A healthy lifestyle is literally gaining more and more adherents every day. However, despite this, simply making the decision to go in for sports (go to training, regularly go jogging, exercise at home, etc.) is not always enough. Probably everyone is familiar with the situation when you tell yourself that on Monday or the beginning of a new month you will start doing exercises, quit smoking, give up sweets, etc. But then Monday or the first day comes, and the word given to oneself quickly spreads to another week ahead, if, of course, there are any memories of it at all. What is the reason?
The answer is quite simple and banal: in most cases, the reason we put off sports (and many other things) until later is the lack or lack of motivation. We have already briefly touched on this issue in one of the lessons of our healthy lifestyle training (you can read it here). But for a number of reasons, we decided to devote a separate material to motivation for sports (it can also be used as an addition to the main training), so that everyone who wants to get in shape or improve their health has an effective way to motivate themselves and finally start playing sports. despite any tricks and excuses of laziness. So, what do you need for this?
Factors for motivation for sports
There are important, but quite simple points that allow you to find the strength and will to ensure that you do not lose interest or desire to play sports.
Success brings pleasure, self-satisfaction, recognition for repeated efforts spent on exhausting training. The more difficult the path to success, the higher the feeling of satisfaction experienced.
Recognition - when the noticeable and significant results of intensive training are recognized by people around you, self-respect and confidence appear, all this causes a sense of self-worth.
Self-development and growth - set goals and prospects give confidence both in the present and in the future.
High-quality training - in order to avoid a feeling of boredom and reluctance to do another workout, you need to carefully select exercises. Interesting and varied exercises have a positive effect on achievements in sports.
Discipline and work on oneself are two basic rules for self-realization in sports, independent of the global nature of the tasks set for oneself. These are quite difficult and difficult moments, because you have to make many sacrifices - giving up walks, parties, hobbies. It is quite difficult to give up many things, but it is precisely these difficulties that give you an iron will, without which it is simply impossible to achieve worthwhile results in life.
Conscious movement
Listen to your body and trust its feedback: stop if you are tired, and extend the session if your body “asks” - even if you planned to finish the workout earlier.
Immerse yourself in every movement, feel how a wave of pleasure spreads through your muscles after a little effort. Don’t think, don’t analyze - the body itself will “remember” these sensations and next time you won’t notice how your legs themselves will carry you to training.
In addition, by sensitively monitoring body signals, you can avoid overtraining, which is often the cause of breakdown and the phrase “sports are not my thing.”
Symptoms of breakdown and decline
Sometimes athletes face a moment when motivation weakens and declines. This happens not only during the active period of achieving the goal, but also after receiving the long-awaited result - triumph.
At this stage, symptoms of decline and breakdown in motivation are expressed:
- Self-pity - when a feeling of self-pity arises, the athlete does not give all his best in training.
- Lack of pleasure from training - training ceases to be a tool for self-development and becomes a routine.
- The duration of classes is reduced - the allotted time is gradually reduced and classes last much less.
It is quite difficult to overcome the current recession. The main thing during this period is not to give up and gather strength. But not everyone succeeds, because many people start playing sports, but only a few achieve real success. Only eight percent achieve their goals.
If an athlete has real motivation, he will not be stopped by a period of decline or failure. He will move on and work on his mistakes. This is where willpower lies, when obstacles and difficulties do not break, but, on the contrary, strengthen.
The art of small steps
Many of us like to set Napoleonic plans from the very beginning: 5 workouts a week, only hour-long runs - and it’s better to immediately prepare for a marathon. The result is disappointment, sadness and a new breakdown. Remember the main antidote: eat the elephant in parts!
Break the new habit into as small steps as possible: first - 30 minutes of walking a day, from next week - an hour, after - 15 minutes of easy jogging... Start with what causes the least resistance and gradually increase the pace.
How to maintain motivation for sports
A sporty lifestyle is not just about playing sports. You need to properly formulate a daily routine, introduce healthy foods rich in vitamins into your diet, eradicate bad habits and sleep at least seven to eight hours a day.
Music during training helps the body release adrenaline into the blood and is a powerful weapon in the hands of motivation. Listening to your favorite music combinations helps you get in the mood for sports.
Motivation is the result of a lot of work on yourself; in order not to fade away quickly, you need to motivate yourself regularly. To do this, athletes use a variety of methods: the desire to be first, fighting with an opponent, competition with someone.
