It’s your time to go to the gym and anything is more appealing than thinking about training. Perhaps it was a firm resolution for the new year but now you notice that excuses weigh more than the desire to practice sports. Do you recognize these symptoms? Well, think no more: What you need is to motivate yourself to exercise again.
Perhaps until now, you have not thought about it, but whenever we decide to do something there is a driving force that leads us to action, whether we are aware of it or not. Well, that’s exactly the motivation. But in the specific case that concerns us, would you know what drives you to act?
Below you will discover 5 ideas that we offer you to overcome laziness and recover the desire to train again.
5 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Exercise
When you decided to include sport in your daily life, you were probably thinking of some benefits that regular practice would bring you. And it is precisely the value that this has for you that motivates you. For the RAE, motivation is the “set of internal or external factors that partly determine the actions of a person”.
It is not about wanting to act. Motivation is having reasons. Another different thing is what type they are, since depending on where the focus of our objective is located, it will influence us in the pursuit of our results. Therefore, if what you want is to motivate yourself to exercise again, pay attention to these five guidelines that we offer you below:
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Start with a Feasible Activity That You Like
Sometimes it happens that, after a moment of reflection on the sports activities that we want to incorporate, at the height of the high we decided to set goals that are too complicated to achieve in the initial phases of acquiring the habit.
The difficulty of maintaining perseverance towards even distant goals can undermine our motivation. What will probably come next will be a new abandonment of the exercise and an increase in frustration that will make it increasingly difficult to face the challenge while feeling capable.
However, if to begin with we choose an activity that prioritizes the fact that we find it attractive, fun, or easy, we will be introducing an incentive to our newly released motivation, and this will make it more likely that we will maintain the continuity of our sports practice.
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Identify Your Current State And Visualize Your Goal
It can be very useful to find out what your current personal state is to get a clear idea of how you are today and, in turn, meditate on what your aspiration is and visualize it.
On the one hand, you could physically pay attention to the state of your health through those assessments that you are capable of detecting (your resistance, your agility, your flexibility…), some measurable indicators through biochemical indicators (you can request a complete analysis from your doctor ) and even assess with the bioimpedance technique that allows you to know your fat-muscle ratios, as well as other related values (for example, your BMI) that complete the global idea of your state of health.
Another way to motivate yourself to exercise is to ask yourself, how do I feel inside? Would I like to improve my mood and self-esteem? How could you work them? Because it is not only about identifying your physical state, but also about giving importance to the transition you want to make towards a state of greater emotional well-being.
Every time you perceive the laziness that invades you when thinking about playing sports, try to visualize yourself as detailed as possible having reached your desired state. Excuses will surely take a backseat.
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Set Your Action Plan
Once you have identified your current and desired states, give yourself a reasonable time frame to observe the progress you are pursuing. Think about what could be the signals that allow you to know your progress, taking into account that they must be easy to recognize (for example, the kg lost, your cholesterol levels, the number of repetitions that you can achieve by performing a series of exercises, the km tours…).
Breaking down your ultimate goal into stages, as well as the time frame you set for yourself to reach it, will make it easier for you to renew your commitment to your goal by goal and motivate yourself to exercise long enough to create a habit that can stick. (It is recommended to reach 21 days for this).
To more palpably perceive the path of your progress, it can be useful to create a timeline that you have often in view. Intersperse the subdivisions that you could do as short-medium term challenges to renew the spirit to continue every time you reach any of them, you can even give yourself small symbolic incentives that reaffirm each new achievement.
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Gamify Your Routine
The difference between the boring and the stimulating can make us turn something routine into something special, and leave for others that usual all-nothing step with which what was started with enthusiasm is easily abandoned in a moment of motivation.
When we talk about “gamifying” something, we refer to the ability to introduce game dynamics to situations that are not playful in themselves.
If you manage to give it a playful sense or generate a challenge dynamic that makes your sports practice more interesting, you will ensure yourself one more reason with which to combat the lack of desire to train.
To do this, try to innovate in what you do, dare to introduce variations on the fly, and do not forget to accompany yourself with good music or someone with whom you can share your moment of personal care with the same enthusiasm that you pursue.
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If You Can’t Find the Motivation, Create It
If following none of the above guidelines tips the scales toward finding enough oomph to play sports, don’t settle. Search within yourself, even beyond thinking about the results that you could obtain secondarily and how you would enjoy them. Depending on where you put the focus of your motivation, you can count on two different types, and you can resort to any of them when you need it.
In this way, we will distinguish between intrinsic motivation (it arises from the depths of our being and is the driving force of the action itself without needing external incentives. Example: I exercise to feel more vital) and extrinsic motivation (pursues an external benefit to that of the action itself. Example: I joined the gym because it helps me channel the stress that my job produces).
Final Words
In short, look for a goal that makes your eyes shine every time you remember it and holds on to it, because that will be your true motive.
Read More: 8 Tips to Motivate Yourself to Work From Home
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