We often mistakenly think that “health” and “fitness” mean the same thing, but in reality, they do not. Our well-being is based on good health, which involves looking after your whole self, including your mental, physical, and emotional health, as well as your weight. Physical fitness does not rely as much on one’s weight but more on one’s endurance, strength, and vigor. The different meanings may be attached to the words ‘fitness motivation’ and ‘health motivation’, but they both originate from a similar point: your mental state.
Almost all people desire to be in good physical shape – yet not all can muster the necessary level of determination to attain that ambition. Why? How does Jillian Michaels or Greg Glassman differ from everyone else?
They understand that motivation to stay healthy is not just about how one looks. When it comes to staying motivated to exercise and be healthy, it is important to keep in mind your overall purpose and ambitions in life. If you are physically fit, you will naturally have more verve and vigor. You will possess the power necessary to get your jobs done for the day. Your self-assurance and optimism will be greater, and all the advantages will help you reach your targets.
Where Does Fitness Motivation Come From?
In order to comprehend the psychological element of health and fitness enthusiasts, think of it this way: Few individuals truly lack the urge to exercise. Instead of being supportive of themselves, they have restricting opinions that set them off on an incorrect path. As Tony says
The limits of what we can accomplish and the things we think we are unable to do are seldom based on our true potential. It is probably determined by our opinions on our own self-identity.
If you are from a family history of unhealthy habits or have struggled with weight issues, it may appear you do not have the capability to stay physically fit and have to accept an unfit lifestyle. It can be tough to stay enthusiastic about training when you doubt your ability to eventually reach your goal.
What are the main reasons that keep you motivated to stay fit and healthy? Are they related to external rewards or internal satisfaction? Are you more focused on how you look, or are you more driven by your health, lowering your stress levels, and the positive feelings it gives you? Doing exercise for the purpose of pleasing someone else, wearing clothes that were previously too tight, or striving for a flat stomach will not be as fruitful if it is motivated by extrinsic factors. Having the desire to do something for the advantage you get out of it in the present is essential.
The first step is changing your mindset. Examine your beliefs and health motivations closely. Where do your beliefs come from? Are your motivations extrinsic or intrinsic? Then change your story. Substitute your convictions with a revised account: You are powerful, able to thrive and can acquire the life you are entitled to. Exercising will give you an extra boost of energy, increasing your levels of joy and self-assurance. It may be uncomfortable to begin with, but if you continue to do it, eventually you will come to accept it.
How to Increase Your Fitness and Workout Motivation
It is simple to consider the reasons why you wish to become fit; however, it can be hard to stay determined to work out when you are being lured or when the cold weather season brings down your energy level. If you’re looking for reasons not to prioritize your health and fitness, use these tips instead.
1. Shift Your Focus
Tony asserts that a key factor that leads to few people obtaining their desired outcomes is the lack of commitment to focus their energy. Ultimately, your success in life is based on how passionately you desire it. How much do you want to be physically fit?
Absolutely refusing to accept a “no” response is what true focus entails. You won’t stop until you achieve your goals. It’s highly believed that one will not be content without some significant accomplishment, such as having a thriving business, a blissful partnership, or maintaining your desired fitness level.
To maintain good health and physical well-being over the long term, it is necessary to ensure that all aspects of your life are focused on this single objective. Surround yourself with individuals who offer encouragement as you strive for the same goal. Gather uplifting statements on exercise and physical conditioning from the athletes or trainers you admire most. Workout motivation will follow.
2. Set Empowering Goals
Increase your enthusiasm for exercise by creating manageable objectives every seven days. How many miles do you want to run? How many sit-ups do you want to complete? You can decide how many exercises you wish to complete in the course of one week.
These small objectives will all serve as stepping stones toward larger, longer-term objectives. It is possible you are aiming to finish a half marathon by the time of the summer or striving to reach a particular resting heart rate. It’s possible that you may wish to slim down before buying clothes for the summer. Ensure that the objectives you set are achievable so you can adjust your life accordingly. Exercising vigorously will have positive results, but to significantly reduce weight, you must also change your diet.
Remind yourself consistently that the purpose of having goals is to prioritize your well-being. Experiencing tangible changes in your body will make it easy to stay motivated with exercising.
3. Track and Celebrate Your Success
It is essential that you devise SMART objectives – precise, quantifiable, attainable, practical, and date-oriented – so that you can monitor how far along you are in attaining them. Taking note of even very minor changes in your health, fitness, and looks assists you in constructing a positive feedback loop as you construct on earlier successes, as opposed to becoming disheartened at how little you have achieved.
Start keeping track of your regular heartbeat rate, blood pressure, weight, body fat percentage, and/or any size measurements as you go through the winter season to monitor your advancement. It is worth considering the fit of your clothing, the quality of your restful sleep, and the amount of energy you possess during the day.
Steer away from weighing yourself on the scale each day. The amount may not be accurate since muscle is heavier than fat. Instead of taking a screenshot, capture a picture of yourself each week and keep track of your progress in a particular folder on your cell phone.
4. Use Gamification Apps
Using gaming applications is a great option to maintain your enthusiasm for frequent physical activities. These applications convert working out into a delightful game or challenge, making mundane exercises much more interesting. Some of these fitness gamification applications give rewards like gift cards to your favorite stores or restaurants, or even pay you money when you achieve your exercise objectives!
That’s motivation in itself.
5. Find Workouts You Enjoy
Picking activities that you take pleasure in makes exercising on a regular basis more tolerable – or even something to look forward to! There’s no need for you to inflict pain on yourself by engaging in high-intensity exercise if that’s not something you enjoy. Exercise that is not overly strenuous can still produce numerous health and wellness advantages.
