A lot of people out there know they should workout and exercise to lose weight. They know it will benefit their overall health and well being if they exercised and lost all those extra pounds. Unfortunately, even though you may know what is best for you, you will still not do the necessary. My experience has taught me that it is all about the motivation. Most people lack the motivation to go to the gym and sweat those calories off. Thus all that lies between you and a fit and healthy body is motivation. And even then you need to keep the motivation up so that the exercise can be sustained.
Lots of people come to me in my position as a personal trainer to find out how to get motivated so that they can exercise and burn the fat. What I tell them is very simple to follow and keep up. It doesn’t need any fancy equipment or a fancy trainer.
The first thing to do when trying to build the motivation to workout and burn calories is to pick an activity which you really enjoy doing. This way you will want to make time for it. This could be anything from walking and jogging to swimming or using the cross-trainer in the gym.
Even when you pick something you enjoy doing, it can get boring alone. So find a workout partner. This way both of you can work to motivate each other and you will not want to leave your partner exercising alone either. Workouts are always more enjoyable when you have some music. So load your portable music player with your favorite dance numbers and workout songs and exercise to some quick and fun beats.
One way in which I help people get motivated is through visualization. You should visualize a thinner, fitter and healthier version of yourself. Then when working out, imagine transforming into that better looking self. This should motivate you to continue exercising and burn some more calories off.
For those who feel like this, a good way to get motivated is to train for a sport like the marathon. This gives you 3-4 months of intense training with a specific goal in mind along with the motivation to meet the goal. Another method which might work for those who are competitive is to make a bet with a friend about how much you will work out and how many pounds you will lose. This way you’ll be motivated to continue with your exercising and calorie shedding.
When people come to me, I tell them that motivation can come from making workouts a part of their daily lives. So you can try taking the stairs as much as possible, walk to the grocery store and back, sit on an exercise ball when watching TV etc.
The above are some ways by which you can motivate yourself to workout and thereby have a healthy and toned body.
