Nine ways to motivate yourself

Finding the motivation to exercise when you’re not in the mood is tough. Especially at this time of year when it’s cold outside. But, it’s the difference between being a couch potato and being in good shape.

The people who motivate themselves to get their workouts done, are the ones who get results.

However, getting off the couch when you’re feeling lethargic can be very hard, so here’s some techniques you can use to give yourself a friendly nudge, and get you off to the gym.

2 DISGUISE YOUR WORKOUT

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to motivate yourself you just can’t be bothered to workout.

On these occasions, find other ways to get active that don’t feel like a workout but still kind of are.

Walk home from work, go for a swim, clean the house – anything that increases your heart rate and gets you a bit sweaty is better than nothing. ing, it can wake you up, and make you feel ready to take on whatever comes your way.

Create a playlist of your favourite upbeat songs and play them next time you’re feeling lethargic. of getting active.

Whether you compete with other people or you compete against yourself, some healthy competition really helps to motivate.

I always compete with myself. If I ran 5km in under 25 minutes last week, I’m going to beat it this week.

If I lift 50kg today, I’m going to do 52kg next week.

Sometimes the best motivation to exercise is having something to train towards. Sign up for a fun run, a 10km run or a half marathon – something you reckon you can tackle.

That way your workout goal will be clear, and you can devise a way to work towards it while holding yourself more accountable.

I’ve signed up for a couple of running events this year, including the Sunderland 10K.

It has really motivated me to get out and do more exercise because I want to beat my last time!

Setting really ambitious goals may seem like they’ll be great motivation, but they can be really hard to stick to, and often have the opposite effect.

If you’ve never ran a mile in your life, don’t sign up for a marathon, aim for a 5K run first.

That’s not to say you will never be able to run a marathon, but you’re better off starting with smaller goal and then once you’ve accomplished that, set yourself a new target.

Finding the motivation to exercise can be tough, but ultimately totally worth it in the long run.