Whether it’s a daily morning exercise regime, your local boxing class or an evening swim, motivating yourself to exercise can be a struggle in and of itself. The reality is though, once you’re out there and doing it, you always come home feeling much better than before.
The health benefits of keeping fit are endless and in recent years we have become more and more aware of them. The benefits range from improved mental health, an overall energy boost, a decreased likelihood of chronic diseases, better sleep, and of course weight loss. So with the undeniable good in exercise, why is it still impossible for a large majority of us to get motivated and go? For some people, it comes naturally, but for others it can be a constant struggle – especially when it comes to initially developing that habit. Rumour has it, it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. With that in mind, we’ve put together a few simple tips and tricks that will make you feel more motivated to get out there and start exercising regularly.
A shiny new gadget
Often we find the best way to make your exercise routine that bit more exciting is by using a new gadget or accessory that may add some flare to your fitness regime. Try out things like a IWC chronograph watch for timing your workout, a Fitbit to measure your heartrate while exercising, or the simple yet fun Nike+ Running app. There is no shortage of accessories, gadgets and apps to inspire and motivate you. Some apps even offer a social function that allows you to share your fitness info with friends via the app – allowing you to compete against each other or simply encourage one another. There are all sorts of functions of these shiny new gadgets that are designed to encourage people to exercise – use them to your advantage.
Get dressed
While this may sound like the most simple piece of advice, it is possibly the most important: get dressed into your workout clothes. Think of those lazy Saturday mornings where the last thing you want to do is get out and exercise. By getting changed into your workout clothes you may find that the decision to go and exercise just kind of comes naturally and it will bring you closer to the workout frame of mind than before. The same applies to bringing your exercise gear to work – as soon as that first step to exercising is out of the way, the rest should go relatively smoothly.
Buddy up
While this tip may not work for everyone, buddying up can be a great source of fitness motivation. Having a partner at your weekly yoga class or for your morning walk provides that extra factor of having someone else to answer to when cancelling. The fear alone of letting someone down may be just the right motivating factor for you. It removes the narrative in your head from a personal dilemma to the public sphere.
Originally posted on February 21, 2018 @ 4:09 am
