Stay Motivated: Advice for Sticking with Your Exercise Routine
Motivation is an essential tool to combat the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle and lack of exercise. Like any activity, if we exercise without a goal in mind and find it unpleasant, we will find it tough to stay motivated.
Finding that motivation allows us to look at the situation differently. In other words, if we manage to stay motivated to exercise every day, we’re more likely to find the activity gratifying, making it easier to stick with.
Evaluate yourself
This means taking stock of your habits, your body, and how well it functions. If you feel the need to improve your physical condition and change certain habits (such as physical inactivity), we’ll give you the first step that you need to keep going with your exercise plan.
Set real goals
Many people spend hours at the gym, with the aim of losing ten pounds in one day. Let’s be realistic: that’s simply not possible! Unrealistic goals will cause us to lose hope and make the activity seem unappealing.
However, with patience and consistency, working out can lead to significant positive changes. Beyond the physical aspects, it can contribute to improvement in our overall habits and mental state.
Stay informed
Knowing about the health-related benefits provided by physical activity, is a valuable tool in staying motivated, with these benefits providing an incentive to stick with it.
Don’t overdo it
Working out beyond the limit that your body can handle, is a strong deterrent to staying consistent. All it does is make the body give up ahead of time, succumbing to the kind of fatigue that you won’t want to experience again.
Monitoring your progress
Once you start getting into the rhythm of regular exercise, you need to start seeing results and improvements. To this end, a great way to stay motivated is to keep a record of your progress. For example: you previously ran 1.5 miles and now you run for 3.5 miles. You used to have 30 percent body fat; now you have 27 percent body fat.
Have fun
If you need a dose of fun to keep yourself engaged, then find a place for it. Choose the activity that you find the most pleasurable and maintain the rhythm that keeps you motivated to keep going. This way, you won’t give up too soon. Every activity produces a different effect, depending on your personal taste. It’s a matter of finding what works for you.
Add variety
You don’t have to always do the same routine. An unvaried routine can lead to fatigue and boredom. We recommend finding a favorite activity, but alternating this with different gym classes, sports, or physical activities. This way, not only will you work out in a different way and get different results, you’ll ensure the novelty will help you to stay motivated.
Helpful accessories to stay motivated
Pedometers and other devices that complement your exercise discipline, can have a highly stimulating and motivating effect. In other words, if we can see the number of steps we’ve taken or the amount of calories we’ve burned, then we’ll feel more satisfied. The sense of accomplishment will make you want to achieve even more on the next day.
Be social
Many people enjoy doing physical activity around others. The truth is, that exercising in the company of others is a great way to fight boredom. It also gives you a chance to make friends along the way.
Visualize the results you want
Getting an advanced taste for the emotions that come with accomplishing your goals, is a great way to stay motivated. Goals will vary from person to person, but they are all equally important when it comes to sticking with a workout plan, and avoiding an unhealthy sedentary lifestyle.
While we will all have different motivations when it comes to regular exercise, knowing which areas provide the incentives you need, will help you to attain the results you want.