Motivation: Finders Keepers!

It’s always interesting to me what sparks motivation within me.  Ok, not really, it’s pretty obvious.  In-laws coming over, time to get motivated and clean the house.  Deadline at work and my boss is breathing down my neck, it’s definitely motivating.  Don’t even get me started if someone asks me to skip a workout and do something fun!  Finding the motivation and keeping it, when it comes to exercise, always seems to be a challenge!

If you are like me, you feel like you have tried everything to make you “want” to workout.  Pictures of fit people on the fridge, a new 5-minute ab routine you are supposed to do every day for a 6 pack, and all those other hoaxes we read in fitness magazines that may work for a week.  Then poof, you are on your couch again!  This is where we need to work smarter, not harder, and find motivation with accountability, create habits even we don’t want to break, and incorporate motivators specific to our interests!  Try one, or a few of these ideas to help find your motivation for exercising and keep it.

 

Text THAT Friend

We all have “that” friend, who we know will be brutally honest and will call us on our crap.  Heck, most of us have a few friends who don’t hold back, and when we don’t have those, there is always family!  Text whoever that maybe for you (the more the better) and tell them your plan to workout that day and/or tell them your weekly schedule or your goals.  Having someone all up in your business will get old real fast, especially if they are reminding you of your shortcomings in life!

 

Play Tricks On Yourself

Maybe one of the hardest things about working out is actually going to the gym.  Once your there, your there.  So tell yourself you are ONLY going to the gym to stretch or just go for a portion of the workout.  Most likely mob-mentality is going to get you and an hour later, you’ll be laying on the ground, covered in sweat, thinking “how the hell did that happen”!  Just remember, any workout is better than sitting on your couch.

 

Create the Ultimate Pump Playlist

If you are anything like me, when “your” song comes on the radio, you lose complete control of your extremities and you don’t care who’s watching.  It’s that feeling that you need to bring into your workout environment.  So create a Spotify or Pandora playlist (depending on what your gym uses) and ask them to play it at your next class.  Not only will you enjoy your class that day but you might also make a new friend with a similar taste in music!

 

Hit Yourself Where It Hurts

Let’s be honest, if you dropped $50 bucks on the ground, would you knowingly leave it there and walk off?  Maybe if you make it rain on the daily, but let’s get real, most of us would pick a dollar up off the ground if someone dropped it and run the other direction. The same goes for signing up for a race or a competition.  If you pay to participate, you are more likely to train for it so you don’t die at the event because there is no way you are going to miss it if you paid for it!