7 Exercise Motivation Secrets That Will Get You Fit

Many people start their exercise program with good intentions. Most often it starts in the New Year when you become aware of the Christmas over-indulgence catching up with you. Your clothes don’t fit as well as they did a few weeks early and so you embark upon a diet and with that you often attempt an exercise regime to maximize the benefits.

But soon you feel your exercise motivation slipping. The gym is no longer as attractive as it was and the car seems so much easier than walking. You need to re-discover your exercise motivation. But just how do you do that?

1. Remind yourself of the benefits of exercising. What do you want to achieve? Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to build strength or stamina? Do you want to deal with anxiety and stress? Exercise can help with all these things, so whatever it is that is your motivation keep that in mind.

2. Set yourself some goals. Goals will improve your motivation because you will have something to aim for and you will see yourself progressing towards that goal. Success will increase your motivation to exercise. Your exercise goals need to be ‘SMART’: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed.

This helps in several ways specific goals will show you what you need to achieve enable you to take practical steps towards it such as doing specific exercises to tone certain muscle groups.

Measurable goals keep the end in sight so you will not feel like you are on some interminable treadmill. Your goals need to be achievable and realistic so that you can be successful. Timed targets allow you to maintain your motivation as you feel there is an end to all this effort.

3. You need to make exercising fun. You are more likely to persevere at exercise that you enjoy, so pick exercises and sports that you like and vary them so you are not bored. Join a club or an exercise class and make exercising a social thing where you meet new people and make friends.

4. Try exercising with friends and family, again so it is a social thing but also so that you have people to encourage you along the way.

5. Don’t be discouraged. You will miss some workouts and have times when you really don’t feel like exercising. Don’t feel guilty about that and don’t use it as an excuse not to go back to your exercise routine. Just make another date to exercise. Think of how well you have done so far and just get right back to it.

6. Be prepared for peaks, troughs and plateaus. Your exercise regime will not always go well and you will not always see results. Don’t worry about that, it is quite normal. Just keep going and things will improve.

7. Put exercise in your schedule. Exercise really needs to become part of your life, which is why organized classes can be a good thing. If you don’t make a date and time to exercise, you will be more likely to find excuses not to exercise and the more times you miss exercising, the less motivation you will feel to start exercising again.

If you follow these few simple guidelines you should be able to maintain your exercise motivation and see great results from your exercising.