run while raising money for a cause that you believe in. Maybe you enjoy socializing, then you could join a walking or a jogging club with other like minded individuals, or join an aerobics or yoga class.
If you enjoy keeping track of statistics, then try using a heart rate monitor when you go running. If you were competitive in the past, then join the local softball team, or compete with other local runners at the running track.
If you enjoy learning new skills, then take ballroom dancing lessons, or try something unique such as learning martial arts, swimming, or fencing.
Whatever event that you choose, make sure that it’s something that you enjoy looking forward to doing. Just be honest with yourself. If your physical activity doesn’t inspire you somehow, then it’s not worth pretending that it does, which can lead to laziness or getting injured.
Setting Reasonable Achievable Goals
Once you decide to exercise regularly, what you’re doing is changing your mindset to form a new habit. What we know about habits is that once they’re engrained, they tend to stick around.
So once you begin changing parts of your life that you don’t like, adopt it, then you’re less than likely to go back to your old ways. Whenever you’re wanting to change your habits, you’ll need to consider a few components of your life to do so. These includes your emotions and thoughts, your physical actions, and your physical environment.
For instance, say that you decide to go running. Those who run regularly will set a goal which excites and motivates them, which activates their emotions and thoughts. They also find the most comfortable route, which changes the physical environment.
They also need to get outdoors to do the running, which is changing their physical actions, and they have a need to surround themselves with others who supports their goals, such as joining a running club.
Whatever your workout goals may be, make sure that you find ways to integrate it with other areas of your life. Once doing so, you’ll then find it a lot more difficult to go back to your old habits, which was not exercising.
Easiest Ways To Get Yourself To Exercise
• Find A Partner – Finding a friend to exercise with will make it more difficult to skip a workout. If there’s someone counting on you to show up, then that will motivate you to do so
• Always Make An Appointment In Your Calendar – Make sure that you set aside a particular time daily to exercise and then write it down. This will help you to stay organized while also planning the rest of your day and life around your workouts
• Setting Up Small Goals – Set up a small reward for yourself whenever you do your planned workouts for a specific time, this say for the day, week or month. Your reward should be something like an hour at the spa
Finding Something Which Works
Everyone leads a hectic life. So the lack of time is usually the most common excuse to not adopting exercising. So take a look at your life and then find something that fits for you.
Perhaps a workout first thing in the morning or right after work may be the best time for you. Or you could take that walk during your lunch hour. Find whatever that suits you the best.
Once you begin to exercise, understand that doing so will make you a lot more effective in the other areas of your life. So once you take some time out for that aerobics or pilates class, doing so will give you that extra jolt of energy.