How do you motivate yourself to workout?

Options
cortneysmomma
cortneysmomma Posts: 4
in Fitness and Exercise
I having problems motivating myself enough to want to exercise. I want to get in shape and be healthy so I can have more energy but am having trouble getting enough energy right now to actually want to do the exercise any suggestions?

Replies

  • ShreddingIt_84
    ShreddingIt_84 Posts: 141
    Options
    Find something u enjoy.
    When i just wanna burn it up i put on my headphones find
    music i love and Dance my pants off!!
    I have fun and get a great total body workout.
    By then im motivated and pop in a quick workout dvd too!
  • PurpleCupcakes01
    PurpleCupcakes01 Posts: 141
    Options
    I tell myself to get up and at least do 15 min. It works everytime and of course I end up doing more.
  • Abowles27
    Abowles27 Posts: 30 Member
    Options
    Starting each workout whatever it is, is the hardest part for me. I usually have to have more than a force that is just me. Sometimes, I do force myself or the enjoyment keeps me going but a lot of the time if others are counting on me like with cross country I felt like I had a commitment to go to practice so maybe try to find something/someone that will motivate you. For me, I hate not keeping my commitments so like if I'm going to run with someone I'll do it almost no matter what.
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
    Options
    Have a goal. Learn something new. Fulfill a fantasy. There are a zillion ways to exercise. Try stuff until you find what you love. Most places offer free classes to people wanting to try stuff out. I found Martial Arts. Many folks find dancing ( a ton of choices there), and some find sports!
  • itzcool4me
    itzcool4me Posts: 43
    Options
    Usually when my energy is lacking, I remind myself that the feeling goes away quickly once I get going and how great it feels when I'm done. Make sure to change it up so you don't get bored. I do everything from running outside (when the weather behaves!), climbing multiple flights of stairs, cardio and strength DVDs (you can find a lot under $10 on Amazon), and the occasional groupon to a month of fitness classes.

    What you're eating plays a big part in your energy too! Try some healthy snacks with protein - a hard boiled egg and Greek yogurt an hour or so before you workout can help.

    Once you get into a routine, it becomes easier. :)
  • NH_Norma
    NH_Norma Posts: 332 Member
    Options
    I found a workout buddy who is counting on me for motivation as much as I'm counting on her. I never thought I would like a workout buddy but it has worked out really well. For the first 15 minutes we catch up on our lives, then settle into our own routines without talking (by then we're saving our breath for the workout). It's working out great!
  • amg120
    amg120 Posts: 80 Member
    Options
    I have a series that I only watch while working out, and I eat a tablespoon of peanut butter after working out. It sounds stupid, but I try to have as many little motivators as possible because I tend to get bored and demotivated really easily.

    Logging my workouts here also helps motivate me because it's adds calories to my goal. I don't usually eat back calories, but it's nice to have the buffer.
  • rdsxfn
    rdsxfn Posts: 58 Member
    Options
    i work out after work. Some days it's hard to get going. I'm doing P90X3 which means I have 30 min workouts. No matter how I feel I've promised myself I'll turn on the DVD. I keep telling myself that if I quit then I won't change. I want to change. I want to stay healthy. I cannot stop.

    I give 100% the entire work out. Whether I'm excited to do it or dreading it. In either event, at the end of the work out I'm proud of myself. I want that feeling again tomorrow. I cannot stop.

    Do you want to change?
  • heathernbateman
    heathernbateman Posts: 16 Member
    Options
    I found the importance of scheduling with my children, i.e. nap time, meals times, etc. The same concept applies to my working out. I can only fit it in my day during nap time, so if I don't take advantage of the opportunity I'm screwed for the rest of the day. The urgency helps.
  • luadams2
    luadams2 Posts: 122
    Options
    Weigh yourself. Stand in front of the mirror naked. Log your calories and remember your workout means you can eat a little more.
  • suzibanshee
    suzibanshee Posts: 62 Member
    Options
    a motivator is knowing how great you will feel afterwards. you won't have to spend so much time wishing you were fit, because you will already have been working towards that goal -- all those extra thoughts automatically gone, leaving you time to think about good stuff.

    so just suck it up, put on your shoes and get out there. i promise the hardest part is putting on your sneakers...and seriously, 30 minutes? that's not long.



