It’s not easy to motivate yourself to exercise. Life always seems to get in the way. You’re tired from work, spending time with the family, going out with friends... The list goes on and on!
But skipping out on morning pilates could take a serious toll on your health if you’re not careful. You’ll pay for your membership every month, go to a class every once in a while, and then forget about it altogether. We’ve all been there!
Building healthy habits is hard, and sometimes you need to think creatively to get into the right headspace to hit the gym consistently.
Luckily today, we’ve done all the thinking for you. So go ahead and grab your TOMO full of water, slip on your favorite pair of yoga pants and check out our 5 tips to motivate yourself to get fit!
Why is exercise so important?
Just the act of moving your body every day can help you stay toned and look your best, but did you know about the other benefits of maintaining a regular exercise routine?
Frequent workouts can help prevent health conditions like cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and type 2 diabetes. Regular exercise also lifts your mood, improves your sleep, and can even make bedroom antics more enjoyable by increasing serotonin and endorphins in your brain.
All of these benefits can improve your quality of life and make you feel glamorous every single day! It takes time to build a consistent workout schedule, but we promise it’s worth it. Once you’re going to the gym routinely and enjoying the time you set aside just for yourself, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to get started.
1. Make A Vision Board
The first step to make an actual change in your life and build a strong habit is to visualize. Simply materializing an image inside your mind’s eye is no simple task for anyone, so a vision board can help you fully realize your desired outcome.
Put together a collage of magazine clippings, Pinterest images, motivational quotes, and anything else that strikes your fancy. Make sure the images you choose promote healthy, realistic goals that inspire you to reach your fullest potential, and make you feel uplifted.
Once your collage is complete, keep it somewhere visible in your home. Whenever you need a little push, your board will be there as a reminder of the healthy habits you want to build.
2. Take Your Fitness Outdoors
Gyms are great places to build structured workouts and gain access to expensive equipment that helps you get your desired results, but admittedly they can feel a little cramped.
If this sounds like you, consider taking your workouts into the Great Outdoors. Instead of looking at boring grey weight machines and treadmills for an hour every other day, you could be experiencing the full beauty of luscious green foliage under bright blue skies.
As a plus, there are plenty of activities to do outside that could help you skip out on the gym fees. Hiking, running, and biking are all entirely free of monthly charges and are some of the best exercises for you. When you begin to exercise outdoors, we guarantee you’ll fall in love with your local area, spend more time outside and less time in your head.
3. Join an Exercise Challenge
Sometimes the only thing that keeps a person from working out is that they aren’t sure where to start. Fitness challenges give you a program to help you reach a specific workout goal, usually lasting 30 days. They motivate you either against others in the real world or by yourself to keep up your streak and power through each day to help you see quick results.
Hundreds of programs exist online for free with the list of workouts, like this one from Women’s Health. Each one already has a specific goal in mind, so they take minimal planning.
You can write down a bit about your workout each day and reflect on your progress little by little for the highest chance of success. You’ll be surprised how quickly a fitness challenge can help change your body for the better.
4. Make an Exhilarating Workout Playlist
There are few things in this world more powerful than music. If you are the kind of person who loves to listen through your AirPods all day, every day, then consider making a separate playlist just for your workouts.
Include upbeat, motivating, and inspiring songs to listen to while working out. These songs should have you feeling footloose and fancy-free from the very first note so that when you’re riding the elliptical, it’s like jumping on air.
Change up your playlist on occasion to be sure you’re always excited for the next time you get moving and enter into your own little world.
5. Work Out With Friends
The easiest way to keep a habit going is to do it with friends. The added accountability of a fun group of girlfriends who share similar goals can be the difference between a morning sleeping in or getting fit at the gym.
If you’re like many people, even with music, exercise can be tedious. With friends, it’s a party! You can all be there for moral support, motivation, and best of all, just have someone there to chat with.
If you need direction or motivation to exercise, friends are often the best place to turn to share expertise and lift each other up to reach your goals.
Remember to Rest and Hydrate
Remember to get your rest! You might fear losing momentum or simply enjoy exercising so much you don’t want to stop, but your body needs to rest for at least 1 day a week to recharge. If you burn out, you risk starting the process and building a habit all over again.
You must also remember to drink lots of water for your workout to be efficient. Your body needs water as much as rest to fully recover from a workout and gain the most benefit from your time exercising.
Bring your TOMO with you on your workout as a reminder- the crystals shine so brightly that you’ll never forget to drink water again. At the same time, the compliments collected while you work out will be endless. Who knows? Maybe the attention your TOMO brings to you will be enough to motivate you to get up and get moving so you can show it off at the gym.
