Fitness Motivation: Revitalize Your Drive
Has your fitness motivation left you, well, unmotivated? You’re not alone. The desire to get in shape but the failure to achieve it is near epidemic. Obesity runs rampant and is also near epidemic if not full-blown in the United States.
Many people also confuse being skinny with being healthy. Research has found that you can be thin on the outside, but actually have an unhealthy build up of fat around your organs.
Let’s face it, being fit is better. You feel better when you’re physically fit and you’re more equipped to handle life’s challenges. You have more endurance and don’t get tired so easily. Given the choice, most people would say that they want to lose weight and get in shape.
Poor fitness motivation is everywhere, and big business doesn’t help. The diet and fitness industry sells billions of dollars worth of products, memberships, gimmicks, and pills every year. That alone is proof enough that most people are searching for an answer.
The truth is that when it comes to fitness there is no magic pill or diet. Complete fitness requires proper nutrition, and effective and regular exercise. Surprise! Many of us suffer from poor fitness motivation because we can’t reach the unrealistic goals set by the fitness industry itself.
If you’ve tried to get in shape and lose weight but failed, you may have fallen prey to the following issues:
Not enough return for the effort. If you don’t see results fairly quickly, you won’t remain motivated. Makes sense, right?
There are tons of commercial messages attacking you every day. They tell you that you can lose weight effortlessly and often without dieting or exercise. This is a myth.
There are simply too many exercise programs and diet plans out there, all telling you that they’re the best. There’s Pilates, spinning, traditional cardio, and all kinds of celebrity backed fitness machines and diet companies.
Maybe you should just take a pill or eat some magic fruit and be done with it. That sounds better than sweating up a storm, don’t you think?
Difficulty staying on point is a big problem. Some of us go for years with no set plan or system to follow. We look back on the last five or ten years and wonder how we gained 30 or 40 pounds. It’s not that hard to figure out! Is it? Giving yourself excuses to skip your exercise plan or cheat on your diet can severely sabotage your efforts.
Below are ways to improve your fitness motivation:
One of the most important things you can do is shut out the noise. Stop watching infomercials, paying attention to celebrity endorsements, and listening to the myths.
You must find a plan that is right for you. Look for a method that includes boosting your metabolism, more efficient workouts, and proper nutrition. The old cardio workouts are out. Newer research from exercise physiologists and Dr. Al Sears, M.D. show better results from interval training.
You must commit. Once you find a plan that works, stick to it. Don’t hop from one program to another hoping to find that magic pill. Success takes consistent time and effort, even with the best plans.
Monitor the results you’re getting and if needed, make modifications to your plan. Eliminate what’s not working, and do more of what is producing the results you want.
Don’t change your lifestyle to fit your fitness plan. Instead slide your fitness plan into your lifestyle. Stop doing what isn’t working, shut out the noise and stop looking for quick fixes. Find a complete fitness plan, based on modern research that works, and commit, track, and tweak.