European Union Forums

[Bea17]

I like to run to relieve stress sometimes, but running gets old. My longest exercise "streak" lasted for a week. How do I get the motivation to stay in a routine, a new fit and active lifestyle, as opposed to a three-day streak?

[Coco06]

no i am not implying that blacks are abnormal.

you get motivation from punishing yourself. you tell yourself that you are fat and lazy and you need to push through the pain and rigor of exercising. exercising is a physical stress on your body, and the chemicals released afterward, endorphins, serve as natural painkillers to ease the stress. this natural high is another motivational factor.

[FrankieBig]

You pretty much answered your question right there. You said that "running gets old."

One of the tricks to staying with an exercise routine is to add some variety. Don't do the same thing every day. Go running on one day, go on the Wii Fit on another day, dance, skip, walk, bike, swim, or get an exercise DVD. Maybe you can even get a friend to join you on a walk or something to add some more interest. If you start to get into exercise DVDs you can even trade with friends.

By adding variety you will keep from getting bored and you will be able to work out different muscles in different ways. This will help keep you motivated to keep going.

[Drea98]

There are many stress relief practices you can do that only take a short amount of time. Take deep, cathartic breaths while not think at all of your wedding. Maybe, a nice peice of chocolate, for instance. Hire a wedding planner that can do most of everything and that will put you at ease. Ask your to-be-husband for help, also. And congrats!

[Daisy5]

I hear you! It can be very hard to stay motivated when making more healthy lifestyle changes. I've been there myself.

We can talk to ourselves like a drill Sargent, have a roomful of all kinds of different, cool equipment, and have ten friends beating down our door to go workout with them, and still not move off the sofa. It all boils down to what our "why" is for making these changes.

Once our "why" is clear enough, and strong enough, we will do anything.

Write down all the reasons you have for making this commitment to an exercise routine. Focus on these. Put them up where you look at them often.

Set a time that you are most likely to get moving.

For example, I force myself to go straight upstairs as soon as I walk in the door from work. I change into my sweats, and strap on my running shoes. THEN I come downstairs, and make supper for the family. While they are eating, I go workout. As soon as I get home, I eat supper. Part of my reward is getting to eat dinner.

The routine becomes forcing myself to change into my workout gear upon entering the house. By doing this, I make it harder for myself to blow off the workout. After all, I'm already all dressed for it. See what I mean?

Find something that would naturally lead you into working out, and let that become the routine.

Variety does help, and so does a friend with the same goal, but when push comes to shove, you ultimately have to shove yourself into action.

Big enough reasons, and laser focus on the benefits you will reap, are what helps the most.

Hope this helped you.