If you take pleasure in the outdoors, you could think about going for a walk, running, riding a bike, or taking a dip in the open air. Performing outdoor chores still counts as exercise when you’re constantly in motion.
If you like exercising with a group, give a group fitness class a go. Alternatively, if you prefer to work out on your own or stay at home, put on a good film while using a treadmill, an elliptical, or a stationary bicycle.
6. Reward Yourself
Develop objectives related to physical activity and give yourself rewards for reaching them to stay enthused. Choose goals that challenge you, but are still attainable. Log your fitness objectives every seven days, and give yourself a reward for achieving them.
Sample exercise goals for women might include:
Get at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise at least five days a week
Resistance train at least three days weekly
Complete flexibility training (yoga or Pilates) at least two days per week
When you meet targets for physical activity for each week, reward yourself with something that isn’t food – like getting a massage, a pedicure or manicure, purchase a new outfit, go on a shopping spree, or take a day off to spend time with friends or family.
7. Find an Organized Fitness Program
Having someone else to rely on to ensure that you stay motivated to exercise often can be the solution. Someone such as a health coach, trainer, friend, or relative could help you stay focused on your fitness or nutrition program. A structured weight loss scheme, like Fit Mother 30X (FM30X), has been tailored specifically to hectic mothers.
It gives you the resources required to feel determined to consume healthily, work out, or shed extra pounds – and offers you the required foundation to remain inspired in the long run.
8. Build Exercise Into Daily Routines
It can be simpler to finish physical activity sessions if you make getting physically fit a daily habit. For instance, if you have an office job, make a point of visiting the fitness center either when you leave the office during the evening or when you’re on your way in the morning. Doing so should make it less likely that your gym trips occur less frequently. Work out at the same time each day. It could be possible to slot in some physical activity before your offspring awaken in the early hours, during the period of your lunch, or instantly as soon as you have dropped the children off at their place of learning.
Even though the details of your day may vary, ensure that your exercise regimen stays constant.
9. Learn About The Benefits Of Exercise
Discovering the many advantageous health and wellness effects of exercising regularly can be a great incentive to stay fit for women of all ages.
Here are some benefits of regularly engaging in physical activity: improved well-being, boosted energy levels, better sleep, and enhanced mood.
Better Sleep Quality
Engaging in standard physical activity can assist one in having a more restful sleep, which consequently upgrades the general caliber of life in all aspects. The CDC suggests that women promote their health, decrease the chances of getting sick, and maintain a healthy body weight by sleeping for around 7 to 9 hours each night.
A research paper submitted to Advances in Preventive Medicine stated that engaging in physical activity frequently is linked to experiencing deeper and longer periods of sleep, regardless of the exercise intensity and type.
The CDC reports that not getting enough rest can be connected to higher chances of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and even depression.
One might consider exercising in order to improve their quality of sleep, reduce the chances of contracting diseases, and have more energy.
Improved Concentration and Memory
If you’re having trouble staying focused or remembering important duties, it may help to incorporate some physical activity into your daily routine to help improve your brain health.
Research conducted by Harvard Health Publishing indicates that engaging in regular aerobic exercise (including walking, jogging, biking, and swimming) appears to boost the areas in the brain responsible for memorization and learning.
Researchers discovered that physical activity triggers substances in the brain that support the continued life of brain cells, as well as encourage the creation of new blood vessels within the brain.
Researchers claiming that frequent physical activity may be a deterrent against Alzheimer’s disease published their findings in BioMed Research International.
This article is arriving at an opportune period, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth highest killer of American adults.
Reduced Depression and Anxiety
Rising from your bed each morning can be intimidating if you are usually feeling depressed.
When you are depressed, it can be hard to stay motivated to exercise, but if you do not get any physical activity, you are more likely to become depressed.
Doing physical activity is related to fewer signs of depression and tension, and helps to stop negative mental health states from occurring again.
Mayo Clinic and Stanford University say getting just 30 minutes of exercise in three to five days weekly helps improve your mood by:
Releasing feel-good endorphins that enhance a sense of well-being
Taking your mind off of worrisome thoughts and behaviors
Allowing you to spend more time outdoors
If you’re feeling down, physical activity could be the thing to give you an emotional lift, negating the need for medications or professional counselling.
Make sure you find exercises you enjoy. If doing exercises on a regular basis doesn’t lessen your feeling of being down, it is advisable that you talk to a medical professional and seek the required assistance.
A Longer Life Expectancy
Exercising on a regular basis can significantly increase your life expectancy by reducing the chance of developing illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Research published in the Journal of Aging Research said that engaging in routine physical activity can potentially extend one’s lifespan by as much as seven years.
When needing an extra boost to stay determined to stay active, remind yourself that you are prolonging your life and the lives of those close to you, in addition to improving the overall quality of your life.
Conclusion
Remaining enthusiastic about exercise can lead you to appreciate and anticipate each workout session.
Plus, when you get into the groove of exercising regularly, you’ll also:
Maximize your health and wellness
Reduce chronic disease risks
Look and feel your best
Stay happy
Show off a healthy weight and body you’re proud of
It is alright to take a break if you are feeling fatigued and either has a day of relaxation or participate in a more gentle exercise.
Do not hesitate to seek assistance if you cannot sustain your inspiration by yourself.
Employ the strategies mentioned above to motivate yourself to work out and adopt a different outlook that can have an impact on your life.
