For a lot of us, working out is a chore of epic proportion. We know we have to do it, and we love all the benefits, but when it comes to actually getting up and doing it, we aren’t exactly in a rush. There are things that can be done to ensure that we get that workout in without all the hooblah it takes to get up and go.
Think about the benefits
When you’re in laze mode and working out is the last thing on your mind, it’s incredibly difficult to force yourself to get your tush up and get it over with. When you don’t workout, though, it can become a habit and a bad habit at that.
Before you start to skip workouts, you have to force yourself to think of how amazing you’re going to feel after you do it. It releases endorphins, improves sleep and overall health, and when you focus on all the good things working out can provide you, it’s motivation enough.
Reward yourself
A good way to get yourself up and off the couch is by giving yourself a reward for keeping yourself on track. Whether you want to treat yourself to a few hours of guilty-pleasure television, a delicious smoothie or an expensive pair of jeans, whatever your poison, don’t allow yourself to have it unless you get the workout in. This will create motivation to workout, but that’s not all it will create.
A habit will form that will, over time, give you the illusion that you don’t deserve to do certain things or eat certain treats until you’ve given yourself a good workout and although you don’t want to feel guilty, it will really help you stick to your better health plan.
Get a personal trainer (or workout buddy)
Having someone there to hold you accountable for your workouts may just provide you with the motivation you need to keep at it. When you are held accountable for your workouts to someone other than yourself, you’ll feel more inclined to get them done so not to disappoint others.
If a personal trainer isn’t in your price range or you just don’t fancy the idea, a workout buddy will do the same. They will keep you going because they also need motivation from you.
When you two make a pact to workout together, it also becomes more of a social activity than a chore and this will allow you to see working out as more fun and less pain in the butt.
Set a real and attainable goal
Whatever your goal is, to lose weight or become more toned, or maybe you want to increase your endurance, having one will increase your need to workout.
A big goal, however, can be less motivating just because of how long it takes to get there. Write down your ‘big goal’ and in the meantime make smaller goals along the way so that you can take a more one-step-at-a-time approach.
If your goal is to lose 30 lbs, then your monthly goal should be 10. When you spend the four weeks of the month aiming for that 10 lbs, it makes the feat less daunting and when you do finally reach it, you can set your second mini goal to keep yourself going.
Form a habit
Add working out to your weekly schedule and keep to that schedule. If you put it on the calendar and treat it as an obligation, it will get done a lot easier.
Forming a habit only takes about 21-28 days as well, so if you can manage to do this for that period of time, it will become much easier to do. You’ll eventually get to the point where your workout becomes so regular that if you don’t do it, you’ll feel off for skipping it.
Compare your workout time to something else
If your workouts last an hour, there’s a good chance that hour is going to seem like a seriously long time when you’re unmotivated to do it.
But, if you compare that hour to say something else that takes an hour, like watching the latest episode of your favorite show, it starts to seem like no time at all.
If you can do this, and get yourself up, you’ll thank yourself when the hours done because after all, it will fly by just like every other hour of the day.
Be positive
If you do happen to miss a workout, don’t beat yourself up about it. Just make it up to yourself with something that’s a little more demanding next time and keep on going.
If you catch the negative bug while trying to make positive changes it will hinder your ability to do so. When you continue to think positively, you will keep on track with your positive lifestyle changes.
These are just a few of the good ways that you can motivate yourself to workout. What are you motivation mantras?
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