How To Motivate Yourself To Workout
We all know that being active, exercising regularly, and leading a healthy lifestyle is vital for a happy mind, body, and soul. Unfortunately, despite knowing that we should, it’s not always easy to throw the gym gear on and get moving.
Finding the motivation to work out can be difficult, especially if you’re just starting out on your fitness journey. Whether you’re taking your workouts outside, or doing them from the comfort of your own home, these tips and tricks on how to motivate yourself to work out should help you to find your mojo!
Join A Challenge
Joining a challenge, such as signing up to earn yourself a Race At Your Pace monthly medal, or blasting out a 30-day squat challenge are great workout motivators. Having a set number of days included in your challenge gives makes working out seem like a slightly easier task. When we know we only have to do it for 30 days, and there’s no pressure to continue to work out after the challenge is over, it enables us to commit more easily, with less fear of failure. We also know that by the time we have completed our challenge, it’s likely we’ll be well into our fitness journeys and want to carry on!
Give Yourself A Decent Reward
Use your workout as an excuse to treat yourself. Neurologists often talk about ‘habit loops’. These habit loops occur when a trigger – in this case, exercising – is ultimately deemed worthwhile because it results in a reward. For example, running in the rain may not be what you want to be doing today, but it’ll all be worth it when you get to come back home, run yourself a bath, and watch your favourite show on Netflix. Using positive rewards like this is a great way to build motivation and create new habits.
Sign Up To An Event Or Race
There’s nothing quite as motivating as a looming deadline, especially in the world of exercise. In this case, signing up for an event creates a sense of accountability. People are sponsoring you, you’re there to raise money or beat your PB, and you know that others will be there to cheer you on. Signing up to an event or race also gives you a definitive goal. You need to be able to run 5k, for example. Therefore, in order to achieve this goal, you’ll be far more motivated and stick to your training plan.
Visualise The Positive Aspects
Take your positive thinking techniques to the next level and visualise the pleasurable aspects of working out. So many times I’ve found myself laying in bed, longing to grab an extra hour’s sleep. Instead of succumbing to my cosy desires, I focused on visualising the warmth of the sun on my skin whilst I exercised. Other times I’ve visualised the sense of pride I feel when completing a workout, or the excitement as I see new muscles developing.
These feel-good fantasies work best with realistic goals. There’s no point visualising yourself crossing the marathon finishing line if you’re just starting out, so make sure to pay attention to the simple pleasures and use these tiny moments of happiness to motivate you.
Find An Accountability Buddy
Of course, the most popular way of motivating yourself to work out is to find an accountability buddy. Working out alone can get pretty lonely, but it can also lead to you going easy on yourself, or giving up sooner. Working out with a friend gives you your very own workout cheerleader. Sharing your fitness journey with someone else means you’ll always have someone there with you to celebrate your highs, comfort you when you’re low and push you when they know you can do better.
