Long Term Workout Motivation
Long Term Workout Motivation
Unless you’re one of the few who love to workout, unlike the rest of us, it can be challenging to commit to fitness and health long term because eventually, old habits emerge and might be tempting enough for you to leave your healthy progress behind.
Most everyone who begins a workout regimen is motivated for a change in their life, and is ready to start seeing a change in the way they look or feel. The tricky part is to stay motivated when you don’t see any change – when you’re sore or when staying comfortable seems better than doing any hard work.
It’s times like these that are the toughest and it makes a difference between those who simply wish they were better than they currently are, and those know that what they want in life and that they won’t always have it given to them on a silver platter or it may not go the way they expect.
What you should expect are obstacles. Writing down what you think those obstacles might be in the future and writing down two or three ways to overcome those challenges is a great way to mentally prepare yourself for them.
Tracking progress is another great indicator of success. This doesn’t mean stepping on the scale every day. If you have a scale that only calculates weight, only use it weekly because there are many other elements such as water, food, muscle, and fat that all affect your weight.
You could lose body fat, gain muscle and more water, but the scale still wouldn’t budge – making you believe you made no progress that day. Aside from weight, measure your body composition and invest in a tape measurer or even a cheap pair of calipers to track body fat.
These types of measurements, along with tracking the amount of weight, number of repetitions, and time completed are all great ways of tracking progress, and could be used as a huge motivator.
Now that you’re tracking your progress, overcoming obstacles and beginning to feel the momentum pick up each week, try to help a friend or family member. Having a workout buddy can be competitive and encouraging, and it’s a great source of accountability to drive each of you to improve your health.
Arming yourself with resources and tools to adhere to your program long term is something that even the professionals do, and should be included in your workout program before you even begin.
Don’t start by yourself without a game plan, or the day you decide to quit your new healthy lifestyle may come easy for you – and you don’t want to get back on that hamster wheel.
