No matter how much you may want to, sticking to a new healthy lifestyle and exercise regime can prove very difficult. Creating new habits takes time, and if you have never had this sort of lifestyle before, it will come as a bit of a shock. Often we are tired, and all we want to do is rest, but we know that we should be exercising. If exercising was easy, then everyone would be doing it, but unfortunately, they are not. The good news is that there are a lot of ways you can motivate yourself and develop that new healthy lifestyle that you always wanted. So, let’s take a look at some ways you can achieve that.
Find Great Role Models
Is there anyone out there who you admire who is in the sports industry, or even someone who has publicly lost a lot of weight? A role model is someone that you can take inspiration from and can help you stay on track. Maybe it would be good to read a few biographies of people who have trained very hard and discover more about what kept them motivated. If there is someone you partially relate to, they could be the perfect person. Maybe you can find motivational videos on Youtube or something too. If you can afford a personal trainer, then why not invest in one, at least until you have developed a habit that you can maintain. If not, then you need to find other ways to build that habit, and there are plenty of choices available if you are prepared to look.
Goals
Having well-established goals is a great way to stay motivated. Everyone who exercises does so for a reason. They know that their job is just not healthy enough to be able to relax at home without exercising as well. So think about why you are exercising. Is it to do with your weight or fear of putting weight on due to a sedentary job. Maybe you are lethargic, and exercising will increase your energy levels. Maybe you an to run a marathon or compete in atriathlon, whatever your goal, write it down and make it a real thing in the world. Then place the goal somewhere that you will see it every day. This way, it will remain in your subconscious and help keep you on track. AS long as you know what you want, you can achieve it.
Mix it Up
If you are always doing the same form of exercise, it can become pretty boring. It helps if you mix it up a bit. So maybe one day running, the next cycling, then maybe HIIT training class. Although you may want to run a marathon if running every day is not going to keep you on track, it makes perfect sense to do something else, as long as it’s aerobic, it will be increasing your stamina. You can even find things like hiking that do not seem like they are exercise, but they are. Also, think of things like Yoga and Pilates, which are great accompaniments to any form of aerobic exercise. They improve your core muscles and can help you maintain good posture as well as strengthening and toning. These can be done in the privacy of your own home too, so when you don’t feel like hitting the tarmac or gym, there is no reason you can roll out the matt.
Monitor Your Progress
Sometimes you need to see that you are making progress to actually stay motivated. There are a lot of fitness watches and apps you can get to help you with this. Seeing your times reduce can feel great. As can watching your waist thin and your biceps increase, so it may be a good idea to invest in a good tape measure and somewhere, an app, for example, to log the results. Occasionally you may feel you did an awful run, but the time may say otherwise. This is a great motivator.
Be Sensible
If you come down with an injury, then you need to get it checked out. Don’t ignore it and hope it will go away. An injury doesn’t mean you have to give up, all it means is that you may need to rest that area. Something like an acl ice machine may be just the ticket if you are recovering from a knee injury. While you are recovering, discover what exercises you can do, rather than just giving up and having to start all over again once you are finally healed.
