How To Motivate Yourself To Exercise

Struggling with lack of motivation for exercise?  If you are, you’re normal! Believe it or not, it’s simple to overcome. The trick is doing a quick evaluation to figure out what motivates you.

This simple formula will motivate you to exercise for life!

Your first step is to take inventory. What are the top 2 reasons you want to exercise?  There is no right or wrong answer. We are all motivated a little differently. For example, not everyone is motivated by health.

 

That doesn’t mean you don’t want to be healthy.  It just means you may be motivated by a different “why,” like staying healthy to support your family; or being able to live independently when you are in your golden years.

It’s critical that you discover what you value most in your life.  Once you determine why you want to remain healthy and strong, it is going to be much easier to motivate yourself on those days you just don’t feel like it.

Below is a list of the top reasons people are motivated to exercise.  These examples are based on my own experience as a personal trainer for over 22 years.

Take a few minutes to look at this list.  Use it to help you discover what your own personal reason for exercise is. You may come up with an answer that’s not even on this list.

Write down reasons from the list that resonate with you and any others you come up with on a sheet of paper.  Remember, there is no right or wrong answer.  It is what is!

Top motivators to exercise

 

1)   Maintain or improve your Health

2)   Increase life expectancy

3)   Lose weight

4)   Improve functional fitness

5)   Stay healthy for your family

6)   Travel with ease

7)   Improve appearance

8)   Have more energy

9)   Sleep better

10) Recreation/Fun

11)  Social activities/Meet people

12)  Remain independent and self sufficient

13)  Walking your dog or taking care of a pet

After going through this short exercise, you may be surprised with what you come up with. You may find you have been trying to motivate yourself with all the wrong reasons. Or, you discovered that it is worth it to you to stick to your exercise routine and you are motivated again!

If you discovered you have been trying to dangle the wrong carrot in front of yourself, that’s great news! You now have a brand new list with the top two things that will motivate you to exercise. Anytime you feel like “blowing off” your exercise you just go back to your list and read your reasons out loud to yourself. This will give you the motivation to get moving!

Make sure the exercise you choose serves your purpose.  For example, if your purpose to exercise is to be able to meet people, then I would recommend you look into joining group activities that are at your fitness level and seem fun to you.

The most important thing to remember to be true to yourself and the priorities for your own life. It’s human nature to get unmotivated from time to time. However, when you are clear on your purpose and following the true desires of your own heart, it’s much easier to motivate yourself to just do it. You’ll be able to finally motivate yourself to exercise.

Next week we’ll be talking about the most common obstacles that prevent you from exercising and how to beat them!

I’d love to know what your top motivators are! Please let me know in the comments below. 

To your health and wellness!

Jennifer

How To Find Exercise You Like

Is exercise guilt haunting you?

Find it hard to motivate yourself to stick to your routine? Or, maybe you are feeling guilty about blowing off your workout for another activity you enjoy more. If you are struggling with your exercise routine, maybe it’s not right for you.

There are many ways to exercise. Unfortunately, formal and more restrictive workouts have been promoted as the way to get the fittest, healthiest, and best looking body.

This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Have you ever noticed how fit most surfers, horseback riders, or hikers look? These are examples of people who use recreation to stay fit. They usually spend very little time on formal exercise — just enough strength training per week to keep them in top shape for what they truly enjoy — their sport!

Choosing activities that are more recreational in nature is really good for your body. Recreational activities tend to move the body in more natural ways than some of the more formal “workouts” in the gym. Moving your body in a sport-like manner serves the purpose of improving function in your every day lifestyle activities.

So, while you are having fun and burning calories, you are actually improving your functional fitness as well.  Functional fitness is really important because it trains your body for “real life” situations.

Find exercise you like — the best exercise for you!

1) Ask yourself what you  enjoy. What do you like to do that’s physical? Give YOUR answer. Avoid saying what you think your friends or personal trainer wants to hear. It’s usually something you either did in the past or have a desire to try. I’ve had clients tell me everything from paint ball to line dancing. The most important thing is finding something physically active you will do consistently.

