7 Tips To Increase Your Exercise Motivation

This guide on exercise motivation is going to be short and to the point.

It’s a practical guide which requires you to TAKE ACTION.

You’re never going to increase your motivation if you don’t do anything.

So when you go through the 7 tips, actually put them to use!

This article is going to show you 7 ways you can increase your motivation to exercise.

No fluff.

At Wellness Warrior, we work with clients every day who struggle with finding the motivation to start their exercise programme or to stay consistent with their current programme.

Thankfully, we provide the guidance and advice to ensure they start motivated, stay motivated, and ultimately follow through with their goals and get in shape.

To go from this…

…to this…

… doesn’t happen when you’re sat on your backside in front of the television!

So what can you do in order to give yourself a kick up the backside and fire up your motivation?

…without further ado, let’s jump straight in with the 7 tips!

1. Define and write down your ‘Power Statement’

Goal setting is important, we all know that, but not everyone does it.

• As an alternative, think of the reason why you want to get in shape?
• Is it to build your confidence?
• Attract the opposite sex?
• Or just to improve your health?

Go back to basics…

Once you’ve got your ‘reason why’, start thinking of the end result and the benefits this will bring.

• What will happen when you become more confident?
• What will happen when you become more attractive to the opposite sex?
• What will happen when you are now in the best shape of your life?

Just doing a little day dreaming should start to get you excited.

Once you have done this, grab a pen and paper, write down the following sentence and fill in the blanks.

This is now your power statement…

I am motivated and energised to exercise because I want to “insert reason why” as I will then “insert what will happen when this is achieved”.

2. Read your Power Statement daily

Continuing on from point one, read your power statement daily. Once you have written it down (if you haven’t done it yet, do it now!) put it next to your bed where you will see it each morning and each evening.

Each morning and each evening read your power statement to yourself over and over several times.

Say it out loud as well as in your head. Bring the statement to life, feel the enthusiasm for wanting the end goal.

Feel the energy you have behind your reason why. You will soon find yourself getting fired up.

This may feel a little silly at first but give it a try over a few days, it DOES work and it WILL increase your desire to get started on achieving your ideal body.

3. Get organised

You have your power statement in mind, are starting to buzz with enthusiasm and are really keen to start an exercise programme.

But you are not a member of a gym…

If you intend on exercising at a gym, join one.

If you wish to swim several times a week to get in shape, get a membership at your local swimming baths.

If you intend to run outdoors, get yourself some running gear – trainers, shorts and t-shirt.

If you haven’t got these basic things in place, regardless of how motivated and revved up you are for getting in shape, you have an extra barrier to exercising that needs to be dealt with.

Maybe an obvious one, but for some clients, the obvious needs to be pointed out.

4. Have a plan

So you want to lose weight, or build muscle, or tone up?

Fantastic, that’s great news!

• So what are you going to do now?
• Where do you start?
• What do you do?
• Should you go to the gym?
• What should you do when you get there?

Fail to plan, plan to fail.

Ever heard that before?

Good, because this also applies to getting in shape.

If you don’t have a plan, you’ll aimlessly do a bunch of random exercises that aren’t geared towards your goal and you won’t get the results you expect.

You will then become discouraged, and soon stop exercising.

Not good.

You need two plans.

One for your exercise routine and one for your diet.

Exercise and diet are two peas in a pod, to get your ideal body as quickly as possible, you need both peas.

You need the pod.

Get a plan for your diet, and get a plan for your exercise routine.

You then have all you need to succeed.

This reassurance alone will give you more confidence and enthusiasm to follow through.

5. Stop procrastinating

I’ll do it later… I’ll do it tomorrow… I’ll do it next week…

Sound familiar? It probably does, because I’m guessing this is a big hurdle you’re trying to overcome in your quest for increasing your motivation to exercise.

To combat this, try this little technique…

Your routine may state that you should be exercising Monday, Wednesday and Friday (for example). N

ow, if Monday is your next workout session, just bluntly say to yourself – “on Monday I’m going to the gym”.

Be strong in your resolve. Make the decision that on Monday, you ARE going to the gym.

There’s no ‘maybe’ – You are firmly telling yourself that on Monday you are going to the gym.

Now you are committed to going to the gym on Monday.

What usually happens now is that as Monday gets closer, you will magically find reasons and excuses why you can’t go.

Maybe you have to finish a report at work, or rush to the shops to pick up some milk?

Before you even begin to justify to yourself why you can’t make it to the gym, tell that little voice in your head to SHUT THE HELL UP!

You’ve already committed to going, the report can wait, and you can get some milk after your workout.

Don’t listen to any excuses that you may start to tell yourself.

Excuses are for losers, and you my friend are going to get in the best shape of your life.

So that’s Monday’s workout done, now do the process all over again for Wednesday’s workout.

6. Get support

Talk to people about your exercise routine.

Share your goal with friends and family.

Tell them why it’s important to you that you achieve it.

In 99% of occasions, you will receive words of encouragement in reply.

This little boost may be all you need to help you stay on track.

But make sure you only talk to positive, supportive people about your exercise programme.

Discussing it with a negative person can have the opposite effect.

This is another ridiculously simple technique that people generally don’t put to use.

Give your friend a call tonight and tell them how excited and enthusiastic you are about hitting your fitness goals.

Even read them your power statement:

“Hey Sarah, I’ve got this new exercise routine I’m following and feel so motivated and energised to exercise because I want to insert reason why as I will then insert what will happen when this is achieved.”

Speak to your friend tonight, and say the above paragraph word for word and see what reaction you get.

7. Take baby steps

Losing weight is a common exercise goal.

For example, if you want to lose 2 stone (28lbs), this won’t happen overnight.

