Here are 10 tricks that motivate me to go in the gym and exercise every day for the past 5 years. I know a lot of you have hard time going in the gym and exercise. The excuses are many and some times overwhelming and demotivating. I was there and I know how hard it is. I thought a partner would help me go in the gym and exercise more often. First I was looking for one, then when I finally found it I quickly realized that this is not the answer. One day I were sore and didn’t feel like working out so we both didn’t go. The next day he was sick and I didn’t go. So finally I knew, there should be another way to motivate myself to go in the gym and exercise and I created a list of 10 tricks that I’ve been following to a success.
Motivation like we all know is a psychological feature. You shouldn’t forget that there are many ways and approaches to motivation, such as, physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social. You should try every approach, and sometimes a group of few, to motivate yourself. Our body uses arsenal of weapons to motivate in certain situations. Adrenaline is fired in our blood stream when danger is approaching, hormones drive us to sex and reproduction and so on…..
I workout 5 times a week for past 5 years, and I had tried, and used a number of different things to motivate myself. Exercising is something that our mind don’t really like, and there is simple explanation for that.Exercising spends energy, and our body is programed to save energy , and spend energy only in “surviving” situations!
Here are 10 Tricks that will Motivate you to Go in the Gym and Exercise:
- Reason. Find the reason or the thing that makes you want to start exercising. Turn it into weapon by repeating it to yourself every time you don’t feel like exercising. My reason for exercising is the confidence and that good feel a workout gives us.
- Plan. Plan your day and week ahead of time. You need to know when will your day start, what are your main tasks for the day and follow the plan. You should know when and what you will workout tomorrow and keep with it!
- Active. Stay active during the day and especially a few hours before workout. Clean the house before workout for example instead of laying in the bed and watching TV. It’s a lot easier for your brain to accept a workout after you’ve been active, than workout after a sweet nap in front of the TV. Don’t you agree?
- Goal. Motivate yourself by placing a small goals. “Today I will try to bench press 200 pounds , or I will lose 2 pounds in the next 5 days”. Always have a new goal . The goal is a moving force.
- Buy. Buy things that you will use tomorrow at the gym, such as, running shoes, training gloves, fitness clothes and anything that you would love to wear next time in the gym. Supplements, such as, whey protein and creatine will also give you a little bit of motivation kick. Keep in mind, that sometimes buying a membership at the gym may help you motivate.
- Support. Your friends and family are crucial in helping you stay motivated. You need their support, and their support will be your moving force. I’m not a big fan of working out with someone, but a lot of people use there friends or family members as a fitness buddy, and that’s been proven to work. Fitness trainer could also be a good motivation for some people.
- Fun. Make sure you have fun during your next workout. At the gym you can listen music, news, sport on your music player, and let that be your thing. The thing that you only do at the gym and nowhere else. At home you can have a hot tub following working out, and let that be that special moment you can’t wait for.
- Knowledge. Don’t be scared to learn more about fitness every time you can. Buy magazines search online, and listen to everything that links to fitness. Don’t forget that we learn all life long, and there is always something new out there.
- Place. Find your comfort place. Maybe home is the place where you feel comfortable, or the family gym across the street. Sometimes you will need to change the place you are working out at, but always remember you will be motivated only and when you feel comfortable at that place.
- Confidence. Use the skills you already have and always look for more. That will give you confidence, will make you feel comfortable and motivate you to exercise. Do you think the person that doesn’t know how to use the bench press will come back tomorrow? Learn new skills and new fitness techniques, use them, and build confidence.
I believe, that motivation is one of the most important thing, that will make a person active and healthy. It’s also true, that a person needs to understand and accept the need of being active first. Workout, stay active, stay healthy, and use my ten tips to get motivated.