Top 10 motivational tips for fitness

Top ways to keep your body exercising healthily

It can be a really fine line that divides motivational success or failure when it comes to exercise. Having the initial desire to get into shape is one thing, but keeping it going can be quite another. So, we thought it might help to offer some top tips to keep you motivated when those negative thoughts start to creep in.

 

Set goals for your fitness training and be specific

The more specific you are in terms of your goals, the easier it will be to fulfil them. For instance, aim to complete a running or swimming event or to lose two inches from your waist rather than just generally aiming to get fit. Make sure you are completely realistic with your goals but at the same time make them hard enough to be a good challenge. Remember an unrealistic goal will kill motivation but conversely a goal that is too easily achieved can also lead to boredom.

Get an exercise training plan

Depending on your goal there are hundreds of ways you can approach your challenge. Whether that is with a bespoke training programme at the gym or a training plan for triathlon, whatever you want to achieve you can find a training path to get there. This will give you a daily goal, even if that is sometimes just telling you to rest. A structured plan will always increase your motivation and your chances of success.

A huge de-motivator is overtraining

It’s an easy trap to fall into but please don’t increase the duration or intensity of your training too quickly. It’s tempting to really launch yourself at your new favourite hobby, but if you do, there’s a real risk you will quickly become disinterested or injure yourself. With a structured training plan, you won’t fall into this trap.

Adopt exercise role models

Identify the things that really motivate and inspire you and then have constant reminders of why you are doing this. You might be running a marathon for a charity or a cause close to your heart. If so, carry pictures of the person or people who inspired you to raise money for them. Alternatively if you are trying to tone your abs for a beach holiday or for your forthcoming wedding, surround yourself with reminders or prompts. If you remind yourself of why you are doing this regularly, the chances are you will keep doing it.

Record your training progress

Keeping a training schedule, log book or diary/blog of your gym visits, running times, swimming pool visits etc, will keep you focused on the task in hand and allow you to accurately monitor your progress. It’s a great way or reminding yourself how far you’ve come when times get tough, or inspiring yourself to go even further.

Cross-train

Keeping things fresh and varied is a great way of maintaining a focus and interest. If you mix up your training with some cross-training it will avoid boredom and de-motivation. For instance if you’re a runner then hit the rowing machine, bike, elliptical trainer or swimming pool once a week. It will give your knees and ankles a break as well as improving flexibility, strength and general fitness.

Go shopping for the right exercise gear

There’s nothing like the sensation of feeling like you look fantastic in your training gear to maintain motivation and performance. So treat yourself to some top quality training kit. You won’t regret it.

Have a treat

It’s so important to enjoy your continuing success so make sure you have a regular treat. Now that doesn’t mean eating a bar of chocolate after every workout (sadly), as refuelling on empty calories just won’t help you achieve your fitness goal. However having a particular food or drink treat once a week is a great idea.

Get a pedometer to monitor your daytime exercise

The current health recommendation is that 10,000 steps per day are for good health. It’s great for the heart, your stamina and your aerobic fitness. So try walking whenever you can and enjoy seeing how far you’ve walked every day.

Visualise your training success

If you can picture yourself achieving your goal and what it will feel like, those images and feelings will help to keep motivating you to achieve it. For example picture yourself crossing the finish line of a marathon looking fresh and full of running with your friends and family proudly looking on.
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Lesser-known parts of a healthy lifestyle

There are several health and fitness facts that you may not know and that you may want to consider adding to your list of dos and don'ts.

Unless you live under a rock, you’re probably pretty familiar with some of best ways to live a healthy life (even if you don’t do them regularly).

We all know about the importance of exercise to improve strength and prevent injuries and illnesses. We all know that healthy eating based on fruits, vegetables and lean protein is far more effective for weight control than fad diets.

But there are several other lesser-known health and fitness facts that you may not know and that you may want to consider adding to your list of dos and don’ts. Here are a few:

1. Green tea

We all know that we should consume water regularly while cutting back on sodas, alcoholic drinks and other beverages containing lots of sugar. But did you also know you should consider making green tea a part of your daily liquid consumption?

Green tea contains antioxidants that protect your body’s cells from damage. This is why many believe green tea plays a role in reducing cancer and preventing many other diseases.

Green tea also may protect brain function, help burn fat and improve dental health, according to some studies.          

2. Train in three planes

We all know that strength training is important to keep our muscles, bones and joints functioning properly. But did you also know that strength training can be divided into exercises contained in three separate planes of training, and that we should be training in all three?

Exercises fall into either the saggital plane (movements that take the body in up-and-down or in-and-out motions like curls, presses and squats), the frontal plan (movements that take the body in side-to-side motions like side lunges and side raises) or the transverse plane (movements that twist the body like side twists and trunk rotations).

Most people train primarily in the saggital plane. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always occur in the saggital plane. If you don’t include the other planes of training, you won’t be as strong or as balanced.

3. Getting warmed up

We all know that stretching is important (after you do your workout). But did you also know that warming up is even more important and more helpful when it comes to preventing injuries?

When you warm up your muscles, you get them ready for the hard work they are about to do. The best warm-ups usually involve mimicking the motion you are about to do, but with much less intensity.

For example, walk to warm up before you jog. Or jog to warm up before you run. For strength training do a couple high reps sets with very light weight before you do heavy squats, presses or rows.

4. Healthy fats

We all know that we should consume protein to strengthen and repair our muscles and high-fiber carbohydrates to give us energy. But did you also know that it’s important to consume generous portions of fat as well?

Many nutritionists recommend getting at least 20 percent of your calories from healthy fats. The benefits of fat include: increased energy, better absorption of vitamins, creation of stronger cell membranes and healthier skin and hair.

5. Routine check-ups

We all know that we should get injured body parts checked out right away. But did you also know that one of the best times to see a doctor is when you’re feeling fine?

Routine visits to your primary care physician that include blood tests and other screenings can alert you to problems before you actually feel them. We are much better able to battle high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, cancer and almost every other illness if we start treating them early on.

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