M2A! October Week2: Quick and Dirty Little Tips for Exercise Motivation
Image courtesy of clique-happy
For week2 of Motivate2ACTION! (Exercise) we have a special guest. He is currently training for a marathon so this subject is particularly fresh on his mind. So let me hand this over to him as he shares some of his own insight into the great challenges of exercise motivation.
This is a guest post from Leo Babauta of Zen Habits.
My life right now is focused on training for the Honolulu Marathon on Dec. 14, and while my training has been more intense than ever before, I am having a ton of fun.
Yesterday morning I woke up at 2 a.m. to start running at 3 a.m., so that I could complete a 20-mile long run before the brutal Guam sun got too high in the sky. That in itself was quite an accomplishment — and while I’ve come a long way as a runner and fitness enthusiast, it was just a few short years ago that I couldn’t run half a mile.
The Leo Babauta of three years ago would never have believed he could do a 20-mile training run, much less be training to complete his third marathon. Life was too busy, with two jobs and six kids, and such discipline seemed beyond me at the time.
But today, I exercise almost every day of the week (I force myself to rest once a week), and what’s more, I can’t imagine ever doing otherwise. I love it too much. I know that’s not the case with everyone, so I’d like to share some tips that have helped me to motivate myself to exercise:
1. Start small. As I said, I started by trying to run half a mile. That was hard enough for me. If you start out too ambitious (and believe me, I’ve tried it many times), you’ll likely fail. But if you start small and only increase gradually, you can do it. Baby steps. Start out REALLY easy.
2. Focus on one goal. If you are trying to quit smoking, eat healthy, start running, begin lifting weights, get organized, and so on, all at the same time, you will spread your energies out too much. Trust me –
I’ve done this over and over again. Instead, pick one goal, and focus on that for at least a month. If you want to start running, or walking, or whatever, do just that. The other stuff can come later. And if you do one goal at a time, you’ll be amazed at how many goals you can tackle this way. I tackled all of the goals listed above, and many more, in the last few years with this method.
3. Enjoy yourself. If exercise is a huge pain, you won’t be able to do it for very long. No matter how disciplined you try to be. Instead, have fun. Set little challenges for yourself. Listen to great music.
Have great conversation with a friend. Play games. Have competitions. Join a race. Exercise doesn’t have to be a chore — it can be a blast!
4. Get a partner. While it can be tough to have a partner for every workout, it can be a great motivator to have someone to talk to while you run or do some other workout. And on those days when you would
have skipped the workout by yourself, you’ll make sure to make an appointment if you have a partner to meet.
5. Just start. I like to tell myself that all I have to do is lace up my shoes and get out the door. That’s all. And that isn’t very hard. Once I’ve done that, the rest is easy. But if you let yourself get stalled before you get started, it seems too difficult. Just get out the door.
6. Celebrate your progress. If you keep a log, you can see your progress over time. You have to be patient, because progress doesn’t always come quickly, but if you look back over several weeks or
months, you can see how far you’ve come. And that can be an amazing feeling. Celebrate! Congratulate yourself. Appreciate how wonderful this is.
7. Mix it up. Don’t always do the same thing all the time. Try new workouts you find in magazines or blogs. Try a training plan with a variety of workouts. Set new challenges. Try a new route. Vary your
pace and distance. Do intervals. Do hills. Whatever it takes to shake things up and make things interesting. Boredom is the enemy of motivation.
Above all, have fun out there. A good workout can be a world of joy.
For more from Leo Babauta, check out his blog, Zen Habits
Sponsor Leo and support a great cause!
As you may already know, Leo is working with Train for Humanity to help in “Raising funds for orphans & refugees who have been affected by genocide and civil war.”
Right now he is training for the Honolulu Marathon for his ‘Train for Humanity’ event. You can support him and this great cause by going to his Sponsor Page and making a donation. You can also help out by spreading the word and encouraging others to do the same.
Now I want to encourage you to apply some of these great tips as you strive for better health by finding an exercise routine (or not so routine) that works for you. This week, test out some new ideas and be ready to share the results with us in ‘M2A! Week3′. I look forward to hearing all about it!
If you found this post to be helpful in your exercise pursuits and/or you think others may be able to benefit from Leo’s personal insight, please don’t hesitate to share it using your favorite social media.
Great seeing Leo here on Motivate Thyself!
I so need to get myself up and running again. The last time I went jogging was like nearly a week ago. Oops!
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I also find that ‘upping the ante’ on what I am training for helps. My first race was 5K, then I did 2 10Ks, but lost the motivation to run. My brother really encouraged me to train for a half-marathon, and that was enough to get me moving again.
