Exercise is such an important part of staying fit and healthy. Regular exercise has so many great benefits for our bodies, minds and emotions but it is not always easy to find the time or energy needed to get in a good workout. We all live such busy lives these days that just trying to balance all of our responsibilities to work, family, friends and ourselves is not easy. After a long day at work or looking after a family, finding that get up and go can seem like a monumental task.
To help everyone out there who is lacking enthusiasm for exercise, here are some effective tips to motivate your workout.
1. Reward Yourself
One of the best ways to motivate yourself to exercise is to reward yourself for your commitment and hard work. There are various different treats you can give yourself for hitting your workout goals such as a weekly cheat meal or a new, smaller pair of jeans to celebrate losing a few pounds.
One really innovative reward system that has been developed comes from an app called Pact that actually pays you for going to the gym. You can see more about Pact online but essentially how it works is that you commit to a certain diet and a certain number of workouts per week which you then guarantee with a pledge of between $5 and $50. Other users of the app also make their commitments and their pledge. If you then hit your goals, you get a share of the money that those who didn’t meet their commitments have pledged.
2. Train Smarter not Longer
One mistake that many people make is that they believe the longer they work out for, the better the results will be. This is only true however if you know what you are doing. For most people’s goals, a 45 minute to one hour is sufficient as unless you are a professional athlete or bodybuilder, training beyond this point will cease to have any positive effect and may even lead to injury.
In order to train smarter, it is vital that you plan your workout before you get to the gym. This will reduce any time spent deciding what exercises to do when you arrive. Always keep a written track of what you did at the gym each session so that you can refer to it the next time you go.
This will enable you to make incremental progress rather than just lifting random weights inconsistently.
3. Mix Up Your Workouts
One common factor that leads to people becoming demotivated is boredom. It can be very dull just doing the same routine week in week out which can also lead to plateauing results. In order to stay motivated, keep your workouts exciting by mixing them up. Every couple of weeks, try doing a group class that you have never tried before, or a new exercise for a body part that you really want to hit. You can also try hunting in the wild for a new pace. Just make sure you’re prepared by wearing gear such as this Waterfowl Hunting shirt.
Making fitness gains is all about keeping the body guessing. Whilst our bodies’ adaptability has many benefits, it also means that they get used to specific training very quickly so in order to keep progressing you have to mix it up and shock the body regularly.
Exercise is really important so it is crucial to find the time and energy in your busy life. Try out these tips to find a new motivation for working out.
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