The idea of working out – spending hours at the gym or jogging around your neighborhood with the ultimate goal of becoming fit is always exciting. But when the alarm goes off at 5 AM, you just can’t bring yourself to get out of bed.
Motivation is what drives us to achieve our goals. It’s about knowing our why’s – why you should exercise, why you want to want to exercise, and so on.
Perhaps there are people who exercise because they like the feeling they get when exercising. But for a lot of us, exercise is often considered for one end goal—to lose weight, to look better, to be healthy, to manage diabetes, and so on.
It is this goal that makes it difficult for many to exercise; why a lot of us sometimes run into that brick wall. We set goals, create plans to achieve said goals, and perhaps even bring ourselves to stick with those plans for a bit of time. But then our desire falters.
The Different Types of Motivation
There are external things that can motivate a person and then there are internal things that push you to do what you do.
1. Extrinsic Motivation
When it comes to exercise, we often have extrinsic motivation such as:
- Getting six-pack abs
- Losing weight for a wedding
- Preparing for the summer
- Wanting to look good for a date
With extrinsic motivation, you often don’t exercise because you like exercising. You’re doing it in order to give your what you want. There’s nothing wrong with this. It can help push you to doing something during times when you don’t feel like it. But what if exercising does not give you what you want? What if summer is just a few days away and you’re still not confident about wearing a bikini?
2. Intrinsic Motivation
This is the type of motivation that is important to you now. You’re basically not going to exercise for a future goal but instead, for a reason that impacts the present. Example:
- To relieve stress
- To allow yourself to zone out
- To get the runner’s high
- To feel good
In one study that was published in the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, it was discovered that individuals who were driven by internal motivators had achieved more long-term success than those who were motivated by external factors. That is not to say that external motivation is not important – it is. Both types of motivation are needed if you want to continually have the willpower to workout.
Why Am I Not Motivated to Exercise?
There are several reasons why you may not have the motivation to workout, such as:
- Lifestyle choices – always watching Netflix or playing video games.
- Sedentary job – spending a lot of time sitting and working in front of the computer.
- Being overweight – when a person is overweight, he or she often has to deal with joint pain when exercising. Working out may also seem intimidating and uncomfortable.
- Stress – when stressed out, many of us won’t have energy or desire to workout in the gym.
- No access to facilities – the nearest gym might be 20 miles away.
- Lack of time – juggling between work and family could zap out all your energy.
How to Be Motivated to Exercise
A lot of things could prevent you from exercising – too busy, too tired, too stressed, etc. But the only way to really push yourself is to just do it. Don’t wait for the right time, the right reason or the right mood. You have to make it happen.
- Create an environment that will make you look forward to exercising. Perhaps you can organize a room or space in your home (or office) where you can spend 30 minutes each day to do yoga or even just 5 – 10 minutes of HIIT.
- Next, make it easy for yourself to exercise. The thing with enrolling in a nice exclusive gym that’s 15 miles away is that it may have the best equipment and trainers, but if you’re going to spend 30 minutes stuck in traffic each way, you’re going to dread it. Save yourself the time and hassle, and just go to a gym that is located right along your drive back home (or office).
- Choose an activity you enjoy. Why do you have to suffer hours doing Crossfit if you would much rather just do Zumba? It’s not the amount of calories you’ll burn in one session – it’s whether or not you are willing to do this activity for the long-term.
- Lastly, reward yourself. By design, humans respond better to immediate rewards that long-term goals. So, while your goal for doing push-ups and sit-ups may be to wear a bikini at the beach in 2 months, make it a point to reward yourself for every bit of progress you make. For example, if today you can do 3 sets of 12 push up reps, you’ll give yourself a luxurious hot bath after.
I hope these tips will help you find motivation every day to exercise.