Stay Motivated and Inspired to Exercise with These Effective Strategies

You need to realize that in order for you to succeed and achieve your fitness goals, you’ll need to be motivated. If you exercise only when the mood strikes you, don’t expect to actually achieve your fitness goals. You can’t have a healthy and fit body after just a day or two of working out. That’s not how it works. You have to stick to an exercise program and exercise on a regular basis. In today’s article, we’re going to offer a few suggestions on how you can keep yourself motivated that you’ll actually stick to an exercise program long enough to see lasting results.

If you have specific fitness goals, they can keep you motivated. Instead of stating your goals in general terms, such as you want to be healthier or you want to shed unwanted pounds, be more specific. So turn the general goal of “to lose weight” into something specific, you could say something like “to lose 20 pounds in 3 months.” If your goal is to run a certain number of miles, make sure you write that goal down. If you write your specific goals down, you’ll be better able to focus on them. You can have several major goals, but you’ll find it easier to concentrate on one goal at a time.

Think about whether some new exercise equipment will help you feel motivated. A good place to start is the right pair of athletic shoes. You need not buy into the advertising slogans of sports shoes, as the important thing is to find something comfortable that provides the right support. Also choose other workout gear such as shorts and warmup suits that you find comfortable and attractive. It is important that you dress for the role of an athlete when you wish to behave as an athlete. It is not necessary to purchase premium exercise gear, you merely want to get what will help you to get the most out of exercising each day.

Be inspired by the power of fitness program visualization. Visualize what your appearance will be after a few years in your exercise routine. What’s your ideal weight? Try seeing yourself at this weight. You can also try imagining how your body looks like when you’re fit. In addition to mental images, make sure that you give yourself constant reminders that you stand to benefit from exercising regularly. Even better, make several copies of this reminder and post them in places where you’ll see them every day — in your bathroom, in the closet, on the fridge, etc. You can also try what some folks do — take a photo of yourself every two weeks or so and then put it up on the fridge or your bathroom mirror. Every time you look at it and how much progress you have made, you’ll only be pushed to keep exercising.

This article has taken a look at a few ways you can find motivation to encourage you to exercise. Everyone feels motivation to work out sometimes, but what’s crucial is to find ways to motivate yourself when you’d rather sit on the couch and watch TV. The first day will be the hardest and the days that follow will get a little less difficult as your fitness level improves.