Motivation is changing - if previously there was a desire to have a beautiful body in order to please someone, now the training is intended for its own realization.
Jogging early in the morning strengthens and builds character, and greatly influences your lifestyle.
Even the most successful athletes need systematic motivation for sports. It is impossible to remain constantly at altitude only through applied force.
Tell everyone
While you’re writing New Year’s resolutions, the idea of running a summer marathon seems tempting, but in January it will start again: it’s cold, there’s no time, then I’ll start, but who needs that anyway. To prevent this from happening, deceive the psyche by putting pressure on it from the social side: tell friends, relatives and colleagues about your goal . Let them know what Napoleonic plans you have, and periodically ask how things are going. In such a situation, it will be awkward to quit.
Another option is to argue with someone, to “commit.” The fashionable word “commitment” means that you undertake to achieve a certain goal within a clear period of time, and for failure you pay a fine (monetary or any other - as agreed). For achieving the goal, motivating bonuses are possible.
A special case of a commitment is when you pay money to a sports club so that they prepare you for the start: after all, if you fail, it means that you simply wasted the money. This is the case when a toad doesn’t just suffocate, but motivates you to train.
Tips for motivation
Motivation is an important matter, because achieving the desired result without it is quite difficult. Sports activities are always necessary, but we start them only when we need to change something: get rid of excess weight or increase endurance. And starting to correct all this, you have to face difficulties, since it is not at all easy to force yourself to work on something that you have not done before.
The main thing is to clearly understand that nothing can be achieved just like that. To get the first result, you need to sweat for at least a month, or even several. But this is only the initial stage. A noticeable result comes only after six months of daily, hard work. But having worked fruitfully, you can see your various capabilities, improve your health, look at the successes achieved and happily show them to others.
You can never say that I will start on Monday or another day, you need to start now. To achieve more, you need to overcome more obstacles that arise. In sports, you have to work hard and hard to achieve records and victories.
Create an information vacuum
At home, you will always be distracted by something: a phone call, or a cat who wanted affection at the most inopportune moment, or members of the household. To concentrate on training, create an information vacuum. Lock the door to the room, turn off the sound of the phone, warn your family so as not to distract you. Otherwise, it’s easy to break down right in the middle of the session: the child comes into the room to ask something or the phone rings. You will lose your rhythm and will never return to class.
Fitness for parents. How to train at home with your child
Significant ways to motivate yourself to exercise
Reward – the best reward after grueling, long hours of training is rest.
A public statement about your intended goals - if you promise yourself something mentally, you can always refuse the promise at any time. If you declare something publicly, then taking back your promise is much more difficult. I absolutely don’t want to be a person who throws words to the wind.
Positive thoughts - the first workouts do not bring satisfaction, since the body has a hard time coping with the load and the immediate result is not impressive. Therefore, you need to think about what changes will happen in the future thanks to classes and regular exercises.
Reward for training – today there are various Internet resources where you can receive a monetary reward for good training results. The resource does not pay out of your own pocket; the money in your personal account comes from the accounts of the user who does not show character and misses classes. If you miss class tomorrow, you also lose money.
Sports equipment – when you get home, it is advisable to immediately change into sports clothes, as it will motivate you to do some useful physical exercises.
Daily training diary - by keeping a diary, you can daily observe the work done, see the dynamics of your development and realize that all your efforts were not in vain. At first it will seem that there is no approach to success. But as you flip through your diary, you realize that, although slowly, you are still surely moving towards achieving your goal. And this understanding gives strength to further struggle.
Reminder - you should regularly remind yourself of the reasons that prompted you to start playing sports, for example: a protruding big belly, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing after a three-minute workout, and so on.
The “by contradiction” method - for this you need to imagine what you can become in a few years if you quit playing sports.
Gym membership – Having paid hard-to-get money for a membership, it will be quite difficult to refuse to go to the gym.
Group to a trainer – classes in groups are the most productive. When you are alone with a personal trainer, you can relax and not concentrate on achieving your goal. As part of a group, having people around you motivates you to repeat actions faster and more clearly, and you become more focused.
Specific Goals – Set a goal, develop a plan, and move towards your goal. Seeing the results achieved makes it easier to motivate yourself.
Competitive spirit – it’s good to involve your friends and acquaintances in your activities.
