Rather than letting that motivation fade away, think about what you want for yourself beyond weight loss and looking good. People who exercise look for reasons to do it because they know it improves life. Think about what would enhance your life, and you’ll find the motivation to keep moving.
Set up an environment that motivates you!
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- Planning
Make it easy to exercise.
Have everything you need ready for every workout. Know the training you’ll do, how long it will take, and what you need to do and get it all together so when workout time comes, you don’t have to hunt for that other shoe or your heart rate monitor.
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- Assess & act
Find something you like.
Do you have to love it? No.
But you should find something good about it.
Forget about what you think you should do and do something you like or at least something you can tolerate. Everything feels hard initially, but it gets easier if you keep going.
Walking is always an excellent place to start.
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- Master your art
Get good at something.
One of the internal motivators is self-efficacy. It feels good to master something, so why not master spinning, aerobics, or pushups?
When you focus on doing something well, you forget that you’re exercising.
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- Accountability partner
Find some support!
Get a workout buddy if you can or just someone you can text with every day for accountability. Beyond that, get your family behind you so you can have your workout time without worrying about everyone else.
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- Explore the world
Experiment!
The first few things you try may not work, and that’s normal. Don’t keep trying something you don’t like or don’t work. Allow yourself to experiment until you get to know yourself better.
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- Introspect
Be flexible.
Every day is different, and there are days when motivation is hard to come by. This is an excellent time to think about what’s going on – why aren’t you motivated?
Maybe you’re extra tired, or maybe your workout seems boring.
Maybe you need more sleep, or perhaps you need to ditch your plans and go for a walk.
Listen to yourself, and you’ll find the motivation you need.
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- Celebrate small wins
Reward yourself!
Reward yourself for every workout you do, no matter how small.
Time to listen to music or read a book.
Time to soak in a hot tub or browse a bookstore.
Plan more significant monthly rewards like a massage or a night out.
Knowing you get a treat is a great motivator.
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- Need guidance?
Get some help.
Don’t know what you’re doing?
Get into a class or a personal trainer.
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- Keep moving forward!
Just keep going…
There’s usually a time, maybe a few weeks after you start working out when motivation flags and you want to quit. This is when you need to keep going because momentum is one of the ingredients for consistent exercise.
Once you get that going, it gets easier to work out, and you’re not fighting yourself as much.
A big part of being an exerciser is simply getting in the habit of exercising every day.
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