2)  What do you REALLY want? So often we let the media influence us to think we should look like the model on the cover of a magazine. Remember, they get paid for it. While most of us love our work, we all have a “chore” that we endure because it’s part of our job, or part of creating a better product. This is the same for celebrities. Many of them look at their formal workout as “part of the job.”

Copying another person’s life isn’t very motivating! Try different things and see what you gravitate towards. What exercise makes you feel the most energized? Evaluate anything that feels like a chore to see if it’s worth doing.

3)  Just go for it! The most important thing is that you get moving. No matter what you choose, if you know you can stick to it than it is the right exercise for you. The ideal exercise program will feel more recreational in nature and less formal.

4)  Do not feel guilty! We all have that friend that does marathons or bike rides 100 miles. That’s great! They’re wired that way! Do NOT feel guilty that your idea of “working out”is a stroll around the waterfront and picking up a coffee. Focus on your own health and fitness goals and be a cheerleader for them. That type of intense activity is not for everyone.

It’s important to remember that it doesn’t matter what the latest and greatest workout fad promises. The best workout for you is the one you will actually do. Finding something you enjoy — or can at the very least stay consistent with is key.

I encourage you to get creative. Step outside the box and have some fun!

Have an exercise routine that you enjoy and would like to share? Please comment below! I enjoy hearing from you!

Blessings!

Jennifer

 

Can Sitting Too Much Kill You?

Concerned about how much time you spend sitting down? Good! Research is showing us that too much sitting is hazardous to your health.

A recent report in the Archives of Internal Medicine adds to a series of studies proving the negative effects of sitting for too long.

Researchers found that individuals who sit for more than 11 hours a day are 40 percent more likely to die in the next three years than those who are more active. Experts also said sitting between eight and 11 hours daily raises the early death risk by 15 percent.

“The evidence on the detrimental health effects of prolonged sitting has been building over the last few years,” said study author Hidde van der Ploeg, a senior research fellow at the University of Sydney.

And to top it off, extended periods of sitting are not just limited to the workplace. Researchers found that the average adult spends about 90 percent of leisure time sitting down as well.

Most of that time was spent watching television or using a computer.

The good news is this doesn’t have to be you! Now that science is telling us the dangers of sitting too much, you have even more incentive to stay active.

Five Ways to Avoid Sitting Too Much

1)  Get up every hour.  If you have a job that requires you to sit a lot, make it a goal to stand up and move around every hour.  Set a timer if you need a reminder.  Use the short break to hydrate and stretch.

2)  Stand while you work. Try a standing station and alternate between sitting and standing while working. Another option is to stand during conference calls. This is a great time to pace if it won’t distract you on your call.

3)  Take short walks. Walk whenever possible. Incorporate walking into your every day activities. Whether it’s taking the stairs, walking to lunch, or parking at the back of the lot, look for ways to incorporate movement into your daily activities. Use as many opportunities as you can to get exercise. It may take a few extra minutes, but the results could be priceless!

4)  Cook! Cooking means standing and moving around the kitchen. You don’t have to become a gourmet chef. Try some easy 20 minute recipes. Turn on some music and dance around the kitchen!

5)  Turn off the screen. Trade TV and computer time for exercise. Pick a form of exercise you are likely to stick to and avoid sitting in front of electronic devices. If there is something you really want to watch or some work you need to do, set a timer and limit yourself to an hour. Then go do something that requires standing or moving, like a hobby. It’s also a good way to get that to do list checked off!

Plan recreation for the weekend that is not in front of a screen. Walking your dog, going to the park, playing outside as a family, hiking, biking, and water sports are all great examples of things you can do on the weekend to avoid sitting for too long.

In today’s age of modern convenience and technology, you have to be intentional about moving. It is so easy to sit for hours and not even realize it. The need to exercise “on purpose” is pretty recent and doesn’t necessarily come naturally to us. Leave yourself reminders and notes until it becomes second nature to move more and sit less.

Do you have a clever way to fit exercise into your day? Please leave a comment below! I would love to hear from you!

Blessings!

Jennifer