One of the things many people complain about when it comes to exercising and fitness is that they lack the motivation to train. Exercising can be an arduous task, oftentimes requiring strict discipline and focus on accomplishing. Especially when progress is slow (which it can sometimes be), finding the motivation to continue exercising is hard.
When something like this happens, you end up skipping workouts more and more. Breaking an established routine, especially with something that rides on momentum like working, can be such a deal-breaker that it becomes difficult to start again.
Here’s a list to help you find the motivation to exercise:
Cheat Days are Important
The primary reason many people lose the motivation to exercise is burnout. Being too strict on yourself can result in early burnout, and obsessing over results won’t do you good either. Cheat days are important to refresh not just your mind but your body. It gives you the time to adequately rest your body, allowing the body to heal itself and your mind to look forward to the next exercise.
Cheat days don’t just mean eating out of your diet plan; they can also mean a rest day when you play video games. Rest days are important too, and everyone needs one every so often.
Equip Yourself with Exercise Clothing
Self-motivation can come in many forms, and sometimes that includes “fooling yourself” to exercise. By wearing exercise gear, especially ones you actually like, and finding a sense of ‘coolness’ when wearing it, you’re incentivizing yourself to work out. Many people exercise to feel good and look good after, but why not feel good during exercise? That’s what wearing good clothing can make you feel.
Train with the Pros
Hiring a professional fitness instructor or signing up for a weight management program can be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make. The monetary investment you put into such a program is a great way to bind yourself to a plan. And with professional assistance, you’ll be able to exercise safer and see results faster.
Fitness coaches are very accommodating and motivating as well, making you excited about your workout sessions together. Having someone to guide and assist you throughout your journey might be the motivation you’re looking for.
Build a Home Gym
Some people don’t exactly lack the motivation to exercise; they lack the motivation to travel to the gym to exercise. If that’s the case, then the solution is as simple as making your own home gym. It doesn’t have to be a really complex and expensive home gym system with all the latest and innovative fitness tech.
It can be something as simple as a room with rubber mats and many benches and weights. Or, more realistically, you can start buying home equipment such as a doorframe-mounted pull-up bar, resistance bands, or even dumbbells. Just by having equipment readily available, you’ll find yourself wanting to train more and more.
Join Your Local Gym and Make Friends There
The opposite end is also true: some people do find the energy to go to the gym but lose motivation while they’re there. Many people often feel alone and insecure when they’re at the gym, thinking that people judge them. But this could not be further from the truth: fitness gyms are often filled with the most encouraging and supportive people you can find.
Consider joining your local gym and joining a class. You can make friends who’ll be your exercise buddies, with you motivating and encouraging each other to exercise. Or you can join the local lifting sessions. You might think that your average gym-goer is a meathead, but you’ll be surprised by how friendly they are.
Make a Daily Log of Your Fitness Journey
Nothing is as motivating as seeing results. Our body doesn’t respond instantaneously, which means growth is seen in a matter of weeks or months, not hours or days. However, results in fitness can come in very slowly. By keeping a daily log of your fitness experience, you’ll see how far you’ve come, and you’ll also have data to help motivate yourself.
Don’t fall into the trap of expecting that fitness is a straight ascent, however. It’s a rocky, up-and-down experience, and there will be moments where your improvement is even slower. Nevertheless, logging your fitness journey and comparing your year one to our current year can be the greatest motivation you’ll ever have.
