Why is it so difficult for some of us to motivate ourselves to workout? I see so many people who are getting up and working out before work or are carving an hour out of their evening to take a fitness class, and I ask myself “why can’t I do that?” And so I try to do that (have yet to do the whole working out before work thing but let’s take this one step at a time) and I may be consistent for a week or two, but then I fall off the wagon and I am back to square one.
What I am realizing now – and this is really not the biggest revelation – is that these people are making exercise a priority. Even more than that, they are making exercise a normal part of their everyday existence. In order for me to be like that, I need to make exercise like any other daily task, like brushing my teeth or watching TV. Once exercise, or any other activity you would like to incorporate into your life, becomes routine, it is pretty difficult to avoid. I want to make exercise not something I decide each day whether I am going to do, but rather, something that I do automatically.
There are so many ways in which I have tried to motivate myself to workout. And a lot of them have worked! I have purchased gym memberships, I’ve followed fitness bloggers and vloggers, I’ve invested in a yoga mat! However motivating these things may be, without the will power to actually do the moving of the body, they are simply distractions. These things end up making me feel even worse about myself because now, instead of getting inspired and acting on that inspiration, I wallow and compare myself to the fit girl on Instagram. Not good!
Therefore, I am committing to exercise. I don’t plan on being amazing at it at first, but I do want to make it a priority. I want to take my own advice from previous posts and get back up after falling down. I wanted to write about this because I know that this is something that so many people struggle with. I want to share my own experience and hopefully help others along the way.
So here are few things I have done thus far to change my mindset and get my body moving!
- Class Pass: Fingers crossed, but I think this is the fitness model for me. It’s flexible, varied, and easy to cancel. (Committing to a year-long gym membership stresses me out and does not help me actually get to the gym).
- Buddy system: I have been going to a lot of classes with friends. We get in a good workout, we get to look over at each other and giggle at the funny moves we are doing, and it’s a great friend date!
- Utilizing Instagram: I have taken to posting on Insta stories when I am doing a workout, and it is a really great accountability tool. I really like being able to keep them all in my “FIT” highlight and then look back and see how many workouts I managed to complete that week.
I would love to hear about how you are working on prioritizing exercise! Let me know down in the comments!
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