How to motivate yourself to exercise permanently
How to motivate yourself to exercise permanently. It’s cold and wet outside, and you don’t have enough space at home to really get going with your exercise? As harsh as it sounds, it’s primarily your excuses and laziness that are standing in your way. Because where there’s a will, there’s a workout! The most important thing now is a good dose of motivation. We’ll show you how to reawaken your joy in exercise even under difficult conditions and how to keep going – despite every motivation killer.
10 tips to increase your motivation
We know the shortcut to iron discipline: With these 10 tips, you’re guaranteed to get new motivation for training – after a few weeks, the routine will take over automatically. Have fun sweating!
1. Music drives you to peak performance
“Creating Peak Performance using Music” is how author and sports scientist Costas Karageorghis, aka “The Music Doctor” and author of the book “Applying Music in Exercise and Sport”, describes this phenomenon in his study . With the right playlist, you can do one more repetition. Have you ever thought about why you tap your feet to music you like?
Because music stimulates the reward center in the brain. In addition to happiness hormones, the motivational hormone dopamine is released – this gives the movement center an impulse and stimulates your motor skills. The study also shows that you will not only perform better, but you will also experience exhaustion later. Karageorghis has found that music can increase performance by up to 15 percent .
Be sure to try different beats and tempos: For endurance sports, a steady 4/4 beat with 120 to 160 beats per minute is recommended. You can achieve the highest level of grip strength with fast and loud music. In concrete terms, this means: 126 BPM (beats per minute) at 80 dB(A) . If that’s still too slow for you, you can try ” Motorhead ” by Motörhead (203 BPM).
2. How to boost motivation with rewards
Just as music can give you a boost when you’re exercising, rewards help to keep you motivated to train. Vague rewards, such as better health or weight loss, only lead to lasting motivation in the toughest of people. Everyone else has to outsmart their inner demons: experts also speak of a so-called neurological “habit loop”.
A trigger , like your trainers in front of the TV couch, prompts you to be active, and the “hunger” for the reward afterwards makes you rush out the door and go for a run. After a few weeks, this process becomes a habit loop: trigger, reward, routine.
But : The reward has to be strong enough. That means: Your desire for it should continue even after the third workout. Why? Because the reward increases the chances that the training will become a routine, writes Charles Duhigg (“The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do”). The brain then associates sweat and running with the positive feeling of reward.
There are many ways to reward yourself: from new sports equipment to your dream vacation. But simple and inexpensive things are also conceivable: reward yourself with a hot bath, a sauna visit or your favorite series – which you will only watch after exercise in the future.
3. This is how hard you should train to stay motivated
Take things a little easier: This is a good way to bring the fun back into training. Excessive expectations and pressure, for example after a long break from sport, have a demotivating effect. Don’t compare yourself, neither with friends nor with fitness influencers. Instead, focus on having fun while training. So: slow down a bit, increase the intensity step by step and then your motivation will automatically increase with the mini-successes. Get this The 12 best trainer tips for fast muscle building
4. These goals encourage you to perform at your best
A challenge can give you a boost! Challenge yourself by setting yourself specific training goals. These can focus on specific muscle groups, such as: get a broad chest in 8 weeks . Holistic challenges also work, such as: reduce body fat by at least 3 percent. And: make your own progress clear with a training diary and photos every few weeks. Track your times, your workload and your weight – or the size of your biceps.
You’ve already done all that, but your training routine is still rusty? Then it’s time for the next level : get yourself an experienced coach . The effect: the creative ideas of an expert will help you achieve more variety and faster success. Reach your fitness goals faster – with your own individual coach and plan .
5. These people can encourage you
Try a simple mental trick to motivate yourself to train: Find a training partner. Convince a friend to go running or arrange to meet up for a workout. The effect: You check each other and increase the pressure to complete the training no matter what. Sweating together also brings you closer together.
“From the perspective of motivational psychology, the support of a close friend is more important than almost anything else. It is not without reason that they say that you are the sum of the five people closest to you,” explains psychologist and motivation expert Dr. Martin Krengel . Plus: If you lift weights together, you can pay attention to your training partner’s posture and execution.
Don’t have a colleague on hand? No problem! The right sports watch can motivate you just as much and remind you to train. The Polar Vantage V, with all kinds of coaching and analysis functions, is perfect for anyone who wants guidance and motivation for their everyday sporting activities. And the best thing: a sports watch doesn’t cancel 10 minutes before training!
6. The right training time gives you more power
You can even motivate yourself to do early morning exercise . But maybe you don’t have the energy for early morning exercise every time? That’s because you’re not listening to your natural biorhythm. Scientists distinguish between two (chrono) types of people – owls and larks: while some people only become active in the second half of the day, others are already active with the first rays of sunshine.
“For some people, the brain doesn’t wake up until 1 p.m., before which they can’t even open the curtains,” says the expert. Try exercising at a different time. For example, move your morning fitness routine to your lunch break or after work. At the weekend at the latest, you can experiment to see when exercise is easiest for you. That’s the best time for training .
7. Fresh air gives you energy
Venture out into the open air. Find a fitness trail (nature course) near you , go jogging in the forest and do a few pull-ups. It’s good for your respiratory system, boosts your immune system and makes you happier – yes, even in the cold season. “Doing sports outside is definitely recommended. However, there are some people who prefer to train indoors. Find out for yourself what you enjoy more,” advises psychologist and motivation expert Dr. Martin Krengel.
8. These routines help you persevere
Sometimes it’s sensible to follow your own internal clock. But: Sometimes it can also help to set routines. For example: If you organize your appointments, your calendar will make the decision for you whether to go to training or not. This means: You prepare for the subsequent exercise session before work. Pack or lay out your sports clothes, eat a pre-workout snack an hour or two beforehand and then don’t accept any more excuses! Make a point of exercising straight after work, without having to go to the couch.
9. Update your training regularly
If you no longer feel like training, just change it. What you need is a new impulse. Enjoy the freedom to try things out: whether you want to try a new training plan, an unknown running route or an innovative method is up to you. Make some adjustments yourself or with an experienced coach and give your training a new look.
Do you want to try your luck with a completely different sport? Then the expert recommends the following: “Choose a sport that suits you and work on your motivation. Otherwise, the fascination of something new can quickly fizzle out.” A long-time footballer who is looking for a new challenge can, for example, train at an athletics club. Skills that are important in dynamic ball sports are also needed for a sprint or when jumping into the sandpit.
Speaking of variety: Whether you decide to try something new or stay true to your old passion, learn as much as you can about your favorite sport. Browse through old issues of Men’s Health, watch YouTube clips, films and series on the topic. Additional knowledge about your favorite sport opens up new perspectives and helps you to get motivated.
10. Control your goals
Write down what ideas of success you have in mind. Athletes often fail because their ideas are too unrealistic. Those who pursue intermediate goals are more successful. Gymnastics, for example, is a technically highly demanding sport. It can take years or even decades to perfect a certain skill. Learning to do a backflip overnight is practically impossible. So don’t put yourself under pressure. Instead, outline realistic goal expectations. Then you’ll find it easier and happier to get up from the couch and start training with renewed motivation!
Conclusion: Find your personal motivation
Even a two-week break can lead to a setback in your fitness. However, one or two training sessions per week are enough to maintain your level. If this realization doesn’t motivate you enough to workout, choose your personal favorite from our 10 motivational tips for training, or better yet, try them all out. Have fun!