For those days when you just don't feel like exercising, you may need some unique ways to motivate yourself to workout. All of us have heard the obvious motivation tips like "remember how good it feels afterwards" or "remind yourself of how good you'll look," but often those aren't enough to get us going. I find that I am the most successful when staying on track to exercise by using these unique ways to motivate yourself to workout! Most likely because they deal more with clever rewards and incentives which I enjoy!
This first tip for unique ways to motivate yourself to workout is especially helpful if you have a Netflix or Hulu subscription that allows you access to full seasons of TV shows. Promise yourself that you will only watch new episodes of a specific TV show you've been watching (or wanting to watch) if you workout. You can even promise yourself to only watch new episodes of your favorite TV show while you're at the gym in order to motivate yourself to workout even longer then normal.
Create a workout jar that you can use to deposit money into every time you workout. If you have something in mind you've been wanting to save money for, put a picture of it on the jar to remind yourself what you're working towards. Then, depending on your funds, vow to throw in a couple of bucks every time you exercise. Set a goal that you will either wait until you reach a certain amount, or to check the jar after 3 months to see how much you've collected and put it towards something you've been wanting!
Either the night before, or the morning of, tweet or post to Facebook your workout routine you plan to do. You can tweet something like "Early morning workout tomorrow to get ready for beach season! #motivated" or post on Facebook that you're taking a Zumba class in the evening if anyone wants to join. For some reason, it always feels harder to bail if you've already publicly committed to it!
Zombies, Run! itunes.apple.com
Map My Run itunes.apple.com
There are tons of fun smartphone apps that help motivate you to workout. "Zombies, Run!" for example is an app available for both the iPhone and Android that turns your daily jog into a story about survival from zombies! Then there are apps like "Map My Run" that outline your run and can motivate you to be creative and make a running path that will look like a heart, star, etc. Plus you can try to beat your own time every time you workout.
Creating a game out of everyday tasks is a great way to motivate yourself to do it. You can try games like, how fast can you burn 300 calories? Then each time, try to beat that time. Or set up a point system where you earn points every time you do a specific workout. At the end of the week, see how many points you've earned and set up rewards for each amount you can cash in.
Trying out a new way to exercise can be a great incentive to workout. For example, instead of going to the gym, look up where you're local hiking trail is and do that instead! Or maybe get some friends together and start a tennis or basketball game. The trick is to find workouts that you perceive as fun rather then an obligation.
A great motivation for working out is to sign up for a class! Then, once you get there, make sure you go to the front of the class. If you feel like there are more eyes on you, then you will try your hardest not to stop! I know when I'm at the gym and someone is next to me running faster then me, it pushes me to do it too because I don't want them thinking I'm not as strong. It's silly, but it works!
Start collecting photos of women who have bodies that you hope to achieve someday. I actually used to have my iPhone's lock screen wallpaper set to a photo of a Victoria's Secret model that would deter me from eating bad food or not working out whenever I would check my phone throughout the day. Now I keep a Pinterest board of bodies that motivate me to workout so whenever I don't feel like working out, I pull up the board and it gets me to the gym!
Hopefully, these unique ways to motivate yourself to workout will get you up off the couch and on the right track to looking and feeling great! It's all about getting into a routine because once you do, you will find it much harder to not go to the gym. How do you motivate yourself to workout?