What motivates you to exercise?

Saw this the other day.....exercise is a privilege.

I exercise (now) because I can. I exercise (now) because I want to be able to so for as long as I can. Motivation is easier for me (I'm older). Seeing how much strength and the range of motion I lost from being a total couch potato was frightening.

Even if you just add yoga (for starters) - you will feel a difference. Yoga will make you body aware. Increasing your flexibility and your range of motion will make you feel better. For the less flexible, look for Yoga for the Rest of Us (or Peggy Cappy). For bigger folks, look for Just My Size Yoga, Mega Yoga or Heavy Weight Yoga.

Getting started is the most difficult part. In the beginning of my fitness journey, I could hardly get motivated to even get in the gym, and when I did I didn't want to lift or go in the oh-so intimidating weight section (where I had no clue what I was doing) so I just hit the cardio section and left. After a while (about a year-and-a-half ago) I finally got up the courage to incorporate weights. That's when I no longer had to "force myself" and talk myself into going to the gym. The strength that I was gaining was motivation enough. Increasing PR's, seeing my body change so significantly, feeling healthy, that was my motivation. Now it's a lifestyle. I still need a little extra motivation every once in a while, but for the most part, once you get over that hump in the beginning it's easy sailing and you enjoy the gym.

I've trained over 30 years to look good and be physically fit enough to do challenges that require physical abilities. I don't want to be the one that stays behind because I'm not fit enough to do something. I'm out to have fun in life for how short it is and it will take being in good shape to do some of them.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

MeganAM89 wrote: »

At the moment, my wedding coming up in December. After that, we want to start trying to have children in the semi-near future and I want to be as in good a shape as possible for my recovery afterwards and for the benefit of my future babies.

I lifted weights through both pregnancies and was better for it afterwards.

I started by going walks, would borrow a friends dog to motivate me.

What motivates me is having my fitbit synced to MFP and watching the calories increase throughout the day.

I just got a good idea from another post. Rewarding yourself is motivational. You can reward yourself after every workout to create that positive association in your brain. As long as the reward is tied to working out, it may in time make your brain want to work out. It's like reprogramming your brain.

Health first motivated me because I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis and knew it would only get decreasingly debilitating without activity. I started out with walking, and I turned from someone who always hated exercise into someone who was in the habit of exercise and eventually became someone who enjoyed exercise and wanted to keep challenging herself at it.

In the act of challenging myself I've water jogged, taken up running, and lifting weights.

I exercise now mainly because I enjoy it, and my day doesn't feel right without some sort of physical activity in it. I'm still motivated to stay healthy, of course, but that's no longer my main reason for strapping on my sneakers or picking up the weights.