Whether you’re a student, parent or a busy professional – you can benefit from exercise. For those who have trouble getting motivated, you need to change the way that you think about the activity.
For some, exercising comes effortlessly. While most people realize that working out is healthy for your mind and body, for many, exercise is not a part of their daily life. For this class of fitness hopefuls, tricking the mind into new behavior may prove beneficial. By adjusting your attitude toward exercise you can overcome challenges and experience remarkable breakthroughs.
Intuitively, most people view exercising as a chore. This mindset makes it very easy to bypass a productive workout session. The trick, report researchers, is to make your mind think of exercise as a reward rather than a chore.
There are many benefits of exercise. A rigorous workout can help you manage your stress, feel healthier and improve your overall well-being. Many people try to talk themselves into working out by focusing on the long-term benefits of exercise. However, it’s more effective to focus on short-term rewards. By tricking your mind into thinking of exercise as a reward, you can develop a healthy addiction to the activity. The key to this strategy is coming up with a plan that caters to your interests and lifestyle.
For some, it helps to think of exercise as a way to free up thoughts and let creative juices flow. Working out can help you relax your mind and bring forth solutions for challenging personal or professional problems. Also, a major benefit of exercise comes in the form of a sound night’s sleep. A good workout can leave your energy reserves exhausted by the end of the day, helping you to consistently drift off into the land of Nod.
Getting Motivated
Getting motivated to work up a sweat can prove challenging. It helps to think about the kind of exercises that you like as well as the teachers and kinds of classes that bring you enjoyment. Group classes, for instance, have risen to prominence significantly over the last two decades. Classes such as spin cycling, aerobics, dance-based instruction and CrossFit has led to a tribal mentality.
Whether it’s a popular group activity, mountain biking or running in the park, there are many benefits to working out with others. Resultantly, group workouts are quickly becoming the exercise method of choice. This movement is having a significant and positive impact on the health of participants.
Researchers have found that healthy convictions are contagious, and studies show that 95-percent of those who workout with friends complete planned weight loss programs. The Journal of Social Sciences, for instance, recently featured a study that revealed that gym goers tend to mimic the exercise habits of those nearby. Another study published in the Obesity journal revealed that overweight individuals lose more weight when they surround themselves with fit peers. These studies highlight the fact that group exercise works and makes fitness more enjoyable.
Trick Your Mind Into Loving Exercise
For many, the hardest part about exercising is getting started. In the morning, you may find it difficult to get motivated to workout. When this happens, it’s important not to make excuses and to resist the urge to sleep just a little longer. You can do this by tricking your mind into looking forward to your coming workout routine. Psychology helps us understand how the mind work and human motivation. According to Abraham Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs,” humans are more motivated to do something if they believe it will fulfill them and make them happy. Thus, by tricking your mind, you must be willing to adopt a new mindset and form new beliefs about what you’re doing and why.
Psychology experts also promote the buddy system, and with good reason. Studies show that people are more motivated to exercise when a buddy encourages them. Exercise peers can be an individual or group that will help you find motivation. However, it’s important to realize that not all exercise partners are the same. It’s vital to choose exercise partners whose schedule, goals and temperament match your own. Furthermore, researchers find that networking online with fitness-minded individuals can help to improve your outlook about exercise.
Mentality Can Motivate Your Psyche
If you can learn to love exercise and focus on its benefits, you’ll reap great rewards. It helps to think positively about the activity. Thinking of exercises as a chore can have a negative effect. This kind of thinking requires an attitude adjustment.
Those who associate exercise with positive emotions are more likely to workout consistently. However, an attitude adjustment takes more than making a verbal statement declaring your love for the gym. Foremost, to make it easier to hit the gym, find physical activities that you enjoy to make your workout a fun and long-lasting experience.
In the end, you have to choose the exercise strategy that works best for you. By doing so, you’ll achieve exceptional results from your routine, including a healthier physical and emotional state. It’s up to you to follow through with positive changes that will improve your life now and in the future.
