Workout Motivation – 10 Genius Ways To Make Exercise A Habit
Looking for workout motivation? Here are 10 strategies to make exercise a habit and fall in love with exercise again.
Let’s chat about workout motivation.
It can be frustrating when you know what you want to do, or even should do, but you can’t get yourself to do it.
Exercising regularly is something we all know that we should do, but few of us seem to be able to build that habit.
Here’s some food for thought about exercise:
Exercise is a celebration of what your body can do. Not a punishment for what you ate.
Exercise not only changes your body, it changes your mind, your attitude and your mood.
The only bad workout is the one that didn’t happen.
Every day is another chance to get stronger, to eat better, to live healthier and to be the best version of you.
It never gets easier, you just get better.
If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.
I know it can be done but when you exercise you are working on yourself for yourself by yourself.
A one hour workout is just 4% of your day so you need to learn to be stronger than your excuses.
Rather than worrying about the beauty of your body, you should concern yourself with the HEALTH of your body and know that exercise has been known to cause both good health and happiness.
If you can create a consistent exercise habit, you’ll never have to motivate yourself to exercise again!
Try these tips for how to get motivated to work out and make exercise a habit:
WORKOUT MOTIVATION
TIP # 1 – Set a goal
To begin with, you will need to set a goal to exercise a certain number of times each week for a specific amount of time.
For example, you may want to exercise four times a week for 30 minutes each time.
Set a goal that feels achievable to you. You have time at your disposal – that is never the problem. It’s just MAKING the time to do it.
Keep in mind that the more frequently the activity occurs, the easier it is to develop a habit.
WORKOUT MOTIVATION
TIP # 2 – Choose a form of exercise that appeals to you
There’s no reason to choose swimming as a form of exercise if you don’t enjoy swimming.
There’s no one forcing you to become a marathon runner if you hate running.
Choose an exercise instead that you can enjoy. Whether it’s walking or yoga or Pilates – you need to work out what that is.
WORKOUT MOTIVATION
TIP # 3 – Find the best way to enjoy it
I love walking but I find walking on a treadmill to be super boring.
However, if you can walk on a treadmill and chat with a friend at the same time or watch your favorite show on Netflix you might just find to be more enjoyable.
Just the same playing basketball in an organized league can be more enjoyable than running up and down the court by yourself.
Try to find a way to make your exercise routine feel more enjoyable to YOU.
I look forward to my morning walks mainly because that’s when I get to listen to my favorite podcasts.
I only get the chance to listen to these podcasts when I’m walking so my love for podcasts or music overrides any negative feelings I might have on that day about doing exercise.
I have paired the thing I love doing with something more tedious and it really does take some of the sting away when I am not in the mood to exercise.
WORKOUT MOTIVATION
TIP # 4 – Plan exercise into your schedule
Exercise is like saving money.
If you only do it when it’s convenient, you’ll never do it.
Waiting until you have time to exercise is a mistake.
You need to do things even when you don’t feel like doing them!
Make time and build it into your schedule.
Don’t wait for the right time.
The time will never be just right.
Just do it and make the time right now.
WORKOUT MOTIVATION
TIP # 5 – Have workout buddy
You’ve let yourself down countless times in the past when it comes to exercising.
What will one more time matter?
Chances are you may feel less comfortable about letting someone else down.
If you can get a workout buddy and he/she will encourage you to achieve things you never thought you could do.
A good reliable workout buddy will keep you honest and add a dimension of fun to your workout.
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TIP # 6 – Stay present while getting ready
It’s the first step that’s always challenging – getting ready.
It’s not hard to work out once you’re at the gym.
The challenging part is actually changing your clothes, putting on your shoes, and getting out the front door.
Avoid thinking too much about the drive, the workout, or anything else other than putting on your shoes and closing the front door behind you.
Just go through the motions of getting yourself ready and you will find you are ready at the end of it.
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TIP # 7 – Reward yourself during and after your workout
Making yourself feel good about working out is one of the keys to repeating that behavior in the future.
Tell yourself how great you’re doing. Give yourself a pat on the back. Praise yourself once you are done and tell yourself, “Yes, I did it! And I will do it again!”
Your acknowledgement and praise for getting your body moving is sometimes a genuine reward if you can generate some real enthusiasm.
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TIP # 8 – Visualize the long-results.
Remember why you’re exercising in the first place.
Is it to be healthier, to feel better, or look better (or all three put together)?
Visualize yourself six months from now.
Imagine how great you’ll look and feel.
Imagine the reactions of others when they see your transformation.
The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow.
Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside of you that is greater than any obstacle.
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TIP # 9 – Avoid holding negative thoughts about your exercise
If you tell yourself, “I don’t want to work out today. It’s boring” while sitting at your desk in the afternoon, you’ll be less likely to do it.
Am I right?
But the thing is it will always seem impossible until it’s done.
You need to fall in love with the idea of taking care of your body.
Catch yourself if you have a negative thought about exercise and change your thoughts to something positive.
“Working out is so good for me in so many ways, I’m excited I can spend 30 minutes working out today.”
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TIP # 10 – Allow for slips
You are human.
You will make mistakes.
Even Olympic athletes miss the occasional workout.
It happens to everyone.
No one is perfect!
It’s important though to resolve to not miss the next workout.
Avoid using one misstep as an excuse to abandon your workout habit altogether.
Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside of you that is greater than any obstacle.
Getting in shape is easy if you can develop the habit of regular exercise.
But it isn’t the exercise that is the real challenge.
Developing the habit of exercise in the first place is the real challenge.
You don’t need motivation or self-discipline if you have a habit.
Motivation is what gets you started and habit is what keeps you going.
Remember your habits will determine your future.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is therefore not an act but a habit. Aristotle
Think about it – you don’t have to psych yourself up too much to brush your teeth right?
That’s because you have a habit in place.
And that is the goal of creating an exercise habit – to do it automatically, without thinking too much about it.
That’s how easy exercising can be once you’ve made a habit of it.
Each choice you will starts a behavior that over time becomes a habit.
You can make a choice to exercises regularly or make it excuses – either way that choice will become a habit so make sure to pick the one that works best for you!
I wish you the best of luck on your journey!
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I’m Frances Vidakovic – a mindset & action coach for quietly ambitious women who want to stop overthinking and finally take aligned action. I help women achieve their goals and follow through on what matters, without sacrificing their sanity or soul.