How To Stay Motivated During Exercise

I think I speak for every one of us when I say; we have all experienced negative thoughts during exercise, we question whether we can finish the session, why we are doing it, what are we going to achieve etc. This is a crucial time and it takes a lot to push through and block out the negative thoughts and focus on the positive ones.

Here are a few tips to stay motivated through exercise:

1. Make It Fun – enjoyment is a very important part of exercise, most people who don’t exercise will dread the thought of exercising, but to us lucky lot who exercise regularly we know the positives feelings that come from exercising. Don’t go for the same boring run over and over again, go to a different place, work at different intensities. Plus there’s so many different things you can do in the gym, there’s swimming and fitness classes and many other things you can do outside boot camp to keep us motivated and for us to enjoy.

2. Focus On The Positives – While you exercise try not to think ‘ahhh .. this is too hard, can’t wait to finish’ yes you can focus on the end of the session, but just think about instead what you will have achieved by then, you can carry on your day safe in the knowledge that you have made a positive step towards a fitter lifestyle. Ask yourself why you are exercising and use the reason as motivation.

3. Don’t Do It Alone – As you know there are many people in the same boat as you who are trying to make a positive change to their lives, so associate yourself with these people. Why not meet up with people from class and go for a run one night a week. There are so many options, take your children down the park for a game of football everything helps. It is very important though that if you do exercise with someone that it is the right person, there aren’t many things worse for motivation than training with a negative influence If your training partner is more conce
ed with getting a Big Mac on the way home than the actual exercise session.. Afraid to say don’t exercise with them, they can bring you down and slow down your progress.

4. Reward Yourself – When you have finished your session, why not just sit down relax and have a think about what you have just achieved and savour the positive feelings that exercise gives you. Exte
al rewards can also help, if you are struggling during your session, just think ’10 more minutes, then a nice relaxing massage’ this can help see you to the end.

5. Record Your Progress – Make a note of as much as you can, keep a track of things such as how much weight you are lifting, how far you have run, how fast you have gone ... beating your score from the previous week is a great feeling to have and will motivate you to carry on as you are improving.

6. Music – I am one of those people, who struggle to work out alone without music, getting a playlist of songs that inspire you can be great while you exercise. Upbeat fast songs I would recommend rather than relaxing songs.

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination.

So there are a few hopefully helpful tips which can help you stay motivated throughout your workouts.

Good Luck