Every year millions of dollars in gym memberships go to waste. Why is it that a lot of people have such good intentions to become fit, but are not capable of maintaining a healthy exercise schedule. A lack of motivation is usually the culprit. In this article we will explain the concept of motivation and we will also give you some tips that can help you to stay motivated: This way your gym membership will not go to waste!
Motivation & Sports
Motivation is that which drives an individual to a particular form of behavior and is often divided into two categories. First, there is extrinsic motivation. This form of motivation comes from the outside. They mostly consist of punishment avoidance and rewards. For instance, what motivates people to go to the gym? A lot of people would say that they go to the gym to lose weight and look better, trying to win the approval of others (Reward). This is a form of reward that comes from an external source because you do this, hoping that you will win the approval of other people. This creates a certain amount of pressure. This pressure causes your motivation to fade away after a while because you do not like what you are doing and you are not doing for yourself.
The other form of motivation is called: intrinsic motivation. This form of motivation comes from within. For instance, lets say you play soccer. Most people who play soccer do it because they love to do it. This comes from within. The health benefits that accompany it are an extrinsic bonus. So what you need to do is try to raise your intrinsic motivation, because this form of motivations lasts longer. How can you do that? Take a look at the tricks and tips below.
#1 Choose the exercise/sport you like: You can force yourself to go to the gym, but this will not work in the long run if you do not really love to fitness. Intrinsic motivation is important in the long run, so do not try to force something that you are never going to like. However, quitting is easy and sports/exercising does not always go well at first. Try to give it a fair shot. If it is not for you, that is fine because now you know.
#2 Baby steps and Goals: Do not rush into the sport or exercises with a super intensive program. Your body will let you know that it has a hard time coping with this program through painful muscles and fatigue. Both are motivation killers. Try to steadily build up a routine through small goals. For example, start with a 10-minute run once or twice a week. After a few weeks you will notice that you can run faster and you are not as tired at the end as when you started. Now you can increase your routine to a 20-minute run once or twice a week and so on. Before you know it you are able to run a 10k. Because you achieve your goals, you feel a sense of achievement. This raises intrinsic motivation.
#3 The buddy system: Sometimes you are just a bit too tired or stressed to follow your routine. A buddy can help you push through this and motivates you to go on. Try to meet up with a friend to help each other achieve the goals you set. Another suggestions is joining a team sport. Teamsports have social obligations which will make it harder to ‘’let one slide’’.
Just do it! It is a quote from a Youtube video depicting famous actor Shia Lebeouf shouting: “JUST DO IT!”. I always like to remind myself that I exercise for me and for no one else. When I am feeling tired or lazy and I am considering to skip the gym, I do the same as Shia. Somehow this activates me enough to get up from the couch.
