Fitness Motivation: 10 Ways To Get Motivated

Struggling to find your fitness motivation? Getting motivated to work out regularly requires using your mind to stay focused — and as a busy woman, that's not always easy!

But to reap the numerous health and wellness benefits exercise offers, maintaining long-term fitness motivation is a must.

By staying motivated for workouts, you may even grow to love exercise and look forward to each and every sweat session.

Plus, when you get into the groove of exercising regularly, you'll also:

• Maximize your health and wellness
• Reduce chronic disease risks
• Look and feel your best
• Stay happy
• Show off a healthy weight and body you’re proud of

Remember, if you’re feeling tired, it’s OK to take a day off to rest or do a lighter workout.

Don’t be afraid to reach out for help when you simply can’t get or stay motivated on your own.

Use the tips and tricks below to help find your fitness motivation and change your mindset and your life!

It can be difficult to find the commitment and motivation to work out. We’ll teach you how to find your why-power!

 

10 Ways To Find Your Fitness Motivation

1. Stay Fit for Your Family

You might not be surprised to hear that overweight parents are more likely to have overweight children, say researchers who conducted a study in the Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology.

Unfortunately, 1 in 3 kids in the U.S. is classified as overweight or obese.

In comparison, fit parents are more likely than overweight parents to have fit kids.
Why is this the case?

The study published in the Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology says one reason is because of a shared family environment.

For example, keeping and preparing unhealthy foods in the house makes it harder for children to obtain the nutritious foods needed to maintain healthy weights and lower chronic disease risks.

Fit parents who live active lifestyles often provide opportunities for their kids to become or stay active.

Kids like to tag along with parents who:

• Go on walks or bike rides
• Run in races
• Go hiking
• Do yard work
• Play sports

Parents who prioritize health and fitness are more likely to encourage kids to play sports, and practice sports fundamentals (shoot hoops or practice softball or baseball, for example) with their kids.

So when you’re not feeling motivated to work out or stay active, think about all of the ways your kids benefit from being in an active family.

2. Exercise for Self Confidence

Staying active makes it easier to maintain healthy body weight, which can do wonders for your self-confidence.

The next time you’re thinking about skipping workouts, picture yourself with the fit and trim body you deserve.

Having the body you’ve always wanted might be more important to you than relaxing, watching television, or eating junk food.

Confidence can help improve your marriage and other relationships, increase success at work, and boost happiness.

Being confident sets one of the best examples for your children, increasing the likelihood that they too will have high self-esteem now and in the future.

To reap the health and wellness benefits of exercise, aim to get at least 30 minutes of physical activity in daily.

To maximize health benefits even more and enhance weight loss if you’re overweight, Mayo Clinic suggests completing at least 300 minutes of exercise each week.

3. Learn About The Benefits Of Exercise

Learning about the numerous health and wellness benefits regular exercise offers is excellent fitness motivation for women of all ages.

Below are a few of the ways regular exercise improves the quality of your life!

Better Sleep Quality

Regular exercise helps you get a better night’s sleep, which improves the overall quality of life in all areas.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests women get about 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night to maximize health, reduce disease risks, and maintain healthy body weight.

One study published in Advances in Preventive Medicine found that regular exercise is associated with better quality of sleep and longer sleep duration, regardless of the type and intensity of exercise.

Getting too little sleep is associated with an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and even depression, says the CDC.

Better sleep, reduced disease risks, and improved energy are reasons you might think twice about skipping your next workout.

Improved Concentration and Memory

If you’re having difficulty concentrating at work or school, or simply have trouble remembering important day-to-day tasks, regular exercise is a way to boost brain health.

Harvard Health Publishing says research shows that regular aerobic exercise (such as walking, jogging, biking, swimming, etc.) seems to increase the size of parts of your brain responsible for learning and memory.

Researchers found that exercise stimulates chemicals in the brain that improve the survival of brain cells, and also promotes new blood vessel growth within the brain.

Regular exercise appears to help protect against developing Alzheimer’s disease, say researchers who conducted a study published in BioMed Research International.

This news comes at a promising time, as Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death in U.S. adults, says the CDC.

Reduced Depression and Anxiety

Getting out of bed in the morning can be daunting if you're regularly feeling down in the dumps.

While depression makes your motivation to exercise diminish, skipping workouts increases your risk of becoming depressed.

Exercise is linked to fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety and helps prevent unpleasant mental health conditions from returning.

