You’ve done it! You got the ball rolling, you started and put in the initial effort. Now maybe that first wave of energy has fizzled out a little and you know you should keep working out but are having a hard time doing so. So how do you stay motivated to workout?
In this article, I’ll cover 9 tips for staying motivated to workout. No matter where you are on your workout journey, 10 weeks or 10 years, this will be a good resource to use to keep the fire alive and burning HOT.
9 Tips For Staying Motivated To Workout
How to stay motivated to workout? It’s a complex question that’s unique to each person. Let’s dive in first to remembering your why…
1. Remember Your Why
You initially started working out and being active for a reason. The reason may have changed over time but dig deep to see what that initial reason was. If it was for a reason that doesn’t hold true to you anymore then it’s time to sit down and create a new ‘why.’
For example, if the reason you started working out was to look good to attract a lover into your life and now you have a significant other you’re happy with, then it’s time to rebuild the reason.
For most other cases, your why should still hold true. Dig deep and get into that feeling again of why you started, reminding yourself of that before every workout.
2. Imagine and Visualize Your Ideal Body
The imagination is powerful. Albert Einstein knew it best he said: “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
For this exercise, imagine and hold a picture in your mind of your ideal body. What will that body feel like to be in? How will you feel about yourself? How healthy and vibrant will you feel? Imagine you have that right now.
If this sounds silly it’s just because you may not have been exposed to this powerful exercise yet. Believe me, this is what many powerful, influential and successful people do.
It is the mind that creates the body. It’s the mind that makes you work out for 4 or 5 hours a day. It is the mind that visualizes what the body [should] look like as the finished product.
I had this fixed idea of growing a body like Reg Park’s. The model was there in my mind; I only had to grow enough to fill it. The more I focused in on this image and worked and grew, the more I saw it was real and possible for me to be like him.
Oprah Winfrey:
Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.
Our thoughts,
our feelings,
our dreams,
our ideas,
are physical in the universe. that if we dream something, if we picture something, it adds a physical thrust towards realization that we can put into the universe.
I wrote myself a check for $10,000,000 for acting services rendered and I gave myself 5 years. I dated it 1995, I put it in my wallet and kept it there […]. Just before Thanksgiving 1995 I found out I was going to make $10,000,000 on Dumb and Dumber.
Connor McGregor imagined himself holding the UFC championship belt and owning a mansion.
Visualization is best to be done as a continuous practice, like meditation or exercising. Don’t worry, only a couple minutes before bed or in the morning works.
3. Don’t “Wing It”: Have A Proven Workout Plan
This is an important note to add after the visualization tip because you can’t visualize and then go eat a sandwich, as Jim Carey says. You have to visualize and put in the work.
Every time you go to workout are you just lifting some weights? Doing a couple pull ups or push ups? Following the latest social media post on that fat burning workout?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure those are good workouts on those social media posts but you really have to have a good workout plan that’s targeted towards your goals.
Are you trying to grow stronger? Keep the reps around 4 to 6.
Are you trying to lose weight? Make sure you’re getting your heart rate up, doing HIIT (high intensity interval training) and in a calorie deficit.
As a certified personal trainer, this is something I can help with, you can reach out via contact page here. This is also something you can help yourself with if you put in the work to create a proven workout plan. Just be sure to have a structure that works and is getting you closer to your goals.
4. Set Up Habits
Habits are a double edged sword. They’re a way for our mind and body to automate tasks in order to reduce energy usage. They can be incredibly powerful if used on purpose to set up good habits but they can also be incredibly destructive if harmful habits exist.
For example, I had horrible eating habits when I was younger. I would pick all throughout the day, snack when I wasn’t hungry and used food to ease my stress. It took me years to break those habits and create better eating habits in place; and it’s still a work in progress.
An example of a good habit is that every time a certain song comes on it inspires me to start exercising. I created that by turning that song on every time I felt pumped to workout. Now, whenever I turn it on I want to workout.
Another good habit I use is intermittent fasting. It’s a habit for me to not eat until 10am and to stop eating around 6pm. I consciously set that up, it felt uncomfortable in the beginning because I wasn’t used to it but now I don’t even think about it.
5. Think Of Who You Can Grow To Be
For staying motivated to workout, remember that exercising challenges you to be a stronger person. Each workout is a small push towards you becoming a more powerful person. By looking at it that way, each workout can be less cumbersome and more thrilling.
This is similar to the visualize exercise but instead of an acute imagination of your ideal body this is more a reminder that working out helps you grow as a person too.
If you took before pictures, look at those compared to how you look now. Pictures are a great way to see a difference over a long term. If you haven’t changed much since the before picture, that’s okay because body transformation takes time, patience and dedication. You will get there, sooner or later, as long as you stick to it.
6. This Strengthens Your Spirit As Much As Your Body
After visualizing your ideal body and thinking of who you can grow to be, the next step is to understand working out is strengthening your spirit as much as your body.
If you’re a more spiritual person, this can be especially helpful to you.
7. Align Your Workouts, Recovery And Diet Around 1 Goal
After you get a good exercise plan in place for your goal you must then align your recovery and diet around it as well. Aligning the diet around your goal will help you stay motivated to workout because you’ll see more progress happening. If you’re working out and not seeing any progress, that can be disheartening.
To ensure you progress and stay motivated, make sure the diet is right as well as recovery. Without proper sleep, time off from exercising, relaxation and more the body won’t have time to rebuild after exercising and you may find yourself in a permanent ‘drained’ state. Which is just as bad for your motivation as it is for your body.
8. Remember Who Else You’re Doing This For
If you started this journey to better your life then remember by doing so you’ll also be improving others’ lives around you by your effort. Significant other, friends and family will see your dedication and may get inspired to begin change in their own life. Be a catalyst for those you love. Be strong for them. You’re not in a bubble.
Even if you aren’t close to your family or have a lot of friends, there are still people in your life that will see your dedication and get inspired.
When staying motivated to workout it’s important to keep in mind the little things that may be chain linked. For example, if you go to the gym a couple times a week early in the morning and are working hard, an employee who works there may see that. They may feel a little of that inspiration wear off to them. They may get inspired to go back to school because of your dedication. If they go to school to be a doctor then they may save hundreds of lives. And you might never know because that employee didn’t tell you but they were influenced by your actions.
9. Always Face The Fear
Fear is everything. Fear is the only thing that we must truly stand up against. Courage is the solution.
When staying motivated to workout, fear can subtly come into play. Not fear of exercising but fear from other areas of your life that drain your energy to exercise.
For example, if your manager asks you to do something that you think is a bad choice (not necessarily ethically but it could be bad strategically for the company) and you don’t push back because of fear of what he may say, then that concession may build up internally and drain your energy.
Will Smith on fear:
The problem with fear is that it lies.
Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. … Do not misunderstand me danger is very real but fear is a choice.
Franklin D. Roosevelt on fear:
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself
Summary
- Remember your why
- Imagine and visualize your ideal body
- Don’t “Wing It”: Have A Proven Workout Plan
- Set Up Habits
- Think Of Who You Can Grow To Be
- This Strengthens Your Spirit As Much As Your Body
- Align Your Workouts, Recovery And Diet Around 1 Goal
- Remember Who Else You’re Doing This For
- Always Face The Fear
Disclaimers
I am not a doctor and do not recommend anything on this site, or blog post, for anyone without consulting with their doctor first. Please read the privacy policy for more information.
The information in this article is for educational and entertainment reasons, it should not be interpreted as medical advice or as a recommendation for a specific treatment. Always talk to your doctor and in the event of a medical emergency one should seek the help of a qualified and licensed health care provider.
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