How to Exercise When you Don’t Want To
Disclosure: Thanks to Best Buy for sponsoring this post.
Getting motivated enough to drag your butt to the gym can be tricky when life gets hectic. I know when life gets stressful an hectic the last thing I want to do is work out . . . although ironically that’s usually just what I need.
Here are some of my favorite ways for staying motivated and getting moving even when I don’t feel like exercising:
Exercise with a friend. We all go through phases in life when we just don’t want to exercise. What has helped me the most during those times is to have a workout buddy. Knowing that someone was waiting for me to go walking or hit the gym does wonders for motivating me to get out of bed before my kids wake up and get moving. If nothing else, it’s too much effort to call and cancel.
Use a fitness tracker. Seeing concrete progress towards your fitness goals is a great way to stay motivated. Jawbone has come out with their new UP3 activity tracker and it’s a great way to keep yourself motivated and track your progress. It does everything from tracking your activity to tracking your your true sleep stages—REM, Light, and Deep. The Smart Coach can even use that info to give you suggestions!
Reward y0urself. Sometimes we need a little outside motivation to get moving. Treating yourself with a little reward for fitting a workout in is a great way to get moving. Now, I’m not talking rewarding yourself with a bucket of ice-cream because that kind of defeats the purpose, but give yourself 30 minutes with a book or treat yourself to a girls night out after exercising for a week in a row.
Keep your perspective. Exercising for the sake of losing weight doesn’t always motivate me (although it is just what I need). Decide what your end game is. Do you want to get in shape to have more energy to play with your kids, fit into your old wardrobe, feel healthier, etc? Figure out what you want and keep that goal in mind when your willpower wavers.
Make it a habit. I find it’s much easier to do stuff everyday, even if it’s just for a short period of time, than it is to do stuff just every once in a while. Make a habit of exercising at a set time every day, even if it’s just 15 minutes in the beginning. As the habit becomes more engrained, exercising will become easier.
The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.
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