Very interesting thing about exercise. As with most things in life, although we live in an information age, there is a lack of widely accessible information. For example, most of us will not easily access accurate information on how to set up satellite television or read financial statements.
Things are different when it comes to exercise, information is everywhere and everyone knows how to exercise in some way or another. Lack of motivation to exercise suggests that we do not do what we know. We don’t even do what we want because most of us really want to exercise but we don’t always do it. To exercise clearly, we must do not just what we know or want to do, but what we are inspired to do. In this article, I want to share with you some strategies that will help motivate you to exercise.
(I) Have a vision about your self-image
The truth is that most of us have a certain picture of how we want to look. Some people are born skinny, think of themselves as skinny and accept that self-image. Some people are born underweight, they see themselves that way and buy clothes to fit that image. Most of the time this is something that we are not always conscious of.
I remember a time when my wife went 3 months without looking at her body in the mirror. Women could not live without mirrors, they used face mirrors during that period for some reason but not full body mirrors. we went shopping. She looked at herself in a full body mirror only to find that her body shape had changed due to her weight gain. She flared up and shouted “Wow I’m fat”. Sure enough, I’m at home with her most frequent question “Do I look fat?”
It was true that my wife had gained weight. But what really bothered her was that her body was different from her ideal body shape or body weight. This intrigued her and motivated her enough to exercise and shed the excess fat within two weeks.
Without a vision of our ideal body shape or weight, we are doomed to just pump food into our bodies and not make an effort to lose weight. I am telling you this because I would like to urge you to check your vision of your ideal body weight before applying the rest of the strategies that I will recommend you to use from this article.
Some people want to be skinny but actually have a fat body image that is holding them back. These people buy clothes that fit this image and accept how they look. Subconsciously, they sabotage their efforts to lose weight. If you don’t want to be skinny, it will help you to think of yourself as skinny. If you consider yourself fat, you may find it difficult to lose weight. I am not saying that you should not accept yourself the way you are. I’m saying that even if you have a vision about your healthy self-image. Accepting yourself as you are may mean that you want to change your image when it comes to getting fit or losing weight. This is great for your emotional well-being but it also won’t really help you achieve your fitness goals. If you accept yourself with a belly, why would you want a flat stomach?
(II) Care less about the comfort of your body
The main reason people don’t exercise is because they prefer physical comfort to the pain of exercise. Physical rest is harmful in the long run as it leads to a sedentary lifestyle. So the more neglectful you are of your physical comfort, the more you will be subjecting your body to the physical stress of exercise.
The irony is that once you start exercising, you start to enjoy exercising, even though your body gets stressed during exercise. People who have overcome their need for physical rest and have forced themselves to exercise may start to feel groggy after not exercising for a few days. Feels unacceptably weird when they don’t go for their runs or cycle or lift weights.
The first hurdle though before achieving the level where exercise becomes a “must” and a “must” is not to give up on physical rest. Continually argue in your mind against your body when it wants rest. Naturally your body will seek rest. Your job is to push against your body and be subjected to the physical stress of the exercise. Don’t think of your mind and body as one unit. Your body will seek rest but your mind will argue and remember your exercise goals.
(III) Schedule an hour’s exercise daily
If nothing in your day is labeled for exercise then you probably never exercise. All you need is an hour in your day to exercise that you’re ready to exercise no matter what. Clear the time of exercise and do not let anything disturb it. If you have planned to run and it is raining, then one hour of exercise should not be spent watching series on TV, it should be spent doing home exercises. Let nothing come between you and your hour of exercise.
(IV) Forget fitness rules, do what you love
As I’ve said before, there is a lot of information out there about exercise. It’s easy to get caught up in what many experts think exercise should be. What I’ve learned in life is that set rules don’t work. When we are having fun and excited, things get done.
Forget what other people think exercise should be like. what are you really Are you running, walking or cycling or are you into kick boxing. Whatever you are doing, let it be your exercise.
Once you get up to speed and break away from a sedentary lifestyle, you can speed things up a bit and complete the formalities. Most of us learned to ride a bicycle successfully as children, even when it was painful to fall, because we did what we loved. When it comes to exercising to relieve what you perceive as exercise pain, do that.
(v) don’t eat for the taste
You need to see results to stay motivated to exercise. Muscle gain or weight loss or toned body. If you don’t see results, chances are you’ll give up.
You need to eat well to see results. Remember that if you want to lose weight or gain muscles, 80% of the results of exercise depend on your diet and 20% on your physical effort.
I’ve set you up to be motivated enough to try. Don’t let diet undo what you’ve done.
Most people fail in dieting because they eat for taste. When it comes to taste, most of us would agree that KFC beats a dish of steamed vegetables. So when we eat for taste we set ourselves up for failure because most healthy food doesn’t taste as good as junk. Unless your wife is a great cook or you have a professional cook at home.
To see results from your workouts, eat to nourish your body. Tolerate the bitter taste of vegetables or whatever your vegetarian diet is. Diet plans fail when we eat for taste because soon we find ourselves unable to resist the taste of birthday cake. Commit to eating differently for nutrition rather than taste. Sometimes you can thank yourself with a small piece of your favorite yummy food.
Remember to stay motivated to overcome all the obstacles standing in the way of your success and don’t you dare give up on yourself or your dreams.
