There is something very interesting about exercise. With most things in life, although we are in the information age, there is a lack of widely accessible information. For example, most of us would not easily access accurate information on how to set up satellite television or how to read a financial statement.
However, when it comes to exercise, things are different, there is information everywhere and everyone knows in some way how to exercise. Lack of motivation towards exercise shows that we don’t do what we know how to do. We also don’t do what we want because most of us really want to exercise, but we don’t always do it. Clearly, to exercise we must do, not only what we know or want, but what we are motivated to do. In this article, I want to share with you some strategies that will help you feel motivated to exercise.
(I) I have a vision about the image you have of yourself
The truth is that most of us have a certain image of how we would like to see ourselves. Some people were born thin, imagine themselves thin, and have accepted that image of themselves. Some people were born with a little weight, they imagine that way and even buy clothes that fit that image. Most of the time this is something that we are not always aware of.
I remember a time when my wife had gone 3 months without looking at her body in a mirror. Women cannot live without mirrors, she used a face mirror but not a full body mirror during that period for some reason. We went shopping. She saw herself in a full-length mirror and found that her body shape had changed because she had gained weight. She freaked out and screamed “Wow, I’m fat.” Surely, I shouldn’t have been honest with her at home when answering her most frequently asked question “Do I look fat?”
It was true that my wife had gained weight. But what really bothered her was that her body was different from her ideal body shape or weight. This upset her and motivated her enough to exercise and lose extra fat in two weeks.
Without a vision of our ideal body shape or weight, we are doomed to simply pump food into our bodies and not make an effort to lose weight. I am telling you this because I would like to urge you to examine your vision of your ideal body weight before implementing the rest of the strategies that I will advise you to use in this article.
Some people want to be slim, but actually have a fat body image that slows them down. These people buy clothes that fit this image and accept their appearance. They subconsciously sabotage your weight loss efforts. If you don’t want to be skinny, it helps to think you’re skinny. If you think you are fat, you may have a hard time losing weight. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t accept yourself as you are. I’m saying that even though you can have a vision about your healthy self image. Simply accepting yourself for who you are can mean that you want to change your image of yourself when it comes to getting fit or losing weight. This is great for your emotional well-being, but it won’t really help you achieve your fitness goals either. If you accept yourself with a belly, why would you want a flat stomach?
(II) Worry less about the comfort of your body
The main reason people don’t exercise is because they prefer bodily comfort to the pain of exercising. Body comfort is detrimental in the long run because it leads to a sedentary lifestyle. Therefore, the more you neglect your body comfort, the more your body will put under the physical strain of exercise.
Ironically, what you will find is that once you start exercising, you begin to find pleasure in exercise even though your body struggles during exercise. People who have outgrown their need for body comfort and tried hard to exercise start to feel uncomfortable when they haven’t exercised for a couple of days. Strangers feel unacceptable when they haven’t run or ridden their bikes or lifted weights.
However, the first hurdle to overcome before reaching the level where exercise becomes a “must” and not a “should” is to neglect bodily comfort. Constantly, in your mind, argue against your body when seeking comfort. Naturally, your body will seek comfort. Your task is to push against your body and submit to the physical strain of exercise. Do not consider your mind and your body as a unit. Your body will seek comfort, but it will mentally argue and remember your exercise goals.
(III) Assign one hour of exercise every day
If nothing is labeled as exercise in your day, chances are you will never exercise. To exercise, you need to have a time in your day that you aim to exercise no matter what. Clean exercise time and don’t let anything disturb it. If you were planning to run and it’s raining, your exercise hour shouldn’t be spent watching a series on TV, it should be spent exercising at home. Don’t let anything come between you and exercise time.
(IV) Forget about fitness rules, do whatever you want
Like I said before, there is too much information on exercise. It’s easy to get caught up in what many experts think exercise should be. What I have learned in life is that things are not done because of fixed rules. Things get done when we have fun and are excited.
Forget what other people think exercise should be. What exactly do you like? Do you like to run, walk, or bike or do you like kick boxing? Whatever you like, let that be your exercise.
Once you gain momentum and move away from a sedentary lifestyle, you can beef things up a bit and put the formalities in place. The reason most of us successfully learned to ride our bikes when we were young, even though falling was painful, was because we did what we liked. Do what you love to exercise to overcome what you perceive as pain when exercising.
(V) Do not eat for pleasure
To stay motivated to exercise, you need to see results. Muscle gain or weight loss or a toned body. If you don’t see results, you are likely to give up.
To see results you need to eat well. Remember that if you want to lose weight or gain muscle, 80% of the results of exercise depend on your diet and 20% depend on your physical effort.
I have prepared you to motivate yourself enough to push yourself. Don’t let the diet undo what you’ve done.
Most people fail when it comes to diet because they eat to savor. When it comes to taste, most of us would agree that KFC is better than a plate of steamed vegetables. So when we eat for fun, we set ourselves up for failure because most healthy foods don’t taste as good as junk. Unless your wife is a great cook or has a professional chef in the house.
To see the results of your exercise, eat to nourish your body. Tolerate the bitter taste of vegetables or whatever your vegetarian diet is. Diet plans fail when we eat for pleasure because we soon find ourselves failing to resist the taste of birthday cake. Commit to eating differently, for nutrition rather than taste. from time to time you can thank yourself with a small piece of your favorite tasty food.
Remember to stay inspired, remove all obstacles that stand in your way to success, and don’t dare give up on yourself and your dreams.
