Starting exercising and quitting is pretty common in the fitness industry. That’s how a majority of the fitness industry gains profit. It convinces you to pay for the whole year because they know you are going to quit in the next few weeks and you are never coming back. This is one of the biggest issues that most people report when asked about a healthy lifestyle and workout. We have all been in a situation where waking up every day for a workout seems like a bad idea. Most of us even keep eyeing the gym bag and clock to convince ourselves to muster up the courage and go to the gym. Coming from personal experience I can vouch for that.
I have struggled with daily gym and I have failed almost all the time. However, recently I have tried and succeeded which is one of the biggest achievements in my life so far.
To help you exercise daily and make working out a habit, I have listed down some of the best tips that have helped me so far. Most of these tips are physical; however, I have also used mental tricks for making workouts a habit. With the help of this, you will be able to see improvement and as you keep seeing improvement you will stay motivated for more.
Know the Exercise That Suits You
One of the biggest issues is that we don’t understand that exercises can be monotonous and boring. Standing back at a gym class cursing your membership fee, we have all tried our best to cope up but most of us never succeed. The reason is that the exercises that we have chosen are not interesting enough. There are so many fun and interesting exercises that are beneficial for the body. Some of the fun exercise options that you can try include dance, Zumba, jogging, yoga, cycling, and swimming.
All these exercises are highly recommended because of their results.
These exercises are all famous aerobic and cardio exercises. With the help of these exercises, you will be able to see improvement in your body. You will lose fat and your body will be toned. Apart from this, there are medical benefits of these exercises as well. Some of the benefits include blood sugar maintenance, bone density improvement, reducing the risk of cancer and heart disease, and much more. These benefits can work as motivational factors however, not everyone is motivated to live a healthy life. So, you need to build a habit that will help you work out every day without thinking about the benefits and motivational factors.
The Trick to Building a Habit
One of the oldest tricks that you see is the 21 days challenge. We have seen people talking about this challenge and you will even see a 21-day challenge-based app as well. Ancient researches say that repeating the same task every day for just 21 days can make it a habit. Your muscle memory and your brain will feel uncomfortable to leave that routine and eventually the task will become your habit. In short, you just need to exercise for 21 days and the rest will be handled by your brain and body. There are so many different applications, alarms, and schedule-based apps that can help you incorporate exercises as a habit in your life.
Some Easy Mind Tricks That You Should Try
Mini Workouts
Most people believe in “go big or go home” so they end up applying this to gym sessions and workouts as well. In the fitness world, grand gestures are not important. You need to start slow and rely on small workouts. We have seen people starting with 5 minutes cycling or 10 minutes jogging and then they develop a habit. Unless you are not confident that you have developed a habit, try to go slow and rely on mini workouts.
Short Term Goals
Short-term and achievable goals are very important because they will help you maintain your motivation. If you are going to set a long-term goal, you will have no motivation because you will not be able to keep track of your progress. However, if you have short-term goals you will be able to track easily and your motivation will be better.
Keep Switching With the Flow
Workout flow is very important to maintain. Within the first 21 days keep one thing in mind, even 15 steps are considered exercise. You don’t have to think about how much improvement you will see, you are just doing this for routine. Even one percent improvement is an improvement so you need to keep working every day.
Say No to Boring Workouts
Boring workout is another very important reason most people quit. Looking for an interesting workout that can convince you to leave your house. We have seen people using cricket, football, basketball, and badminton as a workout and it works. These sports will give you the same benefit as any other cardio workout. You will sweat, your heart rate will increase and your breathing rate will increase as well. You can either start some sport with a friend or you can buy something fun like a trampoline.
Set a Reward and Punishment Score
This is the most effective way to motivate yourself. According to psychological research, if you want to keep going or if you want to motivate yourself, you need to start with positive reinforcement. This will help you motivate yourself for more and regular workouts. The best reward that you can set is to work out and stay on a diet the whole week so that you can have a feast and enjoy a lazy day on the weekend.
Keep Tracking Your Time Everyday
One of the best things you can do is keep tracking your time so you know at what time you are expected to work out. Most people simply skip the workout because they sleep late, wake up, and viola, no time for the gym. You need to make this a conscious decision so that you can track the time you are expected to go to work.
Get a Workout Buddy
When it comes to workout buddies most people don’t agree with this strategy. The main reason is that you will eventually start skipping the workout if your friend is not available. However, if you have more than one friend you can start something productive and easy that can be the equivalent of a workout. This can include some outdoor sport or something interesting that you can do at home.
Multitask
If you are thinking of working out at home, you can easily set a whole theater. Splay your favorite Netflix series or enjoy your favorite music and run on a treadmill. Some people find the music very therapeutic, others measure time with the help of the songs that have been played. Most people start a zoom call with friends and family but you can select something that you find entertaining. You can even watch a movie while you exercise. Individual differences are very important to acknowledge so most of the tips cannot be used by everyone. You just need to find the one that suits you the most.
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