How to Stay Motivated to Exercise Regularly

This is the number one question and problem I hear from those around me. How do I stay motivated? How do you stay motivated? What can I do to keep motivated especially during the holidays?

Keep a Diet and Exercise Notebook

I have heard that Dieters who kept a food diary lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. I have been keeping one for months and it really helps to keep me on track so I have to write down everything I eat good and bad and what I do to burn calories.  But while keeping a journal holds you more accountable for how you treat your body, sticking to a fitness routine is different from sticking to a healthy eating routine.

Here are some tactics to keep you motivated and inspired to work out.

Take it One Day at a Time.

Results will come by doing something good for yourself a little each day, it will not come overnight or in a few days. It will come if you just keep moving.

Surround yourself with positivity

Shift your thinking from couch potato mentality to thinking like an athlete. This may sound like a big challenge, but it’s not as big a leap as you think.Tell yourself encouraging words like “I’m lucky, I’m blessed, I’m powerful, I can do this!”. Put up encouraging messages on your mirror and throughout your living space or create a vision board at your desk of motivating sayings.

Start  thinking about workouts at odd hours as a blessing rather than a sacrifice. You can also look for inspiration in others looking outward for extra motivation. Take inspiration from everyone you meet, even people who can’t be physically active. It reinforces why you are so lucky, blessed and powerful. Whether you need to put an “I can do this” sticky note on the mirror, or you can see the power of health in your children’s eyes, committing to a fitness routine begins in your head. Our words to our self are very influential and powerful.

Make S.M.A.R.T Goals

To make sure your goals are clear and reachable, each one should be:

Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
Achievable (agreed, attainable).
Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).
Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).

There’s nothing more motivating than that first 5K looming in bold letters on the calendar. Register early and commit to an exercise program that will get you in shape by race day. Set realistic goals that include clear milestones, and as you progress toward your goal, you’ll find a ripple effect occurs and things fall into place in your work, home life, and health.

The goal doesn’t even have to be an organized race. Maybe it’s a mission to fit into that bikini by the annual beach vacation or that old pair of jeans buried in your closet. Whatever it is, define it, write it down and revisit it daily.

Make sure it’s realistic and you can actually adapt your life around meeting the goal. Otherwise you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Believe in Yourself

You need to see yourself succeeding your goal. “Believe you can you your halfway there” Theodore Roosevelt.

Schedule a regular workout time

Some of the most committed exercisers do it every day before the sun comes up or late at night when the kids are in bed. Sit down with your weekly schedule and try to build in a half an hour to an hour each day to be good to your body.

You should be motivated to exercise regularly by the energy boost it brought to her day. It’s easy to stay in bed. But you have to set an alarm and take the extra initiative. Then you’ll find you have more energy and can be more efficient throughout the day. Being active gives you an extra boost and confidence that would not get if you did not workout.

If you convince yourself you’ll fit in a workout some time after that last meeting, once the kids go down for a nap or when your spouse arrives home on time, failure is certain. Chances are a last-minute invitation will come along; weather will foil a bike ride; or the kids won’t nap. Write your workout on your calendar, set up daycare, and rearrange things around this one hour as if it were any other important appointment you have to keep. Or use technology like daily e-mail reminders, workout journaling websites, or apps to keep you on task

Fun and variety

By nature, humans need change and variety to stay motivated. We also need to have fun even while we’re working hard. Do both!

Whether it’s a toning and sculpting class that changes choreography every week or a trail run that changes scenery every season, design your exercise routine around a variety of exercise methods. Make sure you include activities you truly enjoy and look forward to doing, and can even make you forget you’re working out — like dancing, hula hooping, or playing sports with family and friends.

Listen to your inner voice when choosing the best workout for you. Do what you love to find motivation. Find a hip-hop class that satisfies your passion for dance. find a pool if you love to swim, find a bike trail near you and bike if you that is your passion.

Workout variety also challenges your body in unique ways, which may introduce you to new muscle groups you didn’t even know you had. Consider disciplines that give you more bang for your buck,. Ta’i chi and yoga, for example, serve dual purposes as mental therapy and physical activity. Or try a workout DVD, or online workouts like on Youtube. We have our favorite workouts at Facebook page to help you shake up your routine.

Reach out to others for support

In America, some tend to have trouble asking for help, says Bowling. Yet in order to stick to a fitness program, we need buy-in and encouragement from other people.

“Exercising is built into our family life,” Bowling adds. “We view it as a necessity. Sometimes it takes the place of watching TV together.”

For others, it’s finding a friend with a shared zest for running, and planning scheduled workouts together. It’s easy to hit the snooze button when it’s just you, but much harder to leave a friend waiting at the track.

Consider joining a social networking site or online community with fitness trainers and nutrition experts — and support from other people trying to lose weight and maintain healthy eating and exercise routines. People who get this kind of online support are proven to lose up to three times more weight than people going it alone.

Lobbying your workplace to offer on-site fitness, yoga, or Pilates classes will also support your mission for a healthy lifestyle.

So start thinking of yourself as an athlete, and not a spectator. Set a goal, enlist a friend, mark it on your calendar, and have some fun. You’ll be setting yourself up for a lifetime of better health, more happiness, and more energy for everything else in your life.