Deciding to start a fitness program is often the easiest part of starting to live a healthier life; the hardest part is sticking to it. Lack of weight loss motivation or workout inspiration and is the number one reason why people give up on their fitness and health goals.
While a big part of maintaining losing weight motivation regularly will require a shift in your mindset, there are many different things you can start taking advantage of today that can help you achieve that mindset and eventually your fitness goals.
Change Your Mind
As mentioned, a shift in your mindset is vital for staying motivated to live a healthier, fit life. This means you have to start seeing your fitness goals as challenges or tasks you have to complete but don’t really want to.
Fitness should not be seen as a chore but as a life enhancing activity that is part of overall healthy living. One thing you can do to help make fitness more enjoyable is find physical activities that you actually enjoy doing.
It is also a good idea to thrown in a few physical activities that help you burn off stress. While exercise naturally boosts your endorphins, the feel-good chemicals produced in the brain, regularly engaging in an activity that reduces your stress will make you more likely to engage in regular physical activity.
Change Gears
Similar to finding activities that you enjoy, it is also important to switch your activities up and change scenery. People who always do the exact same workout in the exact same place are much more likely to get bored and therefore lose their fitness motivation to continue the exercise.
Choose a few different activities that you enjoy and maybe even some you don’t, just to keep good variation. These days gyms are offering a really broad array of classes that you can take, including fun dance inspired cardio classes, suspension training, kick boxing, Pilates fusion and many others.
Keep On Track
One method for staying motivated that many fitness experts recommend is keeping track of your progress. When you keep a record of your fitness performance, such as number of reps, number of laps ran, length of time doing an exercise or frequencies of exercise sessions, you are able to actually see your improvement.
Many people have a mindset that tells them they need to actually see the benefits or value of doing something, and keeping a record will be able to show you just that. When you start to see even a little improvement in your records, you more than likely become more motivated to keep improving those numbers.
Get The Right Support
Another highly effective tool for staying motivated to stick with your fitness plan is support networks. Countless studies have proven that those who exercise with a partner are much more likely to meet and even exceed their fitness goals.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Researchers at Michigan State University’s Department of Kinesiology recently conducted a study in which they found participants that biked along side a partner biked twice as long as those who biked alone. Exercising with a partner doesn’t just improve your performance, but can help both you stick to your fitness program by keeping each other motivated and accountable.
Buddy Up
When choosing an exercise buddy it is important to choose someone who is close to the same level you are on physically. You don’t want someone who is going to slow you down or make you perform lower than you should be, at the same time you don’t want a partner who is too advanced for you, which could make you feel discouraged or overwhelmed.
It is also important to choose someone who is reliable and keeps you accountable, meaning you know they will always show up and always expect you to live up to your end of the bargain and want an explanation when you don’t perform according to your plan.
Online Support
Support doesn’t only have to come from a exercise partner, you can also get a great deal of support from support networks. While you might be able to find fitness support networks in your local area, the Internet is fast becoming one of the best places to find support networks.
The recent emergence of socializing on the Internet through various social media has made online support networks and forums a great tool for people who are beginning to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
These forums, like the ones available on LeapFitness, allow you to connect with many different people who are all at different stages of healthy living. You may be able to connect with someone who is just beginning and can relate to what you are going through.
At the same time you can learn from mistakes people who are farther along than you have made or see how sticking to a fitness program has helped them lose weight, be happier and live an overall healthier life.
Make A Difference
Interacting with other people who are interested in and committed to fitness can help boost your motivation as you become inspired by their stories and your own desire to make a difference in your own health and your life.
You’ll be able to learn different tactics or methods others have used to maintain weight loss motivation themselves or overcome a number of barriers that people often face when beginning and staying committed to a fitness program.