Lack of exercise motivation is the biggest obstacle among people who don't workout on a regular basis.
Exercise motivation is a key factor for the people who are actually successful with a workout program. If people aren't motivated to workout, it is highly likely that they will workout for a couple of weeks or so and then quickly become frustrated and quit. Here are some tips to help create exercise motivation for those who just aren't sure how to stay motivated.
- Set small goals prior to beginning any type of fitness program. Setting goals is important in order to assess progress at a later date. If goals aren't made and then later met, people will feel like they aren't accomplishing anything. Meeting goals helps people to stay focused because results are being noticed.
- Keep a food and workout diary. Write down workouts daily, including each exercise performed, the weight used, along with the number of sets and repetitions. Writing down all the foods eaten during the day is a great idea as well. This is great in determining if dietary changes need to be made.
- Take monthly measurements. Whether a person is aiming to lose fat or build muscle, taking monthly measurements in the same areas will help to see the improvements being made. Seeing the results really helps gain a lot of exercise motivation.
- Always keep the body guessing. After performing a workout for a few weeks, change it up so that the body doesn't get used to the exercises being done. Keeping the body guessing is a great way to get past a plateau when nothing else seems to be helping. Always change up workouts at least every 2 to 3 months or so.
- Hang a picture or poster. It can be of an ideal body shape or body type, or a motivating quote or set of quotes. Place it somewhere where it will be seen on a daily basis, preferably seen a few times throughout the day.
- Rest. It's important to rest at least 1 day per week for the body to recover. It also helps to prevent burnout. It's better to rest for 1 or 2 days per week than to workout 7 days a week, get sick of it and quit working out altogether. It's recommended to get plenty of sleep every night as well. The amount of sleep needed differs from person to person, but it's important to get at least 6.5 hours.
Working out is great for both mental and physical health and it's also an excellent and natural stress reliever. If even some or all of these steps are followed, exercise motivation can be greatly improved.
The copyright of the article Exercise Motivation in Fitness is owned by Melinda Friedland. Permission to republish Exercise Motivation in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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Sep 5, 2009 11:01 AM
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