I know when you Googled “how to get motivated to exercise”, you wanted some quick and easy tips to get you all jazzed up to get to the gym.
Everyone wants that 6 minute 6 pack or lose 10 inches on your waist in just 10 days type of advice. The reality is, that isn’t advice, that’s a product. And it sells. It sells because who wouldn’t rather do 6 minutes of neck-wrenching crunches once a day than commit to a better diet and fitness plan?
Making lasting change in any aspect of your life is HARD work. It requires commitment, consistency, and dedication over a long period of time.
No masterpiece was ever painted, no Fortune 500 company ever started, and no goal was ever achieved without motivation.
Motivation, that’s it. That is the first and most critical step of leading a fit and healthy life. It doesn’t matter if you are 200 pounds overweight or just constantly stuck looking the same and never improving. If you do not know why you are working so hard, you will never be able to stick with it.
You are here though. You obviously have the desire to change your life, otherwise why would you even be reading this? The desire is there; now it is simply a matter of harnessing that drive that set you on this path in the first place.
So before you sign up for a new gym membership, buy $1000 in new workout gear, or subscribe to a diet blog, THINK.
Instead of writing the New Year’s goal of “get in better shape” for the twelfth straight year and then move on to the next goal, take some time to expand on that. Take hours, days, weeks even, and think about all the reasons you have for wanting to do this.
Write those reasons down, memorize them, dwell on them, and ingrain them in your mind, because that is what will carry you through to actually accomplishing your goals this year. More importantly, it is what will change it from a goal to a new lifestyle.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are contemplating that motivation and how to maximize it even when you are feeling like throwing that resolution in the trash again. Being mindful of these things can help you really figure out why this is important to you, why you CAN do it, and can carry you through those horribly lazy days that the old you would have thrown the towel in on.
Be Honest With Yourself… Seriously, Your Excuses Suck
In other words, stop making up reasons why you can’t do something. If you really want something bad enough you will find time to incorporate it into your life. Do you really have zero time? Really? Zero? You mean you don’t watch TV, get lost in the YouTube vortex, play video games, or overpay for drinks at a bar? If you looked at your day, I know you could squeeze an hour or two to get a workout in, even if it is at home, and I know you could make better nutrition choices.
You can lie to your friends, family, and co-workers, but when you put your head down at night, can you honestly say to YOURSELF that you did the best you could today?
Am I Going to Feel Good About This Decision Later?
What feels good right at this moment is generally not what makes you feel good in the long run.
ALWAYS keep your goals in mind. If you think something may be a bad idea, ask yourself, “Is this going to get me to where I want to be?” A good plan will build in time to splurge and time to rest, so if it isn’t one of those times, focus more on the big picture and not the instant gratification.
You need to make conscious choices that are in your best interest. The longer you do that, the easier it will become.
The Thing That Most Often Separates A Success and A Failure is That One Started and One Did Not
The hardest part of anything is the beginning. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to get motivated to start. Whether its starting your fitness journey from scratch or just a crappy day that sucks out your drive to exercise, what will determine if you fail or succeed is as simple as starting.
Your excuses suck remember? Write your goal, decide why it is important to you and just start. You won’t be perfect at first, but you will be better for it than you were yesterday. If you are feeling lazy today and don’t want to get up off the couch, drag your ass up, put your shorts on, and get in the car. Now the hardest part is done. The rest of the motivation will begin to flow after you simply start.
The Good News: It Gets Easier
Do you really think anything worthwhile can be achieved without some initial strife?
It takes generally 21 days for someone to form a new habit. So on day 1, 2, 10, and 20, when it hurts and you are tired and sore, remember that it’s temporary.
You will replace the bad habits of your former self with the new, healthier habits of this improved version of you.
Ride it out and you will see that it gets easier everyday. It will get to the point where it will be harder for you to skip the gym than it will be for you to go.
You Didn’t Fail Every Other Time You Tried, You Just Learned What Doesn’t Work For You
Getting motivated to change to a healthier lifestyle is hard, especially if you have tried before, and it didn’t work out. Anybody would get discouraged by this, but you need to change your mindset. Believe me, you are far from the only one this has happened to. Shit, it has happened to me for almost a decade. Stop thinking about these other attempts negatively. Instead, think about what made you quit before and adjust.
For example, I used to think to be successful, you had to be a morning person. I would get up at 5:30 in the morning to go run before work. I hated it, I hated it on so many levels. I hate mornings, and I hate running, but I thought I had to do this to get in shape. Needless to say, a few weeks in I was hitting that snooze button more and more until one day I just stopped setting the alarm all together and thus ended my cardio routine. I tried this for years.
Finally, it dawned on me, I would rather punch myself in the dick than get up in the morning and run. So I stopped trying that and instead did HIIT cardio after my lifting. I liked it, it worked for me, and I could stick with it.
