Motivation to exercise?

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Rurufit
Rurufit Posts: 44 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello..
How do you stay motivated to follow your exercise schedule? I always stick to it for a few days then get bored before i start to exercise again..

Replies

  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    You need to find an exercise, or better yet, a number of exercises, that you ENJOY! Have a back up plan, so if you get bored of doing a video this week, you know that you can fall back on taking a walk around the neighborhood.

    A few of my favorites:
    -playing around in the pool
    -hula hoop
    -Wii Fit (oh, I do miss that one)
    -swing dancing
    -Zumba
    -walking
    -sailing
    -biking
    -volleyball
    -body weight exercises

    You may even find that once you find something you like, you are motivated to add in cross training so that you can be better at whatever it is you enjoy!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    motivation is an overrated and fleeting emotion...to achieve your goals you have to be disciplined; discipline leads to consistency and consistency is what ultimately wins the day. in the long run, motivation is just a notch above useless. take the emotion out of it and be disciplined.

    i'd also suggest finding exercise that you generally enjoy...i'd be bored out of my gored if i had to drone away on some piece of cardio equipment in the gym and i'd have a hard time staying disciplined...but by and large I love to ride and enjoy weight lifting...that doesn't mean I'm always motivated to get out there though, and that's when discipline takes over...like today is Tuesday...Tuesday is climbing day on the bike...I was hardly motivated to get out and climb hills today, but I did...because it's Tuesday and on Tuesday I climb hills on my bike.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited October 2015
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    concordancia wrote: »
    You need to find an exercise, or better yet, a number of exercises, that you ENJOY! Have a back up plan, so if you get bored of doing a video this week, you know that you can fall back on taking a walk around the neighborhood.

    A few of my favorites:
    -playing around in the pool
    -hula hoop
    -Wii Fit (oh, I do miss that one)
    -swing dancing
    -Zumba
    -walking
    -sailing
    -biking
    -volleyball
    -body weight exercises

    You may even find that once you find something you like, you are motivated to add in cross training so that you can be better at whatever it is you enjoy!

    This^

    Keep looking for something else........find something you can stick to, or can stick to for awhile (at least). Change it up. Make it social. Make a goal. Join a challenge.

    I'm a yo-yo dieter. Have lost & re-gained. If I am going to keep the weight off EVER, then I need to make some permanent changes. Moving more is one of those changes for me. I'm old - if I don't use it - I will lose it. Exercise because you can.
  • nickynoneck83
    nickynoneck83 Posts: 25 Member
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    I am addicted to kettlebells, heavy ones nothing lighter then 53 lbs it's the only thing that compares to years of judo and Brazilian jiu jitsu.
  • Sweet_Heresy
    Sweet_Heresy Posts: 411 Member
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    Look at yourself naked in a full length mirror.
    Usually works for me.
  • XavierNusum
    XavierNusum Posts: 720 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    motivation is an overrated and fleeting emotion...to achieve your goals you have to be disciplined; discipline leads to consistency and consistency is what ultimately wins the day. in the long run, motivation is just a notch above useless. take the emotion out of it and be disciplined.

    i'd also suggest finding exercise that you generally enjoy...i'd be bored out of my gored if i had to drone away on some piece of cardio equipment in the gym and i'd have a hard time staying disciplined...but by and large I love to ride and enjoy weight lifting...that doesn't mean I'm always motivated to get out there though, and that's when discipline takes over...like today is Tuesday...Tuesday is climbing day on the bike...I was hardly motivated to get out and climb hills today, but I did...because it's Tuesday and on Tuesday I climb hills on my bike.

    This is just awesome truth! I want the bold section printed on a T-shirt, head band, knee sleeves and lifting belt!

    The only thing I'd add is you have to have goals and a reason behind those goals. For some (myself included) having a 6-pack isn't going to cut it in the long run because, frankly, pizza taste better than having abs.

    So if you don't have something or someone to work for you won't get it done.
  • Rurufit
    Rurufit Posts: 44 Member
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    @concordancia thats so much helpful.. you are right variety is key.
    Thank You! :)
  • Rurufit
    Rurufit Posts: 44 Member
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    @cwolfman13 your words are so powerful.. just reading them makes me want to go for a run right now! :# i will screenshot your reply and whenever im bored with exercise i will re-read it & it will do the magic lol
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
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    Well, I have 2 types of exercise I do:

    1. "Just for Fun" exercise. This isn't with any particular goal in mind, just something I like to do (walking, etc.) I find it relieves stress. I don't do this every day, nor do I schedule this, I just do it when I feel like it. I usually take at least one walk per day, or I get too antsy.
    2. Training. I do this three days a week like clockwork. I start with a full-body strength training workout then do three sets of five reps of a 30/20/10 interval training on my stationary bike. It was hard at first (of course at first I could never have completed that much interval training, I worked my way up slowly to that level).

    The main motivations that keep me training are a) during the other 109 waking hours of my week I can enjoy the impressive gains I've made on both strength and cardiovascular fitness, and b) my ultimate objective isn't just to lose weight for appearances, but to be more fit and do amazing things I can't do today. In fact my big goal is to climb Kilimanjaro in 2017. Gonna take a lot to be able to hike to the highest mountain peak that doesn't require a technical climb, but every session gets me closer to that goal.
  • RobynLB83
    RobynLB83 Posts: 626 Member
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    Fun is key. Find a sport you like. Sports don't get boring because there's always some new element of technique to master or improve. Group classes are fun. Get a 24 membership and crash some new classes. Find an instructor who makes you laugh. Be playful. Exercise is just play time for grownups.
  • YouHadMyCuriosity
    YouHadMyCuriosity Posts: 218 Member
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    Find something you enjoy! Keep looking if you haven't found it yet, try new things. I hate repetitive cardio, so I found a site called Darebee that has a ton of different workout programs that are a little gamified- keeps things different day to day, and I am addicted to their daily and weekly challenges- I tend to like adding up numbers, so the plans work for me and give me a challenge. I also found that I like Stronglifts 5x5 because I can watch my lifts go up- increasing weights, reps, etc, is motivating to me, so those two things have kept me going.

    Of course, it's different for everyone. What excites you? What is your goal? I find that havi by a fitness goal, rather than a weightloss goal, keeps me going. Do you want to be able the run a mile quicker? Do you want to lift heavier things? Do you want to get good at a sport? Become more flexible? For me, once I stopped viewing exercise as simply a way to burn calories, it became something I enjoyed doing
    Rurufit wrote: »
    Hello..
    How do you stay motivated to follow your exercise schedule? I always stick to it for a few days then get bored before i start to exercise again..

  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
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    Finding things you like (or at least find tolerable) is first. I've always had to push myself to begin an exercise program. The first week or two....I'm not all that enthused about it. But then once I start to see and feel changes in myself, it gets easier. I start feeling better in general. That's when my motivation kicks in to keep it going. Anything new is hard and takes time to get used to. Sometimes you have to push at first to make the change and get the ball rolling though.
  • Wizeman22
    Wizeman22 Posts: 552 Member
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    Good morning everyone. If you need more motivation, feel free to add me as one of your friends.

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