Motivation for Exercising

1: I change to training pants as soon as I get home.
2: I tell my husband if/when I plan to excercise a day before. He's nice/cruel enough to nag me until I go, if I start making excuses

You do it enough that you’re convinced how much better it makes you feel.

It's not always easy but it's as much as a habit now as getting dressed or cleaning my teeth. It just feels like something important that I should do for me. I plan in advance around mine and my husband's shifts and make no apologies about carving out an hour or so 4-5 times a week to run/circuit train. I joined a running group and the friends I have made there give me more reason to keep showing up. X

Have this same problem. I'm lazy AF and I hate exercising, but I do love how I feel after I do it. It's just getting that motivation to actually do it that I'm finding so difficult.
Just exercised today and it's going to be an every day struggle to continue it... but I need to. Just going to have to force it until it becomes habit.

wxlaw wrote: »

I have this problem in which I feel good and satisfied after working out; however, the thought of not going for exercise keeps on creeping into my head every time before I exercise. I just have to force myself to go work out, and I feel great afterwards, but during the next day, I became demotivated and again have to force myself to exercise. Does anyone had any suggestions or able to share the story how you motivate yourself to exercise?

My main thing is what others have recommended: Find something active that you love so much that you'd do it even if it weren't good for you.

Beyond that, appointment workouts or workout buddies can also be a help. For example, if I'm signed up for a class at the Y rather than just planning to go there and work out on my own, I'm more likely to do it. Or, if I've told my friend Suzie I'll meet her Tuesday at 6 to work out, I'm almost guaranteed to go so as not to stand Suzie up. In the group classes, once I have friends or acquaintances there whom it's fun to see, that also reduces the chances I'll skip.

For some people, publically signing up in advance for some kind of challenge is a motivator. (The Concept 2 Holiday Challenge helps me reconcile to the end of on-water rowing season and get started on winter indoor rowing, for example.) The challenge forum here has some good options (but also some silly ones - be selective!).

Another, more subtle thing that can help is making it a point to put yourself in an environment where being active seems like the standard way people behave. People in general are subtly but substantially influenced by group norms. We're mostly wired to like to feel like part of a social group, to want to behave in a "normal" way, etc.

Often, at the starting point of a weight loss/fitness improvement, many of the people and other cues around us from our past are subtly telling us that exercise is hard and annoying, that sitting around and eating is a fun and normal way to spend time, etc. Making new friends at the gym or via an activity-focused club is one possibility (and a good one), but even making it a point to subscribe to (scientifically sound! ) newsletters, look at good fitness websites, have conversations with more active/fitness-oriented acquaintances, etc., can start to create this subtle positive influence.

Best wishes!

All good advice here.

Remember, Determination is greater than motivation. Whether or not you feel like it, just go! Eventually, it will become a routine that is like everything else in your life.
Enjoying your workout is great but doing it or not should not depend on your enjoyment. You should be doing it anyway.

Just my $0.02.

jaimydude wrote: »

All good advice here.

Remember, Determination is greater than motivation. Whether or not you feel like it, just go! Eventually, it will become a routine that is like everything else in your life.
Enjoying your workout is great but doing it or not should not depend on your enjoyment. You should be doing it anyway.

Just my $0.02.

^ This... You need to find your determination. Define some achievable goals; even starting with something as basic as 'work out x times a week' and tracking your success rate over time can help. When those goals have been met, up the ante and repeat.

A personal example: I'm training for my first full marathon. In training for halfs, I found that I wasn't always motivated to complete every training run as scheduled. For the full, I committed to a goal of running each training run according to schedule. So I printed off the schedule, taped it to my refrigerator, and each morning I check off the day's run. Knowing how I'll feel if I don't check it off (maybe I'm a little OCD) has gotten me out of bed when the 'Don't Wannas' and the desire to sleep later were strong... or it was raining... too hot. You get the idea.

I used a similar approach when I first started down the fitness road and it's worked for me - hopefully it (or something like it) will work for you. Good luck!