Figure out what you don’t mind doing or what you definitely don’t want to do. If you hate HIIT but love running, do that.
Do not let your failures of the past stop your accomplishments of the future. Learn from them and use them to plan your attack on the present.
Stop Seeing Who You Are Today and Start Envisioning Who You Want to Be Tomorrow
If you are constantly trying to get in shape to no avail, you probably have some degree of a negative perception of yourself. I am going to go as far as to say that I don’t necessarily think this is always a bad thing. I think it is recognizing a problem. However, once you commit to changing, you need to shift your mindset. Realize your worth and see yourself as you want to be seen. Every time you are on the treadmill, doing a mindless task, in the car, daydreaming, picture yourself as you want to be, as you will be.
Every day, picture how you will feel about yourself, how you will perform, how people will react to the new you. I did this to the point of insanity, to the point of almost having a fantasy world in my head, but it worked.
Confidence in yourself and your body will have massive impacts on your mental health. Carry yourself with the confidence you will have once you achieve your goals. “Fake it until you make it”. Eventually that imagined confidence will turn real as you get closer to your goals.
Humans have an amazing ability to turn the things they constantly desire into reality. The more that you believe you can achieve your ideal body, the easier it will be to get motivated to actually do it. Fake it until you make it as they say.
Set Actual Goals
You may be thinking, “My goal is to get in shape, duh”. Yeah that’s not really a goal, that’s an outcome of accomplishing a lot of other small goals. Set milestone goals that you can achieve along the way that will help you obtain your ultimate goal.
We all love checking things off of lists and the feeling that we have accomplished something. There is nothing more motivating than PROGRESS. Set small goals, complete them, and the motivation will really start to flow.
Know Yourself
If you are like me and can’t control your portions (who the hell eats only a quarter cup of ice cream?), then don’t have temptations around. Don’t buy a tub of ice cream and expect to eat one serving size if you have literally never been able to do that before.
If you know that going home after work means you probably aren’t leaving again, then start going straight to the gym.
We all have weaknesses, but successful people can compensate for them. That starts with acknowledging them.
Call In The Reinforcements
If you know your motivation is high Monday through Wednesday but you start to slack later in the week, sign up for group fitness that day or schedule a workout with a partner. This will hold you accountable and force you to get your ass to the gym.
Cheat
You have been working hard, accomplishing the small goals you have set for yourself, and making progress. Reward yourself. If you have a favorite yet disgustingly unhealthy food that you love and are staying away from, have a cheat day every so often and just devour it.
You didn’t get fat in a day, you didn’t get fit in a day, and you won’t lose your progress after a cheat day. Schedule them into your regular routine, but be sure you earn it and contain them to the times that you schedule.
You Will F#@k Up, It Is OK
Like I said, getting fit takes months and months. We are not perfect. At some point during those months you are going to stop at McDonald’s or just skip the workout. These mistakes usually derail people’s motivation. Do not just throw your hands up and say, “There goes the neighborhood,” and go on a glutenous bender. You ate a Big Mac; appreciate how delicious it was and move on. Don’t throw the rest of the week out the window, and don’t skip a meal to make up for it.
CONSISTENCY IS KING! Just get back on your normal routine for the next meal or get back in the gym the next day.
Don’t beat yourself up about it, just move forward like it never happened.
Start Slow, This is a Marathon Not A Sprint
Nothing will derail motivation and progress like an injury. You don’t need to go to the gym all hopped up on pre-workout and give yourself a slipped disk. Especially if you are new, take your time, figure out what your starting weights should be, and go from there.
…But Not Too Slow
You also do not want to go to the gym and walk at 0.5 mph on the treadmill because you “are taking it easy at first”. Set your goals and make sure they are challenging enough to push you. If you aren’t pushing yourself, you will see no progress, and that can be just as discouraging as an injury. Listen to your body, know the difference between muscle soreness and a potential injury.
Some Days Are Just Going to Suck
Even the most driven of people have bad days, days that they just do not care and want to lay on the floor and do nothing. It happens. These are the days that count though, and set you apart from average. On these days, do whatever it takes. Have websites that you go to for motivational quotes, watch ripped people workout on YouTube, listen to really intense, violent music. Whatever gets your blood pumping and your legs twitching. Know that these days will come, and find some places that you can go to get some external motivation before they arrive.
So there it is, the best motivational tips that I can offer. I know I would get more subscribers if I told you how easy all of this was. The truth is that it’s not easy, and if you aren’t prepared for that, then you are setting yourself up to fail. However, if you arm yourself with the proper motivation, you will be equipped to finally make lasting changes in your life.
Thanks for reading and if you have any of your own tips or tricks, I would love to hear about them in the comments (you know, for a friend).
