How not to lose motivation and enthusiasm for exercise?

Have you set yourself a goal that on Monday you’re going to start training and working on your body? A week passes by and you’ve had enough, now lying comfortably on the couch and checking what’s on TV? If your enthusiasm is short-lived and you quickly lose the motivation to exercise, then this post is meant for you.

Lots of people find it hard to keep up the good habits for a long time. I can often hear you saying: to start working out is not a problem, but how do I motivate myself to carry on all the time? You know why I will always encourage you to physical activity? Because I do know how many benefits it has. 30 minutes a day is enough for your body and mind to be grateful to you. You wonder how to remember about it longer than just the first week? Read on 🙂

 

What’s the truth about motivation and exercises?

Motivation is mainly responsible for the fact that we can start doing some activity, and it is our will power and the habit we create that decide whether we can keep it up. Every successful athlete knows that motivation is not enough because success also comes from hard work. Believe me, it really pays off. But you don’t do it only for the great physical fitness and attractive body. Sport shapes a whole range of character features that are valued in everyday life.

Researchers point out that the psychological predispositions that a sports champion is characterized by are also worth shaping for managers, scientists and people performing responsible tasks. It has been currently observed that there are a number of similarities between the functioning of a well-organized company and the functioning of a winning sports team. Are you waiting to be promoted? Do you want to be a good boss? Start practising regularly!

 

7 tips on how to stay highly-motivated to workout:

 

1. Do not impose too high a pace at the very beginning

Do you know the “step by step” rule? it’s really important for two reasons: from the physiological point of view, this prevents overtraining, and from the psychological point of view, it counteracts quick discouragement. If you start running, start from a few to a dozen minutes and walk and run alternately. Nobody ran the whole marathon right away. 🙂 If you train with my Diet & Training by Ann app, start training from the START level – you will find there as many as 16 easy-level training sessions.

 

2. Think: WHY do you want to exercise?

Many people who start their adventure with physical activity don’t endure more than 2 weeks, because they focus more on action than on motivation to take on new challenges. Before you start implementing the goals, stop for a moment and think: what are the benefits of increasing your activity? Will you be in better shape? Will you weigh fewer kilos? Will you improve your blood results? Or maybe you’ll be able to put on trousers that are 2 sizes smaller? There may be many reasons, but remember that only those that are important to you really work. If you have been practising for a long time and feel that you are losing motivation, then remember again what you get from your workouts, what you are striving for and what you want to achieve as a result.

 

3. Define and specify exactly.

Knowing WHAT you do it FOR is already half the battle, the next part is to specify what it means exactly. ‘I want to practise because I want to stay in shape’ is too general a statement. But when you say ‘I want to practise in order to take part in and run a marathon in the autumn’ sounds much better. Do you want to be healthier? Ok, but then how do you know that you are healthier? Because you’re not short of breath going upstairs or maybe because you improve blood cholesterol levels?

 

4. Choose your favorite type of exercise.

Which sport is the best? The one you like and enjoy! That’s it. 🙂

 

5. Focus on what’s cool during and after the effort.

I noticed that people who quickly lose their enthusiasm for exercise treat physical activity as something unpleasant, something they do against themselves and it is only done to achieve a goal. When you exercise, focus on your breath, see how your mood changes after your workout, notice how with each minute of exercise you reduce the level of tension and stress, and how the level of positive energy increases. When we exercise carefully and are aware of the benefits, we do not need external motivation because we naturally strive for what we like and what we associate with positive emotions.

 

6. Introduce a diligent plan.

Sport is ultra cool – it’s true. However, you may sometimes not feel like it, you will be tired, or the weather will not be very encouraging to take up any activity. Remember that “motivation helps you begin and habit helps you persevere.” In order to develop a habit, you need a dose of routine and repetitiveness. You will not learn how to cook just by watching culinary shows 🙂 It’s the same with any other activity. That’s why you should set  the minimum amount of time you can devote in a week or in a day. If you manage to do more – great 🙂 If not, try to stick to your plan – then it will naturally become your habit.

 

7. Keep a diary of your progress and note down all your successes.

Nothing is as enjoyable as seeing the progress we are making step by step. Plan small steps, tick every activity, keep your diary and enjoy every little success. If you want, you can even create a graph illustrating the progress you have achieved. The awareness of how much we managed to do compared to the initial stage gives strength and energy for further action.

 

I keep my fingers crossed for you! Good luck!

 

References:

1. Athanasios G. Papaioannou, Dieter Hackfort, Routledge Companion to Sport and Exercise Psychology: Global perspectives and fundamental concepts, 2014.
2. Jarvis M, Sport Psychology: A Student’s Handbook, Revised & Updated Edition, 2006.
3. Blecharz J, Siekańska M (red.). Praktyczna psychologia sportu Wykorzystanie koncepcji psychologicznych w sporcie. Kraków, 2009.