"Tips to Get Motivated to Exercise"

There are so many benefits to exercising!   Exercise benefits your physical and mental well being and can even help with your memory and concentration. Even if it is just 20-30 minutes a day most days of the week, you will feel better.  Make it part of who you are.  We need to make exercise a habit so we can reap all of it’s amazing benefits.

My first tip is so simple and obvious but we need to put exercise on our schedule!  If at all possible make it the first thing you do.  We have a 300 percent greater chance of working out if we do it in the morning.  If you wait until later you will likely find an excuse or something else will get in the way. 

My second tip is to dress for success.  Nice clothes can encourage you to workout.  Just like you can’t wait to wear that new dress to dinner for your Friday night date, you are more likely to look forward to your workout if you have some clothes you are excited to wear.   Make sure you lay them out the night before so you have a visual cue to remind yourself that this is the new you!  Invest in at least a weeks worth of clothes so you can’t use the excuse that they are in the wash.

My next tip is to have a workout buddy.  This really works!  I hated to go to the gym in the beginning.  I was completely unmotivated to go and really had no idea what to do once I got there.  After making some friends who shared my goals of being more fit, I becme a regular.  If none of your friends are into being healthier recruit your dog or your kids.  My kids love it if we just hang out at home, crank up the music and dance.  Now that exercise has become a habit for me, I don’t need my buddies anymore for motivation but I still try and exercise with friends when I can.  It’s just nice to have the company.

Finally, find something that you enjoy.  Get creative!  Even if you hate exercising, try and combine it with something you love to help get you started.  For example, in the beginning since I love to read, I would ride the bike at the gym and read a book.  I wasn’t working very hard back then but it got me going.  Now, I listen to books on my phone since I am working a bit harder now.  Some people love music. If you are a competitive person make it a contest.  Whatever makes it more fun will keep you engaged.

Hopefully these tips will help you make exercise a part of your life.  Working out is more effective than any medication out there for coping with stress or depression so make it a habit.  This is one step on the road to discovering your best self yet!