Tips on Staying Motivated
Finding time to work out can be tricky and staying on a set schedule can be even harder, but there are ways to help with this. I understand that life can sometimes throw you out of the loop of things, whether it be because of school, kids, work, etc., there can be a thousand different reasons why you stopped working out, but you shouldn’t settle. Something that I do and find helpful and convenient is packing a gym bag and bringing it with me wherever I go that day. This way, if I don’t have enough time to go home and gather all my things, I will already have everything I need with me and can’t make an excuse as to why I didn’t work out that day. I pack a set of workout clothes and my running shoes and put them all in my backpack so I can easily go straight to the studio from class.
Looking through several fitness articles on how to stay motivated, there are a number of ways that stood out to me. The first being to reward yourself. Everyone works harder when there is a reward involved, no matter what you are doing. At the beginning of each week, set a reasonable goal for yourself and if you achieve it by the end of the week, reward yourself with new workout clothes, a massage, or a weekend getaway.
The next great way to keep yourself motivated is in a friendly competition. Whether this is running faster than the person next to you on the treadmill or joining a group to compete with, it is a great way to keep up with your exercises. Deborah Feltz, a professor of Kinesiology at Michigan State University, says that finding an individual or group that is slightly better or faster than you can be helpful in terms of either a little bit of competition or in terms of a conjunctive task. It is a team effort, but the performance is based on whoever quits first.
Last but not least, focus on the big picture. This means stop making exercise about the way you look because you will fall short and eventually give up on yourself. Instead, make bigger goals that take time and hard work to achieve, but include smaller goals in there so you can celebrate those as well along the way.
Obviously, there are many other ways to help keep yourself motivated, but the few I mentioned should help keep or get you back on track. Stop making excuses as to why you didn’t work out because if you remember correctly, I gave a tip on how to save time by bringing a gym bag with you everywhere a few paragraphs up. If you begin to doubt yourself and sway away from working out, remember why you started in the first place and the goal you originally made. Don’t let yourself down and achieve that goal!
by Savanna Stevie