exercise
Many people have difficulty committing to routine exercise, even knowing how vital it is to be fit. Physical activity borrows a lot of energy from a person’s mental willingness. Going to the gym requires a lot of psychological motivation; the same way, exercising requires a lot of mental preparedness.
To
attain your desired fitness results, you first trick your mind into
interpreting exercising as very necessary. As strange as this sounds, your mind
dictates pretty much everything you do, as well as how you do it. A workout
involves 80% mental work and you need to gradually condition it to accept
exercise as part of your life. These are a few tips to help you get started;
Make a conscious decision to exercise.
It is arguably the most powerful weapon if you are struggling to exercise. Consciously deciding you will embark on a workout routine holds you accountable for any unattained goals or skipped workouts.
To
make this decision, you must be at a stage in your life where you see the
benefits of exercising or set a goal you know you can reach. It could be you
want to lose weight, tone your abs, or run faster. Either way, you have a goal,
and you know where to start to achieve it.
Do the following things on purpose to help you adapt to your conscious decision;
- In the
- beginning, leave your workout gear on your couch so that you can see them
- and remember to exercise. Leaving your gym bag or any other workout gear
- somewhere front and center will remind you to exercise.
- If you
- intend to exercise at home, wear your workout clothes when you get off the
- Doing this will make it very hard for you to remove them without working
- If you intend to pass by the gym from work, change into your workout
- clothes to help you mentally prepare to exercise.
Set manageable goals
The first mistake people make is choosing the most popular workout routine they find. It does not matter if you are in a beginner, intermediate, or advanced level, the goals you set should be comfortable for you. Setting attainable goals motivates you to work out, as the more you reach your goals, the better you wish to do next time. Setting manageable goals can mean toning down your expectations, or reducing your workout time. Apply the following perspectives when setting your goals;
- If you set
- very high goals that you continually struggle to reach, feeling bad about
- it will most likely demoralize you, and you will have doubts about your
- If you set
- goals you can easily manage, you will build a momentum of reaching them,
- and you will gradually raise them.
Start small
Beginning the first few days with short exercises trains your mind, and body, to anticipate and adjust to regular activity. This way, you build muscle memory and motivation to work out. To achieve this, you can incorporate simple exercises into your daily tasks;
- Walk to the
- store faster, or jog for 20 seconds while on your way.
- Perform a
- few squats when folding laundry.
- While
- watching TV, perform a few crunches.
- Stretch
- after bed in the morning, or when you feel exhausted from work.
Be flexible
Flexibility is an excellent trick to enjoying workouts. Be keen on what your body needs, don’t stick to a single workout routine, or set a fixed workout time of the day or week. It would be best if you kept changing the structure of your exercise plans to avoid redundant training.
Redundant training occurs when you keep performing the same exercises over a long period without complementing exercises. Doing this does not help you achieve your workout goals; it instead only wastes your time and energy. To avoid redundancy and get you mentally prepared to exercise, note the following;
- An exercise
- that worked on you before, a few years, months, or weeks might no longer
- be effective unless complemented with other exercises. It happens because
- your body is prone to change throughout, and if you are keen on your
- progress, you will quickly turn to exercises that are useful. You might love
- exercising for 20 minutes on a treadmill, but as age brings unavoidable
- changes to your body, you see the need to change the exercise. When you
- do, maybe running or hiking will offer better challenges that you can beat
- to achieve your goals.
- A particular
- exercise might be too complicated or too dull that you are no longer
- mentally or physically motivated to perform it. For example, you might
- love running and do so daily. Over time, your body will start demanding
- change, and you might find yourself no longer motivated to run. Should
- this happen, you can choose to use a skipping rope when you run, or even
- in your house for a change. Skipping gives you the same advantages as
- running, and it is an excellent way to be flexible with your workout plan.