It happens.
Summertime makes it easy to stay active. After all, we can be outdoors more and enjoy all nature has to offer, making it a naturally more active time. But as summer fades to fall, exercise routines often fall to the back burner, too.
If you’re feeling the lack of workout motivation hardcore, we’ve got you covered. Below, we share the perks of working out, along with simple ways to get yourself excited to hit your next sweat session.
Here’s to more intense and fulfilling workouts!
Everyone has different exercise goals, which is why keeping goals personal is important. When setting out to workout regularly, consider why you’re doing it. This is what will keep you motivated and consistent with your routine.
Reasons people exercise include a desire to:
Setting your goals — in writing can be helpful! — and then working to achieve them is definitely more challenging than it sounds. Once you add the healthy habit of exercise into your daily routine, it tends to stick once you start noticing the difference in energy, muscle tone, and improved health.
Below, we share tips to help you stick with even the toughest exercise goals.
Ready to take on regular exercise? Get geared up to sweat, but also prepare for the increase in energy, muscle tone, strength, and overall health. Regular gym-goers will tell you it’s addictive.
Here’s how to feel just as inspired and excited to tackle your exercise routine with vigor:
When you choose to make exercise a daily habit, it’s one that should be tailored to you. That starts with creating a personal mission statement on why you’re going to make exercise a part of your life. Write it down, make a phone note, tell a friend — whatever you need to do to make it feel official and important. Really think about why it matters that you’re taking this step and how you want to feel after doing it consistently.
If you’re money motivated, then this tip is for you. In an ideal world, aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity weekly. Or, a decent combination of both. If you plan to workout three to four times each week, but start skipping them with excuses, open your wallet. Consider setting aside a specific amount to donate to charity if you skip your planned workout. While it still goes for a good cause, you’ll probably start to want to keep your hard-earned money and you will improve your health if you don’t skip those workouts!
If you wait to have the energy, time, or excitement to work out, it’s unlikely to happen. As you start reinvesting in your workout routine — or decide you’re going to go a little harder — make an ongoing standing date with yourself on certain days at specific times. Skip the all-or-nothing mindset that you’ve failed if you somehow missed every workout this week. Instead, look ahead to how you can fit it in — whether that’s waking up 15 minutes earlier or forcing yourself to take a break for lunch and a power walk. Can’t miss that rerun of Friends? Then hop on the treadmill, stick in your ear buds and multi-task for an hour.
One of the most important aspects of sticking with exercise goals is to ensure you’re having fun doing the actual exercise. If you absolutely hate running, don’t force yourself to run! Used to love dancing? Find a local dance club or group to get moving with each week. Whether you find yourself getting bored with your regular routine or can’t stand the thought of a particular exercise, make it your mission to find the most fun workout for you.
Log your activity each time you are working out. This means every time you go out for a walk with the dog, it counts as exercise. Walking five blocks to take the bus to work? Log that, too. It all adds up — even when you aren’t necessarily thinking about it — and improves your health each time you take initiative to be active. Apps like WoofTrax and Charity Miles can make it even more fun to track your walking workouts.
Another key to your fitness success is measuring your progress. If you don’t know which way your ship is sailing because you’re without directions, you’re going to crash into the rocks and be disappointed when you do so. A great way to measure your progress is in inches lost, energy gained, and even pounds (as long as you don’t get caught up in obsessive weigh-ins). A personal trainer can help you with this, but you can also take photos of yourself in the same clothes and take your own measurements.
Self-compassion is sometimes hard to find in the realm of fitness. You aren’t going to feel great about yourself and working out if you keep pointing out your flaws to yourself. Instead, give yourself grace. Remember you didn’t gain weight overnight, which means it will take time to shed that same weight gain. Be your own best cheerleader.
Those who are avid exercisers will tell you that “triggers” are a secret exercise success trick. These are reminders that kick you into autopilot with a specific reaction so there’s nothing to think about. For example, leaving your workout clothes on your dresser and filling up your water bottle the night before will trigger your brain to get up and workout when you see them. Put your sneakers by your bed to feel the tug to go for a morning jog. Add a little reminder on your phone that it’s “workout time — yay!” and see how it gets you motivated to go sweat.
