Having Trouble Staying Fit?
6 Easy Strategies To Motivate You To Exercise!
Health experts and nutritionists agree that there is nothing as sweet as staying fit. You can never go wrong by sticking to a fitness routine, but the trick to any fitness regime is staying motivated!
The aim of the following 6 easy strategies is to help inspire you to stay motivated with your fitness goals!
Try Group Fitness Classes
To many people, group fitness classes inspire them to keep fit. When you are deeply engaged with a group fitness exercise, the energy of the group will help keep you going especially during your dark moments. Moreover, when you are working out with a group, you will achieve more than you could have done if you were doing it alone.
How about trying a dance fitness class to really uplift your mood and keep you motivated!
Imagine Yourself AMAZING!
It is important to surround yourself with motivated people. If you are not highly motivated or if you lost sight of the reasons to be motivated, it is likely that you will not achieve your goals. Instead, visualize yourself as energetic and courageous to workout even when you don’t feel like it or if you fall prey to excuses such as it is rainy, dark and cold out there.
Keep in mind that though fitness takes work, for example, using rowing machines or jogging on a treadmill for weight loss, it doesn’t mean that it still can’t be fun. So what can you do?
Why not put reminders for yourself around your house, on your computer and your phone with motivational sayings and quotes…or better yet, the reasons for you to keep motivated written with your own words?
These will remind you why you started on your fitness journey in the first place and help you to stay motivated to never to lose heart!
Give Yourself Micro-Challenges
Keep setting micro-challenges for yourself no matter how little it might seem. For example, if you are only five minutes away from hitting a new milestone, you can easily push yourself to hit that mark, right? Challenging yourself often can help you to achieve milestones that you ordinarily wouldn’t have done if those challenges weren’t set in the first place.
This is why you can never go wrong by constantly setting new targets for yourself.
Know Your Goals
Knowing your goals will help you to get started on a good fitness path because only you know the goals that you set for yourself. Make sure the goals you set are realistic but also a bit challenging. Then write the goals down, define them (the more detailed the better so as to have a clear focus on what your goals are), and then make sure you revisit them on a daily basis. This will help keep you excited and motivated.
And most importantly, believe that you can achieve those goals!
Create A Set Exercise Schedule
Some will say the “reason” that they can’t exercise is due to the lack of time. Whether it may be a long commute to work and/or full-time job, to taking care of small children or elderly parents to. The list can go on and on. Sound familiar? Though these appear to be valid reasons, in reality, they are only excuses because there is always a way to find the time.
The best way to handle this situation is by having a set exercise schedule and keeping to it.
By creating a set time for all your activities helps to keep you free from the stress of “finding the time” as well as from the stress that your busy lifestyle can cause; not only to your body but also your mind.
Here are some good news and the best reason why you should set an exercise schedule!
By setting the time to exercise, not only does it improves your health but it also improves how you think!
In Scientific American the reason for this is explained:
“Part of the reason exercise enhances cognition has to do with blood flow. Research shows that when we exercise, blood pressure and blood flow increase everywhere in the body, including the brain. More blood means more energy and oxygen, which makes our brain perform better.
Another explanation for why working up a sweat enhances our mental capacity is that the hippocampus, a part of the brain critical for learning and memory, is highly active during exercise. When the neurons in this structure rev up, research shows that our cognitive function improves. For instance, studies in mice have revealed that running enhances spatial learning. Other recent work indicates that aerobic exercise can actually reverse hippocampal shrinkage, which occurs naturally with age, and consequently boost memory in older adults. Yet another study found that students who exercise perform better on tests than their less athletic peers.”
Now don’t those sound like great reasons to set your exercise schedule?
Reach Out To Others For Support
You will never go wrong by sticking to a fitness program and making it a part of your daily routine, but doing this alone can sometimes be a challenge in and of itself. To help you with your goals, why not reach out to friends and family who can offer their support.
You could also explore online communities and websites with nutrition experts and fitness trainers whose ideas can certainly help motivate you.
Plus there are studies that now show by sharing your fitness goals with others, increases your odds of reaching those goals!
So are you ready to set some goals and get out there begin your fitness journey?
