Whether you’re a pro athlete or just starting to exercise regularly, there are days when we all need a little bit of extra motivation to suit up. Here are a few tips for when you’re tired, it’s cold and rainy, hot and humid or you had the most frustrating day at work or home.
You know you should exercise. But how do you keep up your dedication to the gym or a training routine when your schedule is overloaded with a million other things from work to household responsibilities to travel and other social engagements? Or how do you push yourself to start working out if it’s been years (or basically forever) since you last had a good self-imposed sweat?
Understanding the big picture of why physical activity is critical for your physical and mental well-being, not just for weight loss, is a good place to start.
Ever experience that classic “runner’s high”? It’s not just in your head. Exercising releases hormones called endorphins that promote feelings of euphoria and help you focus.
Working out also improves cardiovascular health and sleep quality, both of which improve your energy levels throughout the day and reduce the risk of a variety of other diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and some cancers, according to research.Moving your body more is also associated with a reduced risk of depression,
Pretty impressive. But the truth is, you may have all this knowledge and still find yourself wanting to hit the snooze button when it comes to those early morning workouts — or your couch if you’re an afternoon exerciser.
That’s why intentional, strategic habit changes, based on your personality, schedule, likes, and dislikes can make all the difference in whether or not you stick to your workout plans or get thrown off track.
1. Find a Workout You Enjoy and Look Forward To
Just because all your friends are doing one type of workout or going to a certain gym doesn’t mean you do, too. Finding a workout you genuinely like will make you that much more likely to stick with it over time .Begin by really thinking about the things you enjoy — nature, group settings, playing sports, quiet time, or being challenged. Then look for activities that meet one or more of your criteria.
Consider your personality, too do you like competition? Then working out with a friend who challenges you or taking a group fitness class may be helpful. Do you like immediately seeing the results of your efforts? Then workouts associated with an app that tracks your progress, like Strava for running and cycling, may be very motivating.
2. Pick Workouts that you’re good at
“We know from motivation research that humans have a desire to be ‘good’ at something. “So seek out not only the things you find pleasurable and enjoyable, but also things that you are confident doing or would like to become more proficient in.”
That doesn’t mean the activity will necessarily be easy for you. Unless it’s an activity recovery day, every workout should push you in terms of endurance or muscle building. But, there’s no need to struggle through a Zumba class or a steps aerobics class because you hate memorizing the combinations.
On the other hand, if you excelled in sports as a kid, joining an adult basketball or football league may be a huge confidence booster (as well as deliver all the health and fitness benefits of a workout). Or if there’s a physical skill you’ve always wanted to be able to do, such as self-defense, you may love suiting up for kickboxing or Jiu-jitsu.Or maybe you prefer something more with a flow and gentle for your joints you can try Tai-Chi or Yoga Classes.
3. Put It on Your Calendar as You Would Any Other Appointment
Once you have a workout (or even a few) that you want to try, give yourself a slow and steady break-in period. “Don’t start off by trying to make radical changes,” s “Schedule a few days a week and put it on your calendar like any other important appointment.”
Giving yourself a workout range for the week can also be helpful. “If you set a goal of working out five days and only go four times, that’s often perceived as a failure,” Instead, give yourself a more realistic range like three to five days a week.”
4. Break Up Your Workout Into Shorter Spurts
Think you don’t have time to put in a workout? Or maybe you’re skipping your workout altogether because you don’t have time for the full routine? Break up your physical activity into a few shorter 10-minute spurts throughout the day. “Taking shorter walks throughout the day, as opposed to one longer walk that takes 30 minutes to an hour, has been shown to have very similar benefits.
5. Having a Long-Term Goal Is Important, but So Is Setting Mini-Goals
Many people set huge outcome-oriented goals such as losing 20 Kgs, getting six-pack abs, or running a marathon. While these can be motivating, they don’t tell you what you need to do right now, and in the days and weeks to come, to accomplish them. To stay motivated, ensure you don’t get bored, and keep progressing at a steady rate, you need to set smaller “process goals.”
“If an outcome goal is the top step of a staircase, process goals are like the individual steps you’d take to get there.
Examples of process goals might be increasing the length of your run by a half mile every week or increasing the duration of your plank by 15 seconds every three days.
The feeling that you’ve accomplished something each week (in addition to over a longer period of time) can help motivate you to make each and every workout along the way count.
6. Work Out First thing in the Morning and Get It out of the Way
Some people find it easier to stick to their workout plans if they do it in the morning, getting it out of the way before an excuse comes up to skip it. By the end of the day, you’re often really tired, random things have come up, and there’s always something else to do instead of exercise.
More benefits of a.m. exercise: Morning workouts have been shown to lower nighttime blood pressure and improve sleep quality, in a study published Plus, people often feel more energized throughout the day after exercising. And that means an early-in-the-day workout could help you tackle your responsibilities (like work or chores) with greater ease, he adds.
Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to exercise. So if morning workouts feel like torture, try a few different times of day and see what works best for your body. The most important thing is to find a routine or schedule and a workout you can stick with.
7. Always Carry Workout Clothes
Even the smallest obstacles, like having to go home after work to change into workout clothes before heading to the gym, can mean the difference between working out and skipping it. The simple, but incredibly helpful solution: Bring your workout clothes to work for evening workouts, suggests Harris. Or if you work out in the morning, consider sleeping in your workout clothes (only if they’re comfortable, of course) or keep them ready by your bedside so you notice them as soon as you are up. It will free you up with the drudgery of getting up and going to your closet searching for what to wear.
8. Have a ‘Plan B’ Workout
So it’s pouring outside and you can’t go on your usual morning run around the neighborhood. What now? You could skip your workout, but that might make you lose all that great exercise momentum and motivation you had going. Make a contingency plan or two.
If you usually exercise outdoors, find a backup workout or class you can do at the gym or at home (indoors) in case of bad weather; and for moments when you’re just feeling tired and don’t want to leave the house, or if you’re traveling with no access to a gym, put together a “bare minimum” workout with a few simple moves such as squats and planks, pushups that you can do anywhere.
9. Play Some Music to Keep Your Energy Up
Pumping some tunes could be just what you need to literally go the extra mile. Research has found that playing music while exercising increases the duration of workouts for both men and women without a perceived increase in effort, according to study published . This effect could be, in part, because music boosts mood and encourages rhythmic movement, the researchers note in the study. While any type of music is beneficial, some research suggests faster music is more effective than slow music.
If you’re a runner, or a cyclist consider this: Some research has found that runners tend to match their cadence to the tempo of the music they’re listening to, according to data published in December 2015 in the journal Sports Medicine: Open. That means listening to tunes with a quicker beat could help you amp up your pace.
Or if you’re the type of exerciser who finds monotonous cardio (like running or walking) uninspiring, try listening to an episode of your favorite podcast, or even an audiobook, which can be a great way to make your exercise feel like more of a self-care ritual. You may find yourself looking forward to that time you get to lose yourself in your book or series.
So hope you find your motivation to stay physically active daily with these few simple and very effective tips. All you need is a little push from your end. Begin small and end up with huge results. The trick is stay consistent.
Thank You
Best
Your Body-Mind Trainer:)
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