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Top 10 Exercise Motivators

By John Leinweber

We all know that motivation is cruicial to maintain our exercise program. But how do you go from a sporadic, on again, off again exerciser to someone for whom exercise is a lifelong habit, as natural and necessary as going to work and eating regular meals?

  1. The first thing to do is to ask yourself: Why are you exercising? Are you trying to get in shape for an upcoming event? Do you want to lose weight, sleep better, increase your energy, gain strength, add muscle tone and flexibility, or just feel a heightened sense of well being? If the reason you are exercising has anything to do with someone else (for example, your boyfriend or girlfriend says you need to lose weight or get in shape), you need a new reason.
  2. Schedule your daily exercise on your to do list and in your planner. Think of it as simply something you need to do before your head hits the pillow.
  3. Set goals. Set both a short term goal, to achieve in three to six weeks, and a long term goal, to achieve over the course of a year. Follow the STAR acronym in setting goals. Make sure they are Specific, Trackable, Attainable and Realistic. For example, my main motivation for exercising is to consistently maintain my brighter mood and the calm, energized feeling that I get only from exercising, so my goal is to work out at least 5 days per week. My other motivation is to gain strength and cardiovascular endurance, so my other goals have to do with how long and often I train or workout.
  4. Keep an exercise journal or log. Write down how your exercise is making you feel each day. How is your exercise benefiting your mood, energy levels, quality of sleep, weight, and so on? Do some exercises have more significant effects than others? Chart your progress in regard to your specific goals.
  5. Take photos of yourself each month in your workout gear so you have a visual record of your results.
  6. Subscribe to a fitness magazine and cut out motivating pictures and post them at your workspace and refrigerator as reminders.
  7. Recruit a friend to help keep you accountable and share in your goals or join an online group such as ediets.com or other to help track results and keep accountability.
  8. Identify the excuses you like to use and have a ready made response. If time is an issue, make sure your workout clothes are ready to go. If you have young children, get a good jogging stroller or set up a babysitting swap with another mom in your neighborhood: you can watch her children while she works out and vice versa.
  9. Recognize that your will to exercise is going to fluctuate, and exercise anyway. Sometimes it helps if I promise myself that I can stop my workout after 10 minutes if I still want to. At that point, I am usually feeling so much better that I finish the workout.
  10. Change your routine as you reach new goals. Add zest to your workout and avoid the exercise plateau by increasing the intensity or the duration of your workout, or by trying a new workout or sport.

Bonus -- Try to think of exercise as something you do for yourself: a gift you give yourself, a way to stay balanced and focused, and time when you can be alone with your thoughts. John Leinweber, Parker, Colorado

About the Author:

John Leinweber from Fit3Fitness.com