Many people are struggling for “staying motivated to exercise” because they hate it. People who do not exercise may be hampered by a variety of factors. But good news is that you can still exercise even if you hate it. One of the most common and compelling reasons why people begin and continue to exercise is to lose weight. Even if you want to lose weight, you may find a variety of reasons not to: the weather is too hot or cold, you don’t have workout clothes, you’re too busy or tired, and so on. Here are seven tips for staying motivated to exercise:
Remember The Benefits The You Get From Exercising
Our first tip for staying motivated to exercise is to remember the numerous health benefits of exercise on days when you feel tempted to deviate from your routine.
According to many studies, regular cardiovascular exercises reduces your risk of coronary heart disease by around 40 percent. It will also lower your risk of stroke by 20 to 40 percent. You will also increase your life expectancy by up to five years and reduce your risk of breast cancer by around 30 percent.
See Also: 3 Kinds of Exercise That Boost Heart Health
Set A Fix Exercise Schedule
Another tip for staying motivated to exercise is to set a fixed schedule or time for routine. Try to examine the upcoming week and make a schedule of the days and times you will exercise. Make a note of them in your diary and stick to them. Treat them as if they were a meeting or an appointment that could not be missed.
If you don’t set aside time to exercise, the day will simply vanish, and you’ll be more likely to skip a session.
Make Exercise A Habit
The third way for staying motivated to exercise is by simply making your exercise a healthy habit. A new habit can take at least 21 days to form, and exercise is no exception.
Humans thrive on routine, so decide which days of the week work best for your schedule and make exercise a habit.
Perhaps you’d like to take a class on a Sunday when you have more time, and then go for a walk or run on Monday evenings, Wednesday mornings, and Friday lunchtime.
Try to stick to pre-set times so that exercise becomes a habit – but don’t be too hard on yourself if you miss a session; simply get back on track and do the next one.
See Also: 5 Simple Ways To Stay Motivated at the Gym For Busy People
Just Trust The Progress
Another tip for staying motivated to exercise is by trusting your progress. Many people fail to stick to an exercise plan because they have unrealistic expectations of themselves. It’s easy to tell yourself that you’ll exercise for an hour every day because you want to see results quickly. But that isn’t realistic for the majority of us.
Work within your realistic capabilities, and if the results take a little longer, so be it. Instead of stopping and restarting an exercise program, at least you’ll get results. It’s time to look at your situation objectively.
If you’ve put on a lot of weight, it didn’t happen overnight. That weight will have taken months, if not years, to gain. It is unrealistic to expect to lose the majority of it in two weeks or two months. However, making small steps in the right direction is the best way to stay on track.
In the same way, when it comes to exercise, less is more in the long run. You will see results if you commit to just 20 or 30 minutes three to five times per week. It is preferable to exercise for 30 minutes four times per week rather than two hours once per week. Regular workouts will keep your metabolism elevated, which means your body will burn more calories at rest. Even if you can only manage the lower end of this time, give it a shot and see how it goes. In the end, you’ll get results.
Make Your Exercise Fun
Our fifth tip for staying motivated to exercise is by making it fun and enjoyable. If you haven’t found an enjoyable form of exercise yet, you may laugh at this. But there’s bound to be something that makes you feel good enough to want to do it regularly.
Maybe you don’t want to go to the gym, but you might enjoy the social aspect of exercise classes. Do you hate Body pump or Kettlebells? Try Zumba or a martial arts class. Perhaps your hate running but enjoy yoga. You might also enjoy swimming or weightlifting. If you enjoy the scenery and fresh air, outdoor activities such as walking, rock climbing, or cycling may appeal to you.
Consider what you might enjoy, and if you’re not sure, keep looking until you find that one thing you’re happy to keep doing.
See Also: Fun exercises: 6 ways to make exercise more enjoyable
Just Start Your Journey
Our sixth tip to maintain your exercise routine especially if you’re new to exercise is to just keep your journey and progress, remember great things happen when you work hard for it. They will become less difficult. The more frequently you exercise, the more your body will adapt to the activity’s demands.You will gradually improve your fitness. But keep in mind that you don’t have to be in shape to exercise.
Take It Easy
Our last tip for staying motivated to exercise is to remember that you don’t have to punish yourself with workouts that make you feel sick or gasp for air, take it easy and stop ego-lifting. Always remember that this stuff takes a lot of effort and time, you will get there soon. If you find exercise difficult at first, try slowing down or incorporating more rest periods.
Slow down if you’re walking quickly and getting out of breath. Alternate periods of brisk walking with periods of recovery walking at a comfortable pace, and then repeat. As you get stronger, you’ll be able to shorten the duration of the slower intervals and eventually eliminate them.
If you’re walking or running to increase your mileage, start with a short walk or run of five or ten minutes, then gradually increase the duration by a few minutes each time. This is an excellent way to improve fitness while lowering your risk of injury.
For staying motivated to exercise always try to build a good habit and don’t forget to make it enjoyable, try to exercise with your friends, family, or colleagues. Staying motivated to exercise is always a choice, if you’re having trouble to make it a habit, try reading books or read more of our articles about how to be more productive and build good habits.
