Are you the type of person who goes to bed at night, closes your eyes, and just thinks “ugh” as soon as you think about having to exercise? If so, then you’re not alone. The world would be a much better place if everyone loved physical activity and saw it as an opportunity for growth.
But if this is how you feel about working out, or about any other discipline that requires some self-motivation, don’t worry. You can learn how to find motivation in three simple steps: visualizing your goal, setting goals for yourself, and rewarding yourself when those goals are met.
Motivational quotes about exercise can be helpful as well. Self-motivation is key to success in any area of life, whether it’s work, school, or fitness. If you can learn to motivate yourself, you’ll find that you’re able to accomplish anything you set your mind to.
Table Of Contents
Visualize Your Goal
One of the most effective ways to motivate yourself to exercise is by visualizing your goal. The mental visualization technique is a form of self-hypnosis that allows you to imagine yourself exercising and achieving your goals. It’s been shown to boost motivation, increase performance and ultimately achieve better results when compared with other methods such as positive affirmations or self-talk.
Reward Yourself
One way to motivate yourself to exercise is by rewarding yourself for it. This can be anything you want, but the key is that it’s something you enjoy. The reward should be something that makes you happy and will make you look forward to working out again next time.
Rewards can be small, like an extra hour at the pool or a new pair of shoes, or they can be big, like a spa day or fancy dinner out with friends. Either way, rewards should come often enough so that they motivate you but not too often so that they lose their meaning. If your motivation starts to wane after receiving too many rewards in too short of a timeframe (for example: “I just got a gift card for buying my first pair of sneakers. Wait until I get another one.”), then consider taking some time off before starting up again with more moderate rewards (like buying yourself some new workout clothes).
Record Your Workouts
Another great way to motivate yourself is by recording your workouts. This can be done in a number of ways, including keeping a journal or using an app (such as Fitbit) that tracks your progress.
Keeping track of how much you exercise and what you eat is one way to keep yourself accountable for staying on track with your fitness goals. Also, if you know that someone else will see the information coming from these tools, it may help keep you motivated so that they don’t think less of you.
Set Goals
You can make a goal to exercise every day, but that’s not very realistic. You might be able to do it for a week or two, but not every day. Instead of setting a goal like “I will exercise daily,” try something like “I will go for a run three times per week.”
You should also set goals that are relevant to what you want out of exercising. If your goal is to increase your overall level of fitness, then setting the same number of reps each time won’t help you achieve that goal. Instead, try increasing weight or distance over time as well as incorporating variety into your workouts (for example cardio followed by strength training).
It’s also important to set milestones along the way so that you can see how far along in reaching the ultimate goal you’ve come and make adjustments accordingly, whether it’s adjusting exercise techniques or adding more days/weeks/months until reaching the target date.
Exercise with Friends
One of the best ways to stay motivated is by exercising with friends. It can be a social event, and it gives you a reason to get out of bed at the crack of dawn (or later) and go for a run or do some weight lifting.
If you have been trying to lose weight, consider finding exercise buddies who are also trying to drop pounds. You’ll have someone else who understands your struggles and will cheer you on during tough workouts. Plus, if one person has an amazing day where they lose lots of pounds but another has a bad day where they don’t lose as much weight, then both members feel good about the progress that was made that day. If people feel like they’ve accomplished something when working out with their friends instead of being left behind while everyone else gets healthier and fitter than them, then this feeling can help make them want to continue working out in order not to be alone again.
Have Fun With It.
If you’re having a hard time motivating yourself to exercise, just think about how great it feels.
Exercise can help relieve stress and anxiety and make you feel happier. It can also help you sleep better, reduce depression, improve self-confidence and self-esteem, and even lengthen your life span.
Conclusion
There is no need to make exercise an unpleasant experience. You don’t have to punish yourself for not working out, even if that means accepting the fact that you’ll never be as fit as this Instagram model or this celebrity. If you want something more motivational, try rewarding yourself with something small each time you go for a run or lift weights. Or maybe find some friends who will work out with you. Why not get together every week and motivate each other? We hope these tips will help inspire you to stay active and healthy…and maybe even enjoy yourselves while doing so.