5 ways to motivate yourself to exercise

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 outweigh the desire to play sports. Do you recognize these symptoms? Well think no more: what you need is to re-motivate yourself to exercise.

Perhaps until now you have not considered 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 is exactly the motivation. But in the specific case at hand, could you say what drives you to act?

Then you will discover 5 ideas that we offer you to defeat laziness and regain the desire to train.

5 ways to motivate yourself to exercise

When you made the decision to include sport in your day-to-day life, you were probably thinking of some benefit that its regular practice would bring you. And it is precisely the value that this has for you, what really motivates you. For the RAE, motivation is the "set of internal or external factors that partly determine a person's actions."

It is not about wanting to take an action. Motivation is having reasons. Another different thing is what type these are, since depending on where the focus of our objective is located, this will influence us in the pursuit of our results. Therefore, if what you want is get motivated to exercise againPay attention to these five guidelines that we offer below:

1. Get started 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, in the middle of the rush we decide to set goals too complicated to achieve in the initial phases of the acquisition of the habit.

The difficulty of maintaining consistency towards goals that are still distant can undermine our motivation. What will probably follow will be a new abandonment of exercise and an increase in frustration that will make it increasingly difficult to face the challenge feeling capable.

However, if to begin we choose a activity in which prioritizes the fact that it is attractive, fun or easy, we will be introducing an incentive to our newfound motivation, and this will make it more likely that we will maintain the continuity of our sports practice.

2. 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, physically you could pay attention to the state of your health through those appraisals that you yourself are capable of detecting (your resistance, your agility, your flexibility ...), some measurable indicators through biochemical indicators (you can ask your doctor for a complete analysis) and even carry out an assessment with the technique of bioimpedance 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 my 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 doing sports, try to visualize yourself in as much detail as possible having reached your desired state. Excuses are sure to take a backseat.

3. Establish your own action plan

Once your current and desired states have been identified, Give yourself a reasonable time to observe the progress you are pursuing. Think about what could be the signs 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 you can achieve by performing a series of exercises, the km tours ...).

Subdividing your final objective into stages, as well as the time period you set to achieve it, will make it easier for you to renew your commitment to yourself, goal by goal and Being able to motivate you to exercise long enough to create a habit that can become consolidated (it is recommended to reach 21 days for this).

In order to see the path of your progress more clearly, it can be helpful to create a timeline that you keep in view often. Insert the subdivisions that you could do as short-medium term challenges to renew the spirit to follow each time you reach any of them, even you can give yourself small token incentives that reaffirm each new achievement.

4. Gamify your routine

The difference between boring and stimulating can make us turn something routine into something special, and leave for others that usual step of an all-nothing with which it is easy to abandon what began with illusion in a moment of motivation.

When we speak of "gamifying" something, we refer to the ability to introduce game dynamics to situations that are not in themselves playful.

If you can give it a playful or generate a dynamic of challenge that makes your sports practice more interesting, you will ensure 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 you with good music or someone with whom you can share your moment of personal care with the same enthusiasm that you pursue.

5. And if you can't find the motivation, create it

If following none of the above guidelines can tip the balance towards finding enough thrust to play sports, don't settle. Search within yourself, even further thinking about the results you might get secondarily and how you would enjoy them. Depending on where you put the focus of your motivation, you can have two different types, and you can turn 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 behind the action itself without needing external incentives. Example: I exercise to feel more vital) and extrinsic motivation (it pursues an external benefit to that of the action itself. Example: I joined the gym because it helps me channel the stress caused by my job).

Definitely, look for a goal with which every time you remember it makes your eyes shine And hold on to it, because that will be your real motive.