2 a.m.????!!!! Are you insane?!!!! *chuckle*
Urban Panther´s last blog post..Finally, the Panther talks about manjigglies!
Wow, great job getting Leo to guest post! He has a knack for taking large overwhelming tasks and boiling them down to simple, actionable steps.
I find the biggest hurdle in starting a comprehensive excercise plan is just getting started. The beginning is the hardest part, you will be sore, in some cases you may even feel worse than you did before for a few days. But the main thing is to get into a routine of excercising, and it will assuredly get easier and more rewarding the more you do it.
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Take baby steps and if you can find a partner with similar mindset and goals, your well on your way. Definitely agree with those two points.
Oh, and respect to Leo for doing the challenge.
Leo – those are some great tips! I am actually going to bookmark this post and keep it handy for the rest of my triathlon training.
To Eric – thank you so much for your siderbar widget in support of Train for Humanity and Leo’s efforts!
mark_hayward´s last blog post..Train for Humanity Week Three Update
Great advice! My biggest problem is prying two kids off my ankles long enough to do some serious exercise.I’m seriously considering joining a gym just for the babysitting service, even though I have a room full of exercise equipment.
Jamie Simmerman´s last blog post..30 Days to Live: What are Your Regrets?
@Daniel: “I so need to get myself up and running again. The last time I went jogging was like nearly a week ago. ”
As many have mentioned, the ‘Just Do It’ attitude is a great model. If it’s been a while, just go out there and exercise. There’s no better time than the present.
@Urban Panther: “I also find that ‘upping the ante’ on what I am training for helps.”
It’s very easy to become complaisant with exercise. You’re right in pointing out the need to raise the bar as we progress.
@Matt: “But the main thing is to get into a routine of exercising, and it will assuredly get easier and more rewarding the more you do it.”
Great point and well said!
@Atiff: There’s no doubt that if we push too hard in the beginning we may burn out before we can really pick up any real momentum.
@mark_hayward: It was my pleasure. Leo’s been so giving of himself and his blog/site that I wanted to help out as well.
Thank you for giving him and others the opportunity to support such a great cause.
@Jamie: My wife and I are working on the kids thing. Right now we just have a pair of miniature dachshunds that create their own havoc. But I’m sure it’s nothing compared to children. Sounds like the gym thing might be the way to go. Let us know what you decide and how it works out.
Hi Eric and Leo – Great guest post. I especially agree on focusing on one goal at a time. Too often we get overly zealous, take on too much, and everything collapses. One thing at a time works much better. There’s a lot to be said for baby steps.
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Every successful athelete has used visualization as a tool to help them stay motivated. Just like you need physical preparation before doing something, you need to give importance to mental prep as well.
Here is a post from my blog in addition to what Leo has said:
http://burnfatnbuildmuscle.blogspot.com/2008/08/motivate-to-burn-fat-n-build-muscle.html
Usman´s last blog post..The top 5 fat burning exercises
Hie! I have been trying to go for running but in the end l would give up. I tried all tricks but they were all fruitless.
Well u have given me some light because you are a bit organised.
So from your tips, l am sure by the end of this month l will be someone different !
Thanx in advance!
Sharon
sharon´s last blog post..I Cried Today…
good tips for exercise motivation. I like to walk for my exercise program. my family laughs at me like that doesn’t count as exercise. I can walk circles around everyone of them. I always start out small – baby steps (No pun intended) then increase fairly quickly. It feels SO good!
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Thanks everyone, for the comments! I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
@Uban Panther: Yes, 2 a.m. is *very* insane! But it takes me an hour to wake up, have coffee, use the bathroom, and eat a little snack before I run … so I had to get up then, or my 3 hr 30 min run would have taken me into the hot Guam sun (it gets hot after 7 a.m. on Guam).
@Jamie: Yes, I’m part of a gym with a babysitting service and it works great. I also trade exercise time with my wife (one watches the kids while the other exercises) or sometimes we’ll get a babysitter. Waking up early also helps.
@Sharon: If you really want to start running, I suggest starting small and going slow. It can be really enjoyable if you stick with it for a few weeks, but it’s hard at first. But if running isn’t for you, try something else that’s more fun! Sports, hiking, rowing, swimming, strength training … anything to get yourself active!
Leo´s last blog post..The Only Two Secrets to Motivating Yourself You’ll Ever Need
Hi, these are excellent tips. You have to motivate yourself and just do it!
Exercising is good for you. It also helps to lose weight for the women.
I like your blog, keep it up.
Very nice information. Thanks for this.
Your zen habits site is awesome. Great tips. Just start… people should take this tip more, on all aspects of their life, not just working out.