Just as with an accountability partner, it’s a lot harder to say no to your whole family when they want to go for a walk. Make a plan together as a group to do several fun, physical activities each week together. Not only will it provide time away from sitting on the couch, but it also offers an amazing opportunity to connect together. Rollerblading, shooting hoops, neighborhood walks, and cartwheels in the front yard are just a few ways you can be active together.
If you’re like many individuals, you’re spending hours each day sitting at a work computer. It can take its toll. But, you can make your break times more effective by getting in mini workout sessions throughout the day. Stretching, short yoga flows, and body-weight exercises are all excellent ways to get in various exercise routines.
Boring routines will get to you quickly. If you’re one to tire of activities rather soon after you start them, then it’s important to plan ahead to nix any excuses to skip workouts. Been into morning workouts for six months? Try an afternoon schedule instead. Has your barre studio been your go-to place after work? See what other classes they offer. Changing your routines and your workouts will also prevent your body from getting too comfortable and hitting a plateau.
Not feeling the gym today but still want your workout to be super productive? Envision it done. Without realizing it, our subconscious mind processes details at an alarmingly fast rate. This area of our mind is focused on feelings and visual images. It’s basically a dress rehearsal for what you want to happen and how you want to feel when it happens before it actually does. Imagine how you’ll feel when you’re done — sweaty, happy, and proud, right? Then get to it.
Related: 27 Inspirational Health Quotes to Motivate Employees
Sometimes you have to self-motivate in unconventional ways — like telling yourself you’ll only go to the gym for five minutes. “Lie” to yourself if it gets you to workout. If you make it past that five minutes, you’ve done great. You’ll also likely keep going because the “feel-good hormones” will make you feel inspired and happy to continue working out.
As the saying goes, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Once you start comparing your workout journey to another person’s, it often leads to an internal jealousy battle. That can lead to working out out for the wrong reasons, and it also may make you forget your initial mission statement (see #1). Everyone is on their own path and does things for their own reasons. Keep your reasons for working out personal, and you’re bound to see more success.
If you’re concerned about not being able to keep an exercise commitment to yourself, bring a friend along for the journey. Sign-up with a coworker or a neighbor as an accountability partner. Together, you can set exercise goals and help cheer each other on to maintain overall well-being. After all, people who commit to goals alongside accountability partners are 65% more likely to achieve those goals, according to a study by the American Society of Training and Development.
It’s hard to work on improving yourself if you don’t have the right tools. When it comes to working out, there are specific items you need to spend a little money on. Whether that’s new dumbbells, a pair of sneakers, a gym membership, or even a smart water bottle, put some money into it. Do you only have ratty t-shirts and gym shorts? Consider investing in quality workout clothes that make you feel your best and help wick away sweat to keep you feeling cooler.
Did you meet your workout goals for two weeks straight? That’s cause for celebration. Don’t let your small baby steps go unnoticed. If you put in the effort and felt good about it, that’s worth noting. Think about how it feels to be committed to your health and healthier living. Rewards that are meaningful — a coffee date with a friend, a pedicure, or a new self-care book— are great personal rewards that feel good and also benefit your health.
Remember, any time you move your body, it’s a step in the right direction for good health. Staying aligned with your exercise goals isn’t always easy, but if you consistently strive to do your best to break a sweat throughout the week, your health will thank you.
Most importantly, remember that moderate-intensity workouts don’t always have to take place in the gym. Raking leaves or walking a few miles for 30 minutes are quite different activities, but they both are considered moderately “intense workouts.”
Want more exercise content? Here are a few great reads to check out:
● 6 Amazing Benefits of Morning Exercise
● 5 Quick Motivational Video Workouts to Try Today on Your Break
● Transform Your Walk into a Full-Body Workout
● Workout at Home With No Equipment With These 10 Exercises
Above all, remember exercise doesn’t have to be lumped all together at one time to count, either. If you walk five blocks to work, power walk at lunch, and then walk your dog after work, that all adds up! You can also mindfully increase your activity daily — like taking the stairs over the elevator or parking the car further from the store — to get those extra calorie-burning moments in.