In having a large goal in front of us, it often seems that it’s ‘too big’ to tackle and we become discouraged and demotivated before we’ve even begun.

So break it down. Take baby steps. If you have taken our advice from point number 4 (if you haven’t, get it sorted ASAP!) you will have your exercise programme and a tailored diet plan.

Now break it into smaller chunks.

Aim to complete your first week in the gym. Then focus on getting your diet right.

Then focus on your second week in the gym. Your larger goal then doesn’t seem as ‘impossible’ because you WILL achieve your weight loss goal without really thinking about it, by just taking baby steps…

Put these tips and techniques to use for both your weight loss attempts and exercise motivation, and see what they can do for you.

You will be very surprised with how these simple techniques can help keep you motivated, driven and enthusiastic about exercise and striving towards your ideal body.

Other than providing incredibly informative reports on health and fitness, our main line of work involves providing our clients with a personalised 12 week workout programme, diet assessment and motivational support which is all tailored to their specific fitness goals and previous exercise history.

Whether exercising in the gym, or at home, we can personalise a programme for you.

If you are serious about getting in shape and you still feel a little unsure what to do after reading this report, let us take the guess work out of it for you. That’s why we’re good at what we do 😊

Bones Section: HOW TO GET YOUR IDEAL BODY…

Hey guys, what we’re talking about today is ‘what it takes’ to achieve your ideal body… How do you get it? Where do you start? …and what can you do to bullet proof yourself from failure?

Quite simply, you ONLY need three things in order to get the results you want.

1. The correct exercise routine that is proven to get the desired results,
2. The correct diet ‘tweaks’ to get your ideal body quicker, and…
3. The enthusiasm and motivation to stick to numbers 1 and 2.

Without further ado, let’s explore these three elements in slightly more detail.

1. THE CORRECT EXERCISE ROUTINE

Before you select the correct exercise routine, you need to figure out what your goals are. What do you want to change? Here’s some inspiration:

• Reduce your belly fat
• Lose your ‘bingo wings’
• Have an overall more toned physique
• Target your thighs and bum

You may want to target something completely different… but listed above are some ideas to get you started.

Once you have an idea of what you want to change – write it down in this format –

“My goal is to _______ because I want to _____”

This sentence can be as long or as short as you like. When you write down the ‘because I want to…’ it solidifies your reason for choosing your goal (a little motivation technique which will increase your enthusiasm to follow through).

Now you are able to choose the correct exercise routine specific to your goals.

There are loads of different exercise routines to choose from – far, far too many to comment on in this post.

But when choosing what exercise routine to follow, ensure that the exercises target your chosen areas and are suited to your goals (weight loss, muscle building or toning up).

2. MAKING THE CORRECT DIET TWEAKS

This is going to be a BIG revelation to a lot of people, although it is understandable if you aren’t aware of this as it’s never really discussed or commented on… But…

…and it’s not just what you eat (yes, it’s obvious that you shouldn’t eat pizza if you want to lose weight) but also when you eat, how many meals you eat, and what your meals consist of.

However, you don’t need to make drastic changes to your diet in order to reach your goals quicker, you just need to tweak it slightly so that it is inline with (and complementary to) your exercise routine.

Here are a few basic rules of thumb…

• You should ALWAYS eat breakfast – regardless of what your goals are – either toning up, weight loss or muscle building.
• Try to ensure all carbohydrates are complex carbs, not simple carbs. Over a period of time, this will result in diminished sugar cravings, increased energy throughout the day and an overall lift in your mood.
• Eat the right types of fats – dairy products, unsalted nuts, avocado and fish.

• Drink plenty of water – get rid of all caffeine drinks and sugary drinks. Only drink fresh juices and water.

If your goal is muscle building or toning up, try to eat more protein throughout the day – chicken, tuna, eggs, nuts, beans, etc.

If your goal is weight loss or you are targeting specific areas of your body – don’t eat less than your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) if you do, you’re prone to putting the weight back on again when you ‘resume’ eating ‘normally’ again.

Attempt to eat MORE meals throughout the day…

Eat a smaller breakfast, lunch and dinner, but then eat a large snack between meals.

This will result in your metabolism speeding up and your body becoming more efficient (you will actually burn fat quicker doing this) – another blog post will soon be uploaded purely on ‘the benefits of speeding up your metabolism’.

3. ON GOING MOTIVATION TO STICK TO POINTS 1 AND 2

OK, so you’ve got an exercise program specific to your goals and have tweaked your diet to complement these goals.

Great stuff, stick to these changes for a little while, stay consistent and you will meet your goals – there is no way you can fail.

BUT – if you give up before you’ve met your goals, all of your previous efforts will have been a waste of time… So, how can you keep your motivation levels high and follow through on your plan?

Well – the sentence you wrote down earlier – “My goal is to _______ because I want to _____” is going to be used to sustain your motivation.

If you’ve written this down on a piece of paper, keep it somewhere you will see it every day (next to your bed, maybe?) and read it daily.

Other little motivation tips and techniques you can use are as follows:

• Tell your friends about your fitness goals – their support will ensure you keep up with your programme.

• Reward yourself – Tell yourself that when you have achieved your fitness goal, you will… buy a new dress / have a day out / buy some concert tickets – having an additional reward for achieving your fitness goals will keep you driven.
• Avoid negative people – if you’re always around moaners and complainers, their attitude rubs off on you (which you DON’T want) – instead, associate yourself with positive people, you will find that you start to see everything in a more positive light – including focusing on your fitness goals.
• Exercise with a friend – ask your friends if they want to start an exercise programme with you – you can then both motivate and encourage each other along the way…