The Three T’s that help me stay motivated when it comes to exercise
I’ve written about motivation and my belief that it comes from within. A post I read recently over at the Fit Shack asks a similar question about what motivates people to exercise and so the topic finds it’s way to the front of my mind again. For the sake of this post, I stick to exercise. It’s May and the weather here in Boston is finally pleasant, the sun is shining, the days warm in the high 60s/70s depending on whether you are coastal or inland, and the mornings start cool, making it a perfect time for a jog. The weather alone motivates me simply to enjoy the great outdoors.
Workouts can get stale, life can get busy leaving you not much time to enjoy exercise as much as you might like, so enter motivation. As I enjoyed a jog the other day I thought about this and came up with my three T’s to increased motivation:
- ‘Tude
- Tunes
- Tweaks
‘Tude - that is attitude. Ok, I know it’s not really a T, but for the sake of this post, let me have it. This is the “comes from within” part. If I don’t have a positive attitude about my workouts they either won’t happen or they will feel long and miserable. And so I pump myself with some postivie thought, usually “consider this time for you.”
Tunes - I love to listen to music while I run. There is something about the warm sun, a jog in the park and the right music to make me feel like a rock star. Really. I just created a new playlist which I will post shortly. If you choose to take a look, you must agree to no name calling. I am of the 80s/90s music generation.
Tweaks - the same old, same old gets boring. I love to run. No doubt about it and I prefer a run in the park or the beach rather than the street. With the warm weather here, I’m back jogging at World’s End and took a page from my friend Leanna (who also walks at World’s End and has been doing her push ups on a bench!) by stopping halfway at a park bench and getting in some strength training - lunges, push ups, bench dips, squats and military push ups - before finishing the cardio portion. It added only 10 extra minutes onto the run and when I arrived home it felt great to be done! Next time I’ll bring my resistance bands (that weigh practically nothing) so I can get some bicep curls done.
The three T’s are my secret to workout motivation and in reality, all motivation. Change it up once in a while! We all have different motivations, which is why I believe it has to start from within rather than from other people. It’s true that some perform better in groups, but the motivation to find a group still starts with the individual.
What motivates you when you don’t feel like working out? What motivates you to reach any desired goals? We can only learn from one another, share your tips here!
I love the idea of bringing a resistance band! I am so doing that next time I go.
The tweaks have definitely been helping me keep going. I was getting bored of my walks, so I’ve been doing biking, aerobics, walking different places and it is really helping to keep me interested.
“J To The L-O, The Remixes” (jennifer lopez) is a great CD for working out, complete with a nice slow song at the end for cooling down.
The other “T” that motivates me is “trimming my waistline.” Seeing results in my measurements is really helping to keep me focused and positive.
I love J-Lo the Remixes! Yes, seeing results is definitely a great motivation! I remember that when I first started on my fitness/weight loss endeavors!