Staying Motivated It isnt easy staying motivated to exercise, especially if youre a beginner. In fact, most veteran exercisers would probably agree--some days they got it, some days they dont. If youre trying lose weight and make exercise a habit, you may be surprised to learn that theres not much difference between you and people who exercise regularly. Theres no magic pill that brings discipline and motivation to your workouts. So what do they have that you dont have? Its all in the way you think. The Doldrums With many of my personal training clients, Ive noticed some fairly regular trends: After about 6 to 12 weeks, the doldrums set in and thats when many of them quit. While this is not a very scientific study, my experience tells me that something happens after that initial excitement of starting an exercise program. First, the enthusiasm fades. Second, most clients havent seen significant results yet. The combination is devastating and, many times, this is the moment many people give up. Whats so frustrating is that many people quit just when theyre on the verge of success...at both making exercise a habit and seeing fat loss. Below are some of the mistakes that contribute to failure to exercise: Focusing on the scale. Weight loss isnt going to happen right away. For some folks, it takes months to see significant changes. When starting a program, its best to set measurable goals like getting a certain number of workouts in each week or lifting a certain amount of weight. Working too hard. Newbies sometimes go at their new workout programs like veteran exercisers. Starting easy and working your way up to more frequent exercise makes your workouts more enjoyable and gives your body time to adjust to exercise. Not working hard enough. On the other hand, some people dont take their intensity high enough to promote weight loss results. Learn the right way to Monitor Your Intensity Comparing yourself to others. If your friend is losing weight faster than you are, it doesnt mean somethings wrong with you. We all lose fat at different rates. Try to keep the focus on the gains youre making, not someone elses. Giving up too soon. If youre not seeing results yet, giving up is the last thing you should do. If youve been working out consistently, you may be well on your way to weight loss. Whether youve seen results or not, you ARE getting something out of exercising regularly. Think better sleep, more energy, better quality of life...is any of this sinking in? Aside from these issues, there are a few other things that stand in the way of you and success. As I mentioned above, the only real difference between a veteran exerciser and a struggling exerciser often lies in how they think. Check out the table below for a comparison on how a successful exerciser gets past exercise obstacles and how a quitter usually handles things. What You Think / Quitters Think / Successful Think I dont want to workout today./ I quit / I ll just do a warm up. If I still dont want to exercise,/ Ill stop. /This workout is boring. Maybe Ill try a new activity--like that spinning class./ Im too stressed out to exercise.I quit / Ill feel more relaxed if I get in a quick workout I missed my last few workouts, why bother?/ I quit /Ive gotten off track, but Im ready to get started again. Ill be back to where I was in no time. I havent lost a single pound./ I quit / If I quit now, Ill never see long-term results. I dont have time./ I quit /Ill do what I can until things slow down. Something is always better than nothing. All the best in Health.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Oct 2013 00:41:25 +0000
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