Motivation Hacks: How to keep yourself motivated to exercise

If you often find yourself quitting early on in your fitness program, you may have a motivation issue. And you are not alone, as many people feel a big urge to quit if they don’t enjoy it or the results come too slowly. However, there are things you can do to get past the hump when exercise turns into a habit rather than a chore. Here are a few tips you should consider to keep yourself motivated to exercise:

Set achievable goals

It imperative that you have attainable goals that are realistic for your situation and body. Makes sure you write down these goals in a workout journal so that when you achieve one of them, you can proceed to the next goal. It becomes easier to implement a behaviour and lifestyle change when you do it one step at a time. Beware the popular urge to post ‘fitspiration’ images on the fridge, as these unrealistic body types can do more to hurt your motivation than help it.

Ask yourself, is this fitspiration image realistic for my situation? Source: Pinterest.com

Keep your Strongest Motivation Fresh in Your Mind

The easiest way to stay motivated is to make sure you keep your strongest motivator fresh in your mind. We said earlier to beware images on fridges, but if the image is realistic and is an illustration of your strongest motivation then it is perfect for this instance. Say for instance you had a big snowboarding trip coming up, and wanted to be fit and healthy to get the most out of it. Get a great snowboarding image, print it out and put it somewhere you’ll see it every day. The fridge works great.

If it is a strong motivator, and realistic, it makes a GREAT motivational image. Source: TCF

Remember a good exercise experience

Did you know that you can use your memory to enhance motivation? Well, a positive exercise memory helps you be more motivated to exercise for long hours. The good memories such as when you ran your personal record with your exercise clothes may pave the way to a good sweat. You can also make a good palyist of your favourite songs to motivate you while excising. In fact, exercising should be fun and as long as you’re moving, it’s good for you.

Find a gym pal

Believe it or not, your fellow gym-goers affect your workout. It would be best to find a gym buddy with a similar daily schedule. But, he/she doesn’t have to be your best friend or do the same workout as you. If you want to leave after a good workout with your body image intact, exercise next a normal-looking person. Just avoid workouts next to the fittest person at the gym. 

Workout buddies can help keep all of you motivated! Source: About.com

Keep a track of your workouts

The advancements in technology have led to development of great apps for iPhone/iPod Touch that can help keep track of your progress. It can be a good idea to also bring a weight-training journal to the gym if that’s ok with you. Take pictures of yourself, preferably after 2-3 months. Use them to visually keep track of how far you’ve come and point out the areas you want to focus on next. However, don’t take pictures more frequently because the change over a shorter time may be hard to see, thus will end up discouraging you.

Schedule a regular workout time

Look at your weekly schedule and try to fix in at least one hour each day to be good to your body. Many people with busy schedules often forget, so consider writing the workout on your calendar and rearrange things around this time. Take the workout as an important appointment you have to keep. You can use technology like workout journaling websites, daily e-mail reminders, or iPhone applications to keep you reminded.

Stop thinking of yourself as lazy

This is a very useful idea you should always consider whenever you feel like you want to quit. When you think of yourself as a really busy healthy person who exercises, it helps create the psyche your mindset needs. The recent researches indicate that individuals who often think themselves as harried, stressed-out persons usually create a self-fulfilling prophecy with little room for exercise. 

See how many of these motivation hacks you can implement, then let us know your results!