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Gym Motivation
Keeping Yourself Motivated to go to The Gym
Making the decision to commit to the gym, working out, and bettering yourself is huge. Being motivated is a key aspect of this process, and keeping that motivation is half the battle. When starting out, that initial fire and drive are enough to keep you going for the first few weeks. So here we're going to try and keep that passion alive and that drive going.
First of all, it's important to acknowledge that this is a transformative process. Your body (and your health) is going to be changing, for the better, as a result of this. So an effective technique for maintaining your motivation is to set yourself fitness goals and track the progress you make. Since it provides an objective record of how you have improved and what you have achieved. Set short and long-term goals, making sure they are realistic. Upon hitting these targets set new ones to keep both your motivation and progression going. Most people do this by regularly weighing themselves, however, this is not always an ideal means of tracking your progression. For example, when your workouts involve strength training, your weight might not drop very quickly, or at all. Even though your percentage of body fat drops.
A superior method for tracking your body's transformation is to keep a record of the changes to body fat percentage; as well as changes to measurements of different areas of your body, such as the waist, arms, hips, and chest. Not only does this show fat loss, but also allows you to observe your muscle mass development. A simple and productive manner of illustrating these changes, and their impact, is by routinely taking pictures of yourself and your body. The effectiveness of comparison between the past and more recent pictures cannot be overstated; it helps to provide tangible evidence of how far you have progressed, and how different you look. You see yourself every day, so it can be a struggle to pick up on the subtle changes that occur from day-to-day.
The easiest way to do this is by taking pictures using a mirror and the camera on your phone, make sure to get both front-on and side-on viewpoints. Initially, you may not want to like doing it or looking at these pictures, that is perfectly understandable. As you take more pictures and put together a timeline of sorts, the pride you feel in your achievements will more than outweigh these feelings. However, if you have, for instance, two months of week-to-week photos to look back on, you will be able to tell how your body is changing, and just how drastically it has done so.
Another good way of keeping yourself motivated to go to the gym is to go with a friend or colleague. Failing that, you could make a friend at the gym and organize your workouts for the same time. By partnering up with someone else on your fitness journey you are less likely to skip workouts, as will not be just yourself that you are letting down. Making the gym a social commitment, as well as a workout, is a great way of keeping yourself motivated to go (particularly when you really don't want to go).
There are also a few things you can do around having a partner at the gym; like if you are aware that you are someone of a competitive nature. This trait can be harnessed to help keep you driven, by making your progress - or the rate at which you progress - a competition between the two of you. Working out and getting fit leaves you feeling good about yourself, adding the satisfaction of winning on top of it is unmatched. Another method you can integrate is to schedule other things, such as eating together or having a drink, around your gym sessions. Not only does this further the social commitment aspect of staying motivated, but it can also provide a basis of support for your efforts.
Switching up your workouts is widely recommended as a strategy to help prevent your progress in the gym from stalling. However, it is less commonly advised as a method for keeping yourself motivated. By changing different aspects of your routine, it helps to keep workouts fresh and interesting. You can do this by changing basic things like the order of your training routine, or what exercises you use when training. Adopting more drastic alterations such as signing up for classes, or taking up a sport also provide a great basis for motivation (especially if you do so with a partner).
Finally, as we are sure everyone is aware, you can help motivate yourself whilst you are at the gym by listening to music. Make a playlist of your favorite songs, songs that pump you up and get your blood rushing. Music can be a great source of inspiration, let it inspire you to greater levels of performance in the gym. This, in itself, is motivation to keep going to the gym, to feel those highs again.
Hopefully, this article helps you to keep on working hard at the gym. These are just a few of the strategies you can make use of to motivate yourself. Try mixing it up and seeing what works for you, the end results will definitely be worth it.
Thank you to Sam Socorro who wrote this article. Sam is a guest author from Steam Shower Store and is a respected and expert voice in a plethora of health related subjects with over 10 years of writing under her belt.
Health | Weight Loss | Exercise
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