Don’t stop there – you need to increase the load and not stop at intermediate success, otherwise you may never achieve the main goal.
Fitness gadget – fitness bracelets help you find additional motivation.
Healthy food - avoiding flour products and sweets, fried, spicy and fatty foods.
Unfulfilled promises
How often do we promise ourselves to exercise regularly, only to give up after a week?
This doesn't happen because we are bad or lazy. This is just how our brain works: even if we know that sports are important, after a while motivation still decreases. And we give up training. But motivation can be hacked: create conditions for yourself in which the habit of playing sports will develop by itself. I tested this from my own experience: six months ago I couldn’t bring myself to go for a run once again, but today sport is a part of my life, and I’m preparing to run a marathon.
In this article I will talk mainly about running, but the same principles can be transferred to other sports. It doesn’t matter where to start: our first task is to understand our own motivation, tweak it a little and develop the habit of playing sports regularly.
So, let's figure out how to motivate yourself to exercise.
What is sport for?
The initial step of motivation is a specific answer to the question posed - what are sports activities for and what do they ultimately give. There can be many and completely different reasons:
- Confidence – sport is closely associated with certain things, such as overcoming one’s fears and weaknesses, the ability to do something more, the ability to train willpower, strengthen one’s character, and so on. Sports activities not only train the physical body, but also help in working on an internal level. A person who regularly exercises feels confident and has a strong character.
- Health status – sport has a beneficial effect on health: it increases endurance, resistance to stressful situations, physical strength, improves the body’s immunity and its resistance to numerous diseases. The digestive system and cardiovascular activity improves.
- Sexuality – playing sports contributes to the formation of one’s own body. They allow you to lose or gain weight at your discretion, build muscle mass, and create a beautiful body. A sexy body not only attracts admiration from others, but also provides many different benefits.
- Recognition – people who play sports command respect and are popular among others.
- Discipline - sport requires regular performance of specific actions: going to training in cold and bad weather, getting up early and doing morning exercises and jogging, following a diet, and even if you don’t have the strength, doing a variety of exercises. These actions instill discipline, strengthen character, and certain results depend on them.
- Well-being and mood – during training, the body releases hormones of joy. Thanks to them, after classes you feel pleasantly tired, well-being and have a positive outlook on life. And a person who looks at life positively fills his world with only joyful and happy events.
Everyone has ups and downs and it is impossible to maintain high motivation all the time. However, there are many methods that encourage motivation. Each person is the master of his own life and it depends only on him whether there is motivation or not. And you should always remember that you are capable of much greater achievements than you think. What is being done today will definitely allow tomorrow to be proud of your successes and be in the forefront.
Train regularly
It’s trite but true: you need to exercise regularly. This is a self-sustaining mechanism: the more often you train, the easier it is to go to each next training session . But if you miss more than three days in a row, you lose both motivation and progress.
A training plan will especially help here: when there is a clear understanding of what needs to be done, and the training is balanced in direction, it is easier to maintain regularity. A training plan is a collection of mini-goals for weeks: without a plan, you simply “go out for a run” (a non-specific task that is easy to give up), and with a plan, you run “cross-country for 90 minutes with a heart rate of 145 to develop endurance” (a specific task , clear goal, clear deadlines). More specifics in the plan means more understanding of what each missed workout costs you. And there is less desire to miss it.
One of the busiest weeks of preparation for a half marathon. The training is daily and functionally balanced. If you skip a workout, you sacrifice further progress.
You will get rid of stress.
Many people have experienced the negative effects of stress.
It makes a person nervous, irritable, because of it we spoil relationships with others, lose our tempers, do stupid things and find ourselves in unpleasant situations.
Moreover, stress is the cause of many diseases, ranging from nervous disorders to obesity and heart problems.
By starting to go to the gym, you will get rid of stress!
This is an ideal place to throw out accumulated negativity, to relax your soul and be alone with yourself.
People engaged in stressful work really lack this.
No choice
Ask your friend to carry all the delicious food to his home, and also take part of your salary and give it out only after your next run or workout. If the training does not take place, the friend takes part of the funds for himself.
Let's say you gave 75% of your salary to a friend. Here, like it or not, you have to train, otherwise you’ll have to starve and walk around in cast-offs. Biological instincts turn on, which completely turn off laziness.
Thus, by creating situations where you have no choice, you gain real motivation for sports.
