Achieve Proper Workout Motivation

Achieve Proper Workout Motivation

Most people don’t move nearly enough for them to stay healthy. It is crucial that you realise the importance of exercise and its effects on not only your physical but also your mental strength and health. However, we are all busy, and we all have too little time to dedicate to working out. Even when we do manage to squeeze in an hour or two, we’d still prefer doing something else. Well, here’s how to overcome this problem and motivate yourself to work out!

Come up with a plan

Nothing motivates better than trying to avoid regret, and if you put everything on paper and stick it onto an apparent spot (think fridge or a mirror), you’ll know how bad you’re going to feel the next day if you don’t do everything that you’ve planned “today”.
Start by making a simple calendar – use a pen, or get a template and print it out, but try to make it look as neat as possible, since a well-organized schedule can be an additional motivation booster.
Next, think about what you want to achieve – do you want to exercise every day, every other day, every three days, etc.?
Now make a circle around the dates during which you don’t plan to work out – these are your rest days.
Every time you do your full workout routine (whatever you’ve got planned), you get to cross out that date.
If you make it through the first week, you will have both something to be proud about and a reminder that you don’t want the entire week to go to waste by skipping a day of exercising.

Start small

It is hugely important that you do not overdo it. For example, even if your final goal is an everyday workout routine, coming up with a plan without any rest days is likely going to wear you out. You need to take it slowly, since the best road to success is the exact opposite of steep; better to take things gradually than to risk falling and failing.
Even more importantly, you don’t want your exercise routine to be crazy demanding for your current shape. For example, you might be able to jog for 15 minutes straight the first day of your workout and, although you won’t be able to catch your breath later, this will make you feel accomplished; the next day, however, those 15 minutes of torment can easily deter you from finishing your workout.

Don’t compare every day

The best way to go is a low number of minutes, repetitions and workout types in general. You can add more each month! The best way to see progress would be looking at yourself in the mirror only once per month. Unfortunately, this is pretty ludicrous and somewhat impossible; but there are other ways you can measure your progress. However, regardless of whether you weigh or measure your belly radius, you’ll want to do it no more frequently than once a month.
Why? Well, first of all, you won’t be as satisfied with your physical goals if you constantly remind yourself of some petty progress – it’s all about the big picture. Secondly, weight and waistline aren’t really the most precise measurements of your progress – gaining weight can also mean that you’ve lost some weight in fat and compensated even more in muscle, which is an excellent thing, but it will make you weigh more, as muscle is much denser than fat.
If you really want to properly monitor your success, calculating your BMI, or Body Mass Index, once a month is the way to go!

Dress for the lifestyle you want, not the one you have

That pile of raggedy old clothes will do nothing for you in terms of motivation. However, opting for quality gym wear can go a long way in making you feel like an active person; and feeling like a fitness enthusiast is the first step towards becoming one.

Additionally, professional workout equipment will actually make your workouts easier and more comfortable; for example, it is mind-boggling how easy it is to jog in professionally-made running shoes and just how comfortable you’ll feel wearing slim-fit gym shirts and shorts.

Flex

There’s nothing wrong with flexing in front of your home mirror, or the one in the gym! After you’ve started slowly getting into shape, you’ll feel better, stronger, and more capable. As soon as you start getting this feeling, you should start flexing. In addition to it being an exercise in itself, it will help you see your progress and give you a glimpse into the future – what your muscles are going to look like when relaxed if you keep exercising on a regular basis.
If you set your mind to it, you can perform some core muscle flexing while you’re at work, at school and even while you’re commuting. This will help you tighten your entire core beyond what you can imagine, and boost your motivation a bit more as well.

Motivation is the key factor behind enjoying any kind of success, and workouts are a prime example here! Come up with a plan, don’t set your initial goals too high, get pro equipment, flex whenever you can and regroup at the end of each month!