Difficulties with the motivation to constantly go to training, experienced by most beginners to master any kind of physical activity, whether it be training on machines, weight training or running. To make training a part of your lifestyle, you need to go from laziness and excuses (why didn’t you go to the gym today) & nbsp; to turning physical activity into a ritual, a habit.
Many are wondering how to start exercising, because the main thing is to start. To do this, there are several strategies to program yourself to overcome your own laziness. Let's look at some of the effective strategies that can get you to go to the gym or go for a run.
How to start exercising: three fitness motivation strategies
To make you want to go in for sports, you should clearly understand what you want to achieve with it: strengthening your health, losing weight, gaining a beautiful figure or royal posture, maintaining a healthy spine. Depending on the ultimate goal, the motivation and choice of the type of physical activity will depend. In one case, swimming and running will suffice, in the other – you can’t do without aerobic and strength training, and in the third – together. Therefore, how to start training and where to start preparing: with the definition of a plan and the final result. To keep yourself motivated to get yourself to exercise and go to the gym, here are 3 actionable strategies.
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Strategy1. Public promise or public contract
The Theory of Value Change, developed by a Ph.D. and associate professor of medicine at Stanford University – Jeremy Goldhaber-Fiebert, says that if you change the price for training for yourself or friends, then the promise to train will be fulfilled if not 100%, then 90% exactly.
As you know, such promises to yourself are not very motivating, you should make a promise to go in for sports every week for 2 months in front of the public. Only the promise should be clear: how many times a week and for how long you will train. Clear boundaries help to stick to the action plan, and the audience (i.e. friends, relatives, family) will be the driving force that reminds of the promise.
Such a promise is called a Public Contract. And in case of violation, you will be obliged to pay the public for non-compliance, that is, to pay a "forfeit". What kind of amount or service it will be is negotiated at the time of concluding a public contract.
Strategy 2: Reward or treat yourself to candy
Abstract motivation, as a rule, does not work, if you put a lot of pressure on your willpower, it can rebel. How do you get started with self-reward training? This is what the author of the book "The Force of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business" tells about it. Charles Duig. It is necessary to make the motivation real, for example, treat yourself after a workout with an episode of your favorite series, a fragrant bath or a favorite dish that you usually forbid yourself. The reward or "candy" must be desirable in order for the level of motivation to rise.
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Book author Charles Duig builds his reward strategy as follows
A reward is a signal to the brain that an action will be rewarded, it is worth doing. The more you will be convinced that training – this is worthwhile, the faster they will turn into a habit. Ultimately, the brain will begin to associate the training itself or the run as a reward and the need for “candy” motivation will disappear, the impulse will come from the consciousness. For some who want to turn classes into a common thing, the need for motivation disappears after 3-4 months, and for others – after 3-4 weeks, everything is strict individually.
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Strategy 3. Positive thinking and "psychological contrast"
The term positive thinking appears every now and then in various strategies, especially when it comes to motivation. Not everyone manages to set themselves up for positive and go to the gym in such a mood. And every time forcing yourself to get out of bed, turn off the TV or computer and go to a workout and at the same time visualize yourself with six-pack abs, super healthy and beautiful, seems like an impossible task for many who suffer from low motivation.
Gabriel Oettingen – New York University psychologist, author of Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation, talks about more realistic psychological strategies than just visualizing an athletic body. The psychologist claims that the theory of psychological contrast will help in this matter.
The psychological contrast is: clearly defined desires and visualization of the result are complemented by overcoming those factors that constrain willpower and prevent you from doing what you want.
Read also: Visualization of the power of thought. Happiness in the head
After you have clearly imagined the obstacle that prevents you from achieving your goal, think about what you can do to successfully overcome it. Once you've identified a roadblock to positive thinking, decide for yourself what plan to stick to in order to keep your spirits up and head out to the gym.
For example, you decided that after coming home from work there is no desire to go to training, you feel a breakdown. Don't stop visualizing the end result of a beautiful body and head to the gym right after work, or make time during your lunch break in the morning.
Three strategies on how to start exercising will teach you how to properly motivate and achieve your goals. When choosing a strategy, rely on your own weaknesses and character traits, lifestyle and habits. It is believed that a habit is developed for at least 21 days and no more than 3 months. Don't give up and head to the gym or start exercising at home!
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