Hiking a mountain for an epic, jaw-dropping view. Climbing over obstacles in your first Mud Run. Racing your bro across the lake in a bragging-rights-for-life swim. What do they have in common? The people doing these activities define them as fun, not workouts! Exercisers who are psyched (rather than reluctant) about a new routine spend 63 percent more time moving, research from Brown University shows. Makes sense, right? If you like an activity, you’ll make time to do it again and again.
Make it personal
Register for a marathon just to one-up your uberathletic sister and you may never cross the finish line. Try to lose weight to please your guy and the scale could tip the wrong way. Homing in solely on better-body goals, like slimming your thighs, is a nonstarter. Gymgoers who fixate on the physical payoff may lose their motivation, he explains, because it can take awhile to see the results they want. If you focus on why exercise is a positive aspect of your life, you’ll be less stressed and more energized—and those sources of immediate, constant and meaningful inspiration will keep you hooked on breaking a sweat.
Plan to succeed
Without a strategy, goals are just good intentions. Thinking about when and how long you’ll sweat makes you move more. People who asked themselves each week, “How much will I work out?” increased their activity by 138 percent. Wow! How can posing a question have that big a reward? It yanks you off autopilot (when you constantly and unconsciously choose the couch over the elliptical) and encourages you to actually make your fitness plans happen.
Buddy up
Surrounding yourself with a team of strong and fast friends will help you eke out more minutes and reps. When people worked out with a virtual video-game partner who was always programmed to be fitter, they stuck it out 24 percent longer than if they were alone. Don’t have a pal available to egg you on? You might find a similar boost in a group class. No one wants to be seen as the weak one, so people will try to match the intensity of the strongest member of the class. Game on!
Use your head
Sure, the way you move your body is key, but you can also use mind tricks to perform your best. Repeat a pump-up phrase like “Let’s go!” Confidence-building cues like this help people improve their performance during workouts. What doesn’t work? Negative phrases such as “Too slow,” which may make you doubt your abilities. Instead, use positive pep talks to focus on what you want to do. To get through another rep, tell yourself, “I’m strong!” Need to sprint a few more seconds? Say, “Fast, fast, fast!” Also, picture your biggest fans: your friends and family. Envisioning yourself through the eyes of others makes you try harder. Why? Having an audience, even an imaginary one, watch you makes succeeding count for more—especially if your spectators are people whose opinions you care about. That could be Mom cheering you on at the 5K finish line or your guy giving you a high five after one last push-up.
(Article courtesy of Yahoo Health)