    i do get excited to go work out when i have a new piece of exercise clothing...not even fancy stuff.
  • FitFunLosAngeles
    FitFunLosAngeles Posts: 36 Member
    Options
    I do not really like exercising. However after I do it I always feel great. Here's how I went from couch potato (and I mean seriously NO exercise) to exercising 2.5 hrs a week:
    I forced myself to go to a gym. I bought a 3-month trial membership to a gym on Groupon (great source for cheap/short-term gym deals!). I told myself I only HAD to go on the treadmill (or do anything else there) for 15 mins. The prospect of 15 minutes seemed doable and I was able to get motivated to do that since it seemed so easy.
    I added, I swear, only one minute every couple days to my exercise, and only worked out 4 days a week! That meant after 5 weeks I was elevating my heart rate for 26 minutes. This was PAINLESS!!!
    I quickly figured out I could TOTALLY deal with exercise if I could get in and out of the gym in 30 min flat. Mentally that helped me. So I stuck to 26 minutes. I just started increasing the intensity of those 26 minutes.
    It is AMAZING how quickly your body can go from couch potato to "I look respectable on the treadmill" in just a couple months.
    You can do this.
    Also, contrary to a lot of people, I eat back almost all my exercise calories. It gives me TONS of motivation to exercise. In fact it is the MAIN motivation! I love feeling like I "earned" a little more food throughout my day. It feels awesome. I do make sure I choose an exercise calculation IN mfp that doesn't seem to overestimate calorie expenditure, however. I eat a couple hundred extra calories.
    I would also add that Curves is a great place to start an exercise program. It is an extremely non-threatening, non-competitive environment. Some of those ladies barely move on that circuit, but you can get a decent workout there, in a very gentle way that you can ramp up as you get stronger. I loved "getting my exercise legs" there. I feel after 2 months that I "graduated" from there to another gym.
    You have no idea what you are capable of. Go for it!
  • sokkache
    sokkache Posts: 220 Member
    Options
    Join a sports club. And by that, I mean find a group of people who play a certain sport regularly (2-3 times a week) and play with them. I play tennis 6 days a week and volleyball 2 days a week and I don't dread it at all. I look forward to it every single day because I love playing both those sports.

    Or join a class like a body weight tabata class or a crossfit type place.

    Now, going to the gym and going out for a run by yourself is much harder. But I find that if you set goals for weight lifting/running(how fast you run/how long to run) then it's much easier to motivate yourself when you have a goal to accomplish.
  • Sinisterly
    Sinisterly Posts: 10,913 Member
    Options
    You just have to want it.
    Do you want it? If you can't answer that right away with a yes, you don't want it.

    Get to the point where you want it and it will become second nature.
  • texstorm
    texstorm Posts: 158 Member
    Options
    I having problems motivating myself enough to want to exercise. I want to get in shape and be healthy so I can have more energy but am having trouble getting enough energy right now to actually want to do the exercise any suggestions?

    First off - you need to find something to do that you don't hate and maybe even enjoy doing. If it feels like torture, it is torture, and you won't do it.

    Second - Once you've found that thing, make an appointment to exercise every day and treat it as seriously as you would a meeting with your boss. You're at least as important as the people you honor obligations to every day.

    Motivation is nonsense. I don't got to work because I'm motivated. I go because if I don't I'll get fired, not get paid and be homeless. Exercise not because you're "motivated" to do it. Exercise because it's what you do to make sure you can wipe your own butt when you're 90 (and so you live to be old enough to have that problem to worry about).

    -Tex

    KPP
  • Sinful_moon
    Sinful_moon Posts: 140 Member
    Options
    Doing things around the same time everyday, so it becomes a habit helped me quite a bit.

    Some days I don't really feel up to it, maybe I'm tired or didn't properly time my food. But I just go in anyways, just being in the gym/area of exercise gives you motivation and energetic. You're already there after all, you'll definitely feel better about finishing a workout then never trying.

    That's me anyways.
  • dearannna
    dearannna Posts: 60 Member
    Options

    Motivation is nonsense. I don't got to work because I'm motivated. I go because if I don't I'll get fired, not get paid and be homeless. Exercise not because you're "motivated" to do it. Exercise because it's what you do to make sure you can wipe your own butt when you're 90 (and so you live to be old enough to have that problem to worry about).

    -Tex

    KPP

    This. Yes try to find the type of exercise you most enjoy, but just do it even if you dont feel like it. When I get to the point that I would no more consider skipping a workout, than I would not going to work, or getting dressed, or taking a shower - thats when I'll know I'll never put the weight back on.
  • ChristineRoze
    ChristineRoze Posts: 212 Member
    Options
    I tell myself to get up and at least do 15 min. It works everytime and of course I end up doing more.

    This is how I've been doing it, i wake up and i say to myself "I just need to do 15min on the treadmill" and i end up doing 45min instead because I'm already on it :)
  • corgicake
    corgicake Posts: 846 Member
    Options
    You might want to troubleshoot your diet and/or other health-related goodies if you're perpetually tapped for energy, never mind that I have no idea what or when you eat. Also, working out does not need to equal going to a gym.

    My motivation for working out is not health and should not be health. If health could consistently trump boredom, frugality, and conformity I would never have been obese and out of shape. The pathetic reality is that preventing diabetes and high blood pressure is less motivating than going to a music festival for me. Instead of trying to drum up concern about medical things that happened to other people further down the road, I bought a ticket and put some songs on my music player. Now I'm trying to figure out how to make riding on rainy days in the lower 40's comfortable because not getting in my miles is annoying me.

Categories