Mayo Clinic and Stanford University say getting just 30 minutes of exercise in three to five days weekly helps improve your mood by:

• Releasing feel-good endorphins that enhance a sense of well-being
• Taking your mind off of worrisome thoughts and behaviors
• Allowing you to spend more time outdoors

So the next time you’re feeling blue, exercise might be the motivation you need to feel better without the need for medication or seeing a therapist.

Make sure you find exercises you enjoy. If regular workouts don’t ease sadness for you, check in with a doctor to get the help you need.

A Longer Life Expectancy

Because exercise reduces your risk for certain chronic diseases (heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and Alzheimer’s disease, for example), your life expectancy goes up when you make regular exercise part of your day.

One study published in the Journal of Aging Research found that regular exercise may boost life expectancy by up to 7 years.

So the next time you’re having trouble staying motivated to exercise, think about living a longer, higher quality of life for yourself and your loved ones.

4. Make Exercise a Fun Social Experience

Working out gives many women extra opportunities to socialize with friends, family, acquaintances, or new people they’d like to know better.

For stay-at-home moms, adult interaction helps maximize psychological health and well-being.

Whether you work out with friends, at a gym or Pilates studio, or attend group fitness classes, socializing is one of the keys to long-term happiness.

Working out with friends or a larger group means other people can keep you accountable for sticking with regular exercise long term.

If you don’t have a social support network you can count on for dependability, consider hiring a health coach, a trainer, or signing up for an organized healthy weight management program.

These can provide the accountability support you need to stay on track with a regular fitness routine long term.

5. Use Gamification Apps

Using gamification apps is another excellent way to get and stay motivated for regular workouts.

These apps make working out part of a fun game or competition, taking the monotony out of otherwise boring exercises.

Some of these fitness gamification apps allow you to earn gift cards to some of your favorite stores or restaurants, or even earn cash for meeting workout goals!

That’s motivation in itself.

6. Find Workouts You Enjoy

Choosing workouts you enjoy makes regular exercise more bearable — or even something you look forward to!

You don’t have to torture yourself by doing high-intensity training if that’s not your cup of tea.

Low- to moderate-intensity workouts provide extensive health and wellness benefits nonetheless.

If you enjoy being outside, consider hiking, jogging, biking, or swimming outdoors. Even doing yard work counts as physical activity when you’re constantly moving.

Try a group fitness class if you enjoy training with other people, or watch a good movie during indoor treadmill, elliptical, or cycling workouts when you prefer working out by yourself or at home.

7. Reward Yourself

Set fitness goals and rewards for yourself to stay motivated.

Choose goals that challenge you, but are still attainable.

Record fitness goals each week, and reward yourself for meeting them.

Sample exercise goals for women might include:

• Get at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise at least five days a week
• Resistance train at least three days weekly
• Complete flexibility training (yoga or Pilates) at least two days per week

When you meet weekly fitness goals, choose a non-food reward — such as a massage, a pedicure or manicure, a new outfit or shopping trip, or a day out with friends or family.

8. Find an Organized Fitness Program

Sometimes simply having other people keep you accountable is all it takes to stay motivated for regular workouts.

A health coach, trainer, friend, or family member might keep you on track with fitness or healthy eating program.

An organized weight loss plan, such as Fit Mother 30X (FM30X), is a program specifically designed for busy moms.

It provides you with the tools needed to get motivated for healthy eating, exercise, or weight loss — and gives you the accountability support necessary to stay motivated long term.

9. Build Exercise Into Daily Routines

It’s sometimes easier to complete workouts when you work fitness into your day-to-day routine.

For example, if you work at an office, stop by the gym on your way home from work (or in the morning on your way to work) to boost the odds you’ll go regularly.

Work out at the same time each day.

You might sneak in a quick workout before your kids wake up in the morning, during your lunch break, or as soon as you drop the kids off at school.

While your schedule may change from day to day, make sure your workout routine remains stable.

10. Find Happiness

If you’re feeling down in the dumps, you might not feel like doing much of anything.

In fact, exercise may even top the list of things you dread.

Happy people are more likely to have motivation for normal day-to-day tasks, including regular workouts.

Exercise helps ease symptoms of depression, but seek treatment from a professional if you experience ongoing sadness you can’t shake on your own.

Sometimes simply talking with a therapist, friend, family member, or support group can help.

Your doctor may recommend taking certain medications if natural depression remedies fail, as keeping your mind healthy is just as important as having a strong, fit body.

*Please know that weight loss results & health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice – simply very well-researched info on fitness motivation.