Are you in need of some motivation to work out? Have you been putting off your workouts because you’re just too busy, you’re just not ready yet, or you’re just not feeling up to it? We definitely feel you. You may find that when you climb a flight of stairs or carry a heavy bag of groceries for more than a few feet, you get easily tired and short of breath. You also may gain weight and restless all the time. Ask yourself it is really worth getting gain weight, restless, low stamina over for a month, a year? When you gain weight, you have an increased risk for high blood pressure, heart disease and type 2 diabetes!
But it’s not hopeless. Getting out of bed! If you can actually get started with some small steps, a good workout can leave you feeling amazing.
Find a workout buddy
It’s hard to accomplish something alone. Studies showed that you are more than 75% likely to stick to your exercise routine if you have a workout buddy (accountability partner). Find a workout partner such as co-worker, spouse, or friend to exercise. With a buddy it’s more fun, you’re going to do it more, stick with it longer and help you to be on track with them. So that, in the end you’ll get better results (Sanborn, 2008).
Follow some fitness influencers
Inspiration comes from others who have achieved what you want to achieve, or who are currently doing it. Search your goal, and read success stories from social media. A picture of your goal (like a model with sexy abs, for example) also helps. Nowadays, many fitness Instagram shares her/his awesome workouts and fitness tips. We follow influencers that push us to be better versions of our-self (ACSM, 2015; Len Kravitz, 2009).
Make a killer playlist
Music makes you want to move! We’ve all found ourselves unknowingly getting down to our favourite songs, in our rooms, in the car, with our friends. So, use your love of a good beat to get in a good workout. It will get fun when you may already have a go-to workout playlist (Babauta, 2007).
Start small. Really small.
If you are having a hard time getting started, it may be because you’re thinking too big. If you want to exercise, for example, you may be thinking that you have to do these intense workouts 5 days a week. No! instead, do small, tiny, baby steps. Just do 15 minutes of exercise. Once you’ve done 15 minutes a day for a week, increase it to 30 minutes, and stick with that for a week (ACSM, 2015).
Set a Goal
Goals are important. Setting goals are proven to help you achieve more because goals help you strategically pick the right actions, help you put in more effort, and keep you motivated over time (Locke, 1996). Post your goal at home and work. Put it on your computer desktop. It helps to keep your focus and keep your excitement going.
Reference:
- ACSM. (2015). Finding Your Motivation for Exercise. American College of Sports Medicine. Retrieved from www.acsm.org
- Babauta, B. L. (2007). Get Off Your Butt : 16 Ways to Get Motivated When You ’ re in a Slump.
- Galloway, J. (2009). The Source of Motivation. Retrieved from JeffGalloway.com
- Len Kravitz, P. D. (2009). Exercise Motivation: What Starts and Keeps People Exercising? University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
, . - Sanborn, M. (2008). 101 Tips to Get and Stay Motivated. Retrieved from www.marksanborn.com/store or
- Locke, E. A. (1996). Motivation through conscious goal setting. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 5, 117-124.