Constantly making excuses not to work out? Motivation is a key factor in making your fitness plan a success. If you can’t get yourself moving, you’re no closer to the fitness goals you’ve set for yourself. Learn how to motivate yourself effectively so you can lose the excuses and start real progress on your health.
F in fitness is for fun
Imagine going on a mountain hiking just to witness an amazing view of the sunrise and sunset or generally a striking view of the ground below. Also consider going on a bet on who will finish first on the race from your home to the nearest market in town. And how about enjoying your time meeting people and gaining a sense of accomplishment on your first-ever fun run? What do these things have in common? These activities are exciting and fun, even though they are not your usual kind of workouts. According to a Brown University study, people who are interested about a particular routine (rather than dreading their exercise) spend more time being on the move. Makes perfect sense, right? Having fun and enjoying what you do is a perfect and most natural motivator. If you can’t get yourself in the mood for any type of workout, you can try personal rewards and bribery. This simply means that if you get to check off an item on your fitness list, you’ll reward yourself a bit for this small accomplishment.
Try fresh workout ideas
Bored with your workout routines? One way of keeping yourself motivated is to constantly challenge yourself to assess how much farther you’ll go to accomplish your goals. Besides, doing the same types of routines over and over again will slowly lose their appeal sooner than later – your interest to do them repetitively will wane over time, and you’ll also see yourself not really progressing later on. Introduce fresh tweaks on your routines to keep the interest and motivation alive. Just remember, though, to stick to your fitness routines long enough before jumping from one fitness plan to another.
Know your personal goals
Why do you challenge yourself to build muscles or lose weight? Is it for a guy or girl you want to impress? Or did you go on a bet to prove that you can compete with a very athletic and fit sibling? While using these as your initial goals would work, the results are not long lasting. This is because you only challenge yourself to work out just for the benefit of other people. After you’ve impressed them or proven your point successfully, what’s in it for you? The key to long-lasting fitness motivation is to make everything personal and all about you. Work out and try to be fit because it’s something that can give you more self-confidence, and do things because they give you a sense of accomplishment and make you feel good about yourself.
Find your fitness buddies
Working out solo has its appeal at times, but it’s less fun if you always exercise on your own. Even if you have the strongest will power to never skip working out, surrounding yourself with positive vibes from people who have similar goals will be more effective. Imagine gaining inspiration and motivation from people who are also passionate and really interested in achieving their fitness goals. Besides, having your own fitness group or support system can also challenge you to do better. Friendly competitions always work effectively in motivating and challenging people to go further than what they are used to.
Supplementation is ideal, but not always enough
Trusted health stores offer a variety of workout and health supplements you can try to make the most of your training. These supplements promise different benefits like improving endurance, increasing muscle pump and energy, improving muscle protein synthesis, and so on. However, while effective, they won’t always be enough to help you achieve all your fitness goals. Even if you take all the powerful supplements out there, you’re less likely to be successful if you are not personally motivated. Learn what keeps you going and explore ways on how you can keep your motivation alive and kicking throughout your fitness journey.
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