If you are starting a new workout routine, or trying to stick with an existing one, it can be difficult to get motivated. It’s important to find an activity you enjoy, and then make a habit of it.
Make sure to warm up and cool down, as well. This will help prevent injuries and keep your muscles from over-exerting themselves.
Start with small goals
It can be challenging to stick with an exercise routine, especially when you’re new or returning to it. However, you can make a difference in the way you feel by setting realistic and well-planned exercise goals. This helps you stay focused and motivated, and it provides a measure of how well you are doing.
Whether you’re training for a race or trying to lose weight, setting short-term and long-term goals can help you achieve your fitness goals. For instance, if you’re new to exercising, start with small goals that you know you can accomplish and gradually increase them over time. For example, you can try to exercise for 30 minutes a day for two days a week at first and then move on to three 30-minute sessions per week.
Another way to keep your motivation high is to do a workout you enjoy. For example, if you hate group exercise classes, find an alternative activity that fits your personality and interests. You can even try a few different activities, such as walking in a mall or climbing stairs, to find what works best for you.
Modify exercises as needed
Incorporating exercises that aren’t familiar to you into your workout can also increase the challenge and keep it fun. However, it is important to make sure that you can do the exercise safely. This means making sure that the weight you are using is appropriate and modifying the movement pattern if necessary. For example, if you are trying to incorporate Turkish get ups into your workout, consider doing them on the ground instead of the head elevation or breaking them down into smaller parts.
If you want to take a more holistic approach, try adding pauses or isometric holds into the exercise. This can help you work your muscles from different angles and can be very challenging. It is also good to vary the exercises you do for each body part. This helps prevent your muscles from adapting and becoming too accustomed to the same movements.
Drink plenty of water
The human body is 60% water, so it’s important to drink enough of it when exercising. Whether you’re taking that short walk or heading to the gym, drinking plenty of fluids before, during, and after exercise can help keep your workouts on track. You may even find that you enjoy your exercise more when you’re hydrated.
You should start drinking fluids in the hours leading up to your workout, and take four to six gulps of water or a sports drink every 15 minutes during your exercise session. This is a good guideline for most people, but you may want to err on the higher side if you’re a heavy sweater, exercise in hot or humid conditions, or have any other factors that affect how much fluid you lose while exercising.
It’s also a good idea to weigh yourself before and after your exercise session to get a better sense of how much fluid you are losing. If you’re exercising for more than an hour, it’s a good idea to drink a sports drink with carbohydrates and sodium.
Give yourself immediate rewards
If you’re trying to develop a habit of regular exercise, it’s important to reward yourself immediately after each workout. This can help keep you motivated to complete your workouts, even during tough times. It also makes it more likely that you will continue to exercise regularly after the initial rewards wear off, since you’ll associate the behavior with something you enjoy.
The best way to give yourself immediate rewards when exercising is by tying them into the workout itself. This can be as simple as rewarding yourself with a favorite snack after finishing your workout, or as complex as using an exercise app that lets you earn rewards for meeting your weekly fitness goals. For example, if you use Paceline, you can unlock rewards for walking 150 minutes of elevated heart rate in a week. These rewards can include things like a free bottle of Hyperice, a new workout shirt, or a free session at your local yoga studio.
You can also reward yourself during your workout by focusing on fun activities, such as group exercise classes or outdoor hikes. You can even skip a day of your normal workout and go dancing with friends or take a leisurely stroll in an exciting location, instead.
Finally, you can make healthy eating habits easier to stick with by limiting the availability of unhealthy foods in your home and work environments. Don’t stock your pantry with junk food, and put your gym bag in the car so you can make a quick workout after work if the opportunity arises.
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