Five Tips That Will Help You Exercise More
How to Motivate Yourself to Exercise More
It can often be hard to find time to work out. Life is busy and stressful and it’s common for people to feel like they don’t have the time or energy to be active. However, there are some strategies and tips you can follow if you want to exercise more. Here are five that will help you get motivated and eventually turn working out a habit.
Make a Schedule
If you want to accomplish something, it helps to make a schedule. If you’re having trouble finding the time to exercise, put it in your calendar. Just the act of making time in your day to work out can help motivate you.
Write down your exercise plans in your calendar and challenge yourself to see how many days in a row you can check off “exercise” from your daily schedule.
Not only will this help you exercise more, but it will also help turn working out into a habit, and that will help you stay motivated and stick with it.
Set Goals
An excellent way to motivate yourself to exercise more is by setting goals. Similar to how checking items off your schedule will keep you going, so will setting goals and achieving them.
For example, set a goal that you want to go for a 30-minute walk, five days a week, for a month. Having the goal in mind will help you focus and you’ll be more driven to accomplish it since you have actual numbers tied to your goal. Once you achieve that goal, it’s on to the next one!
Involve a Friend
A great way to motivate yourself to exercise more is to involve a friend. This can be done by going for walks or runs together, by using the same gym or personal trainer, or virtually by competing against one another. For instance, track how much time you spend exercising in a week and compare it to your friend. This sort of friendly competition can be great motivation.
Make It Fun
Exercise doesn’t have to be boring, tedious, or annoying! It can be a lot of fun! Try playing a sport or game that gets you up and active. This will help you exercise more without making it feel like a chore.
Break It Up
If you want to exercise 30 minutes a day, for instance, you don’t have to do it all at once. If you don’t have time in your day to dedicate a 30-minute block to working out, you can try three ten-minute blocks instead! Giving yourself this sort of flexibility will help encourage you to keep going.