There is something very interesting about exercise. With most things in life, although we are in the information age, there is a lack of widely accessible information. For example, most of us would not easily access accurate information on how to install satellite television or how to read a financial statement.
However, when it comes to exercising, things are different, there is information everywhere, and everyone knows in some way how to exercise. Lack of motivation towards exercise shows that we don’t do what we know how to do. We also don’t do what we want because most of us really want to exercise, but we don’t always do it. Clearly, to exercise we need to do, not only what we know or want, but also what we are motivated to do. In this article, I want to share with you some strategies that will help you motivate yourself to exercise.
(I) Have a vision about your own image
The truth is that most of us have a certain image of how we would like to see ourselves. Some people were born skinny, they imagine themselves skinny and have accepted that image of themselves. Some people were born with a little weight, they imagine that way and even buy clothes that fit that image. Most of the time this is something that we are not always aware of.
I remember a time when my wife had not looked at her body in a mirror for 3 months. Women cannot live without mirrors, she used a face mirror but not a full body mirror during that period for some reason. We went shopping. He looked at himself in a full-length mirror and found that his body shape had changed because he had gained weight. She freaked out and screamed “Wow, I’m fat.” Surely, I must not have been honest with her at home when answering her most frequently asked 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 weight. This made her uneasy and motivated enough to exercise and lose extra fat in two weeks.
Without a vision of our ideal body shape or weight, we are doomed to simply pump food into our bodies and not make an effort to lose weight. I tell you this because I would like to urge you to examine your vision of your ideal body weight before implementing the rest of the strategies that I will advise you to use from this article.
Some people want to be slim but actually have a fat body image that slows them down. These people buy clothes that fit this image and accept how they look. They subconsciously sabotage your weight loss efforts. If you don’t want to be skinny, it helps to think you’re skinny. If you think you are overweight, you may have a hard time achieving weight loss. I’m not saying you shouldn’t accept yourself as you are. I’m saying that though you might have insight into your healthy self-image. Simply accepting yourself for who you are can mean that you want to change the image you have of yourself when it comes to being fit or losing weight. This is great for your emotional well-being, but it won’t help you reach your fitness goals either. If you accept yourself with a belly, why would you want a flat stomach?
(II) The comfort of your body matters less
The main reason people don’t exercise is because they prefer bodily comfort to the pain of exercise. Body comfort is detrimental in the long term because it leads to a sedentary lifestyle. So the more you care less about the comfort of your body, the more you will subject your body to the physical stress of exercise.
Ironically, what you will find is that once you start exercising, you will begin to find pleasure in exercising even though your body tenses up during exercise. People who have outgrown their need for body comfort and tried hard to exercise start to feel uncomfortable when they haven’t exercised for a couple of days. They feel unacceptably strange when they haven’t been running or riding their bikes or lifting weights.
However, the first hurdle to overcome before reaching the level where exercise becomes a “must” rather than a “should” is to neglect bodily comfort. Constantly, in your mind, argue against your body when it seeks comfort. Naturally your body will seek comfort. Your task is to push against your body and submit to the physical strain of exercise. Do not consider your mind and your body as a unit. Your body will seek comfort but will argue through your mind and remember your exercise goals.
(III) Assign one hour of exercise every day
If nothing is labeled for exercising in your day, chances are you will never exercise. To exercise you need to have an hour in your day that you propose to exercise no matter what. Clear the time of exercise and do not let anything disturb it. If you were planning to go for a run and it rains, the hour of exercise should not be dedicated to watching a series on TV, it should be dedicated to exercising at home. Don’t let anything come between you and exercise time.
(IV) Forget the fitness rules, do what you like
Like I said before, there is too much information on exercise. It’s easy to get caught up in what many experts believe exercise should be. What I have learned in life is that things are not done by fixed rules. Things get done when we have fun and are excited.
Forget what other people think exercise should be. What exactly are you up to? Do you like to run, walk or bike or do you like kick boxing? Whatever you like, let that be your exercise.
Once you gain momentum and move away from a sedentary lifestyle, you can beef things up a bit and put the formalities into practice. The reason most of us successfully learned to ride our bikes when we were young, even though the fall was painful, was because we did what we loved. Do what you love when it comes to exercising to overcome what you perceive as exercise pain.
(V) Do not eat for pleasure
To stay motivated to exercise, you need to see results. Muscle gain or weight loss or toned body. If you don’t see results, you are likely to give up.
To see results you need to eat well. Remember if you want to lose weight or gain muscle, 80% of the results of exercise depend on your diet and 20% depend on your physical effort.
I have prepared you to motivate yourself enough to push yourself. Don’t let diet undo what you’ve done.
Most people fail when it comes to dieting because they eat for pleasure. When it comes to flavor, most of us would agree that KFC beats a plate of steamed vegetables. So when we eat for fun, we set ourselves up for failure because most healthy foods don’t taste as good as junk. Unless your wife is a great cook or has a professional chef in the house.
To see the results of your exercise, eat to nourish your body. Tolerate the bitter taste of vegetables or whatever your vegetarian diet is. Diet plans fail when we eat for pleasure because we soon find ourselves unable to resist the taste of birthday cake. Commit to eating differently, for nutrition rather than taste. Every now and then you can thank yourself with a small piece of your favorite tasty food.
Remember to stay inspired, remove all obstacles that stand in your way to success, and don’t dare give up on yourself or your dreams.