January 2, 2017 | Categories: Fitness
It’s hard enough to motivate yourself to get out of bed on dark, cold mornings, let alone force yourself to put on a workout outfit and get to the gym. We know. You’ve got goals this year. Like watching the entire season of The Crown in one sitting. (We jest, but not really.) Beyond that, you probably have resolutions to “stay fit and healthy” like one third of Americans tend to say come January. But if you’re going to stick with your promises past the New Year, you’ll need to find the drive to keep going—especially on those days when you really, really don’t feel like working out. Here, nine fitness professionals share fresh ways to get motivated to exercise.
Tell Yourself You’ll Do 12 Minutes
“I always tell clients to just turn on their favorite music and focus on 12 to 20 minutes of exercise. They don’t have to exercise more than that if they don’t feel like it. Guess what happens? The 12-minute person does 20 minutes of exercise. The person who said they’d only do 20 minutes does 30 to 40 minutes.”
—Glenn Greer, CPT, Co-Owner of RedZone Fitness, in Coral Gables, Fla.
Create a Target Gift
“This can be a weekly or monthly gift and the ‘reward’ can be anything from a fancy latte at your favorite coffee shop to a new pair of shoes you’ve been wanting but haven’t treated yourself to. Place a jar somewhere visible. Every time you work out, put a dollar or two in the jar. The more you exercise, the more money you’ll have toward your goal gift. Knowing there is a reward at the end of your sweat sesh is always motivating.”
—Nicole Handler, NASM CPT, runner, CrossFitter, blogger at FitfulFocus.com
Remember the ‘Why’
“Any particular day there might be 20 other things I’d rather do than go work out. Then I think of my ‘why,’ and I encourage you to ask yourself ‘why,’ too. My ‘why’ is to be the best version of myself I can be, including husband, role model, and teammate. That matters more than the 20 other reasons—so I go work out!”
—Joel Freeman, Beachbody Super Trainer, and Co-Creator of Core De Force
Make Your Goals Visual
“The first step is to determine a goal related to fitness/weight loss that you’re excited about (for example, 5K, beach vacation, wedding, etc.). Then, put a photo related to that goal as your screensaver on your smartphone. When you feel like you’d rather be couch sitting instead of exercising, take a look at your phone and let the screensaver remind you of your goal. Plus, we all look at our phones so often that a screensaver will be a constant reminder of what you’d like to achieve. The goal should be something that has a short timeline. An event that occurs within the next three months is more motivating than something that happens next year.”
—Sabrena Jo, ACE Senior Exercise Scientist, Lawrence, Kan.
Shift Some Habits
Read the full article on RealSimple.com.
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