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5
Ways To Stay Motivated
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by: Tracie
Johanson
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Do
you remember the day you first joined your gym?
Wasn't it a great feeling, knowing that you had
finally taken that first step towards living a
healthier life? Making a conscious, positive
decision to improve is rewarding, and hopefully
we've all kept that promise to ourselves. But try
as we might, it seems that there's always a handy
excuse to not exercise.
While gym attendance peaks around January, it
slacks off every March/April as people forget
about their New Year Resolutions. Summer BBQ's and
vacations tend to make people stay away from the
gym, and six months later holiday parties and
planning to the same thing. Finally, we can all
relate to those days when we simply don't want to
work out!
The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub
Association, a trade association serving the
health and fitness club industry, reports that the
average health club member in the United States
spends only about 90 days at the gym per year.
The goal of this article is to help you STAY
MOTIVATED to exercise! It's not enough to just
help you with the 'how' of exercise – we want to
help you with the 'why' too!
So what can you do to stay motivated? Here are
five great ideas to help us all keep that inner
fire burning…..
1) Find an exercise buddy! When we know that
someone else is going to meet us at the gym at a
certain time, we will automatically be much more
likely to show up ourselves. After all, who wants
to abandon their friend? Don’t have a friend at
the gym? Invite one along! She will appreciate the
invitation, and will be much healthier for it!
2) Get to know people in the gym! Visiting with
friends and family while we're exercising makes
the time go by so fast it hardly even seems like
we're doing something good for us. It's great to
get out of the house or office and just have some
fun with other people!
3) Talk with your doctor! We all know that
exercise is good for us. From helping to prevent
cancer to lowering our blood pressure to helping
us fit into that swimming suit, exercise is the
best thing we can do for ourselves. Even with that
knowledge, it's sometimes encouraging to hear
about our progress from our doctor. Here's a hot
motivation tip: ask your gym for a copy of your
fitness records (monthly body fat analysis and
measurements) and then share that information with
your doctor. He or she will be so happy that
you're exercising, and will encourage you to
continue!
4) Chart your progress! The CEO of a Fortune 500
company once said "What gets measured gets
done", and that advice is as good for us as
it was for that business. Take the time to keep a
food journal, an exercise log, or simply write
down your fitness goals. Post it where you will
see it every single day (on the 'fridge, in the
car, on the mirror, etc.). Life is just so busy
these days, a constant visual reminder of our
goals may be just the motivational push we need.
5) Give yourself a reward! Sometimes the 'big
picture' can be too intimidating. For example, if
you have 80 pounds to lose it's tempting to think
"It’s too much! I shouldn’t even
try." That’s one of the biggest
motivation-killers out there, so combat those
discouraging thoughts by rewarding yourself for
smaller accomplishments. Treat yourself to a
manicure when you lose that first five pounds. Buy
a new outfit when you've lost ten pounds. Take a
mini-vacation when you're halfway to your goal.
Give yourself small rewards for achieving smaller
goals, and guess what.....many small steps make up
a long journey! Before you know it, you'll have
accomplished your overall goal!
There are many other ways to give yourself the
motivation to succeed. Try some of these tips
today – the only thing you have to lose is the
fat!
About the author:
Tracie Johanson is the founder of Pick Up The
Pace, a 30-minute exercise studio for women,
focusing on fitness, health and nutrition for
maximum weight loss. Please visit http://www.letspickupthepace.com/for
more information.
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