Finding Motivation

When do you get excited about exercise? When making your New Years resolution? Thinking about the fantastic results you'll see? Sometimes, just deciding to exercise can make you feel good...almost like you've done something positive for your state of health already.

For most, getting motivated is the hardest part to actually exercising. The idea of exercise seems great until we actually have to do it. You make plans to do some exercise, but when the time comes, something else takes priority. If that sounds like you, focus on what's important. Deciding to exercise is good, but it's acting on it that really matters. Losing weight, getting fitter, and looking better may be among your goals. But are they enough to motivate you from day to day, when you see the improvements with exercise only over the weeks? Government obesity figures suggest a big, fat, inactive NO!

How to create Motivation

Being healthy isn't a decision you make once - it's one you make every day. Use the following elements to create and maintain your motivation, and you'll find facing exercise a lot easier…

Goals

You already know that the first step in motivating yourself is to set a goal. It doesn't matter what the goal is, but it must be yours. It will be your reason for exercising, so you have to own it. And don't limit yourself by setting just one goal: set as many goals as you like, whenever you like. Set weekly goals (I'll get a minimum of 3 workouts in this week), or even daily goals (I'll jog for 20 minutes today) to keep yourself going. Having something to achieve, big or small, is just one way to keep your motivation going.

Recommitting to your goals is necessary to keep yourself on track. Spend a few minutes each week thinking about what you want to accomplish and how you'll do it. Write it down. Stick them up in a prominent place, like next to your bed. This will help remind you of your commitment to exercise, and how motivated you were when you first made your goals.

Plan & Prepare

A good part of our behaviour each day (good or bad) is a result of routine and habit. If you can make exercise a habit, you'll find it that much easier to do. To do this, make your workouts regular. Pick regular days and times for your workouts. This means you'll know when it's coming, you won't double book it, you'll prepare for it, and most of all you'll do it. Make your workout just another part of your routine, like brushing your teeth in the morning. Make it as easy as possible to exercise, and as hard as possible to find excuses. That means being prepared for your workouts - pack your gym bag, prepare meals or snacks, and plan out what you'll do to achieve your goals for the following day. I've missed out on plenty of cold, winter morning runs because 'it's raining' or 'I can't find my trainers'. Sound familiar? Now, if I've planned an early workout, I lay out my clothes and put my trainers next to the bed. So all I have to do is get up and go, (grab my rain jacket if necessary) with no time for excuses to creep in. Find ways you can cut out excuses well before they can negatively affect your workout.

Be Flexible

To make it possible to stick to your planned workouts, you have to be flexible. There will come a day when you'll have to miss even a planned, routine workout. Just make sure your missing it for a good reason, and not out of laziness! It's easy to miss out and completely skip a workout rather than coming up with something else to do. Be willing and ready to adapt - go to plan B. When else can you fit in that workout? If your legs are sore - can you do an upper body session? This takes real discipline, but if you can master this element of motivation, you'll be well on your way…

Have Fun

All those words I've just used (preparation, discipline, commitment) sound too much like hard work, and nothing like fun. Exercise often sounds like just another duty on top of all the obligations and responsibilities you already have. We forget that exercise can, and should be fun. Make time for fun activities; long walks with a loved one, go dancing, play a social sport, or bring a training partner to your workouts.

Reward Yourself

Remind yourself of your goals and take some time to appreciate how far you've come in reaching them. Good eh? So reward yourself! It might be something small, like a new shirt, or something big, like a spa treatment. Think of a reward you really want…but don't allow yourself to have it until you've achieved your goals - instant motivation!

What motivates you will change - what gets you going in the beginning may wear off in the future. This means digging deep again to find that thing - that thought, feeling, goal, reward - that gets you motivated. Motivation does get easier with practice. When you exercise consistently, you understand what makes you tick in terms of exercise; you'll get to know when, how and what suits you. Like most things, the more you practise, the better you'll get. You'll realize that your actions are what generate your motivation.

John Cann