10 Great Ways to Motivate Yourself to Exercise

Many people claim the hardest part about exercising is finding the motivation to actually just get up and do it! Unfortunately, health risks like obesity, diabetes or high blood pressure aren't enough to get people off of the couch and into the gym, and these are just a few of the health issues related to a lack of exercise. People might also experience major issues with their bones and flexibility if their bodies aren't getting enough physical activity. If you're one of the many people looking for motivational tools to exercise, then the following tips are meant for you:

1. Find People Who Want to Exercise

If you are spending time with people who have unhealthy habits, it's more than likely that you've developed those same bad habits as well. One way of motivating yourself to exercise is finding people to hang out with who enjoy exercising. Now, this doesn't mean you need to cut people out of your life who don't share your fitness goals. Just go through your list of friends and family, and think about the people you know who are in shape. Get in contact with these people and find out if they're willing to exercise with you.

2. Get a Gym Buddy

Now that you've gotten in touch with people who enjoy exercising, it's time to get yourself a gym buddy. With someone to accompany you to the gym, you'll be more motivated to exercise. Plus, you wouldn't want to cancel on someone after setting an appointment with them to exercise out of shear laziness, would you? You can even get a gym buddy who is also trying to get back into shape, and you could motivate each other to reach your fitness goals.

3. Keep a Fitness Diary or Journal

Once you've made the decision to get more exercise, start writing about it in a fitness diary or journal. You can even start a personal blog about your fitness journey, which will allow others to leave comments of encouragement and even fitness tips.

4. Start a Fitness Log

How does a fitness log differ from a fitness diary or journal? In a fitness log, you're not writing about your experience; instead, you're keeping track of your progress and fitness goals. Use a fitness log to keep track of things like:

• Distances you've ran, biked, swam, etc.
• Duration of time spent on an exercise machine.
• Maximum amount of weight you've lifted with a particular piece of gym equipment.
• How many repetitions you've completed for a certain exercise.
• Calories you've burned in a single day.

5. Set Obtainable Goals

Everyone wishes they could lose 30 pounds in less than a week. Unfortunately, that's not possible, even with all the crash diets out on the internet. If you're trying to slim down for a wedding or some type of reunion, give yourself enough time to get in shape and set an obtainable fitness goal. Exercising for rapid loss will only leave you feeling discouraged when you feel you aren't achieving your goals. Motivate yourself to exercise by setting easier goals in the beginning. Once you've achieved a fitness goal, push yourself harder by increasing the difficulty of your next fitness goal.

6. Motivate Yourself with Your Old Self

Think of a time in your life when you were in better shape. Maybe it was during your senior year of high school when you ran varsity track, or maybe it was before your wedding when you were on a strict diet of apples, carrots and tofu. Find old photographs from these times when you looked your best and put them everywhere:

• Tape them to your bathroom mirror to motivate yourself when you get up in the morning.
• Hang them all of over your fridge to stop yourself from snacking.
• Leave one in your gym bag as a constant reminder every time you exercise.

7. Use Your Favorite Celebrity

Why not use a photo of your favorite, fit celebrity as a motivational tool? While most celebrities have personal trainers and weight loss secrets to keep themselves in shape, all you need is a good photo to help motivate yourself to exercise to achieve a slim body of your own.

8. Trying Exercising without the Gym

Don't let driving to the gym be an excuse for not exercising. Motivate yourself to get in shape by doing workouts without the gym. There are numerous fitness videos and equipment that can be used to exercise at home. Exercises like push-ups, squats and sit-ups don't require any equipment at all, and can even be done at the office.

9. Reward Yourself

Sometimes, all the motivation you need is a little reward at the end of a hard workout. Even if you're on a strict diet, reward yourself with some frozen yogurt or a piece of chocolate if you feel you've earned it.

10. Get Motivated by Your Own Personal Progress

The best motivational tool is seeing the fruits of your labor. However, don't let that reading on the weighing scale be a deterrent to your exercise regimen. Many times, the weighing scale isn't telling the complete story. It might take a little time to get the weight loss results you've always desired, but you can measure your own personal progress just by how your body starts to feel. If you are truly pushing yourself and exercising regularly, you will start to feel it when you wake up in the morning, when you go to work and definitely when you go to the gym. Don't be surprised when the ten minutes on the treadmill that you found difficult to complete becomes a breeze after several weeks of working out regularly.