Work it! Tips for a better motivation for sports

There it is again: That sudden urge to want to change everything. Excercise more, change your diet – get fitter and healthier. However, it is often difficult to find and maintain motivation.

Man is not a machine, we are influenced by our moods, tiredness, stress and many other factors. It is something every athlete and even professionals experience from time to time. We have put together a few tips to help you achieve your fitness goals.

Tip 1:
It starts with the right sport. If you absolutely don’t like jogging and have to force yourself every time, you are very unlikely to to find motivation in the future and achieve your goal. Finding a sport that you like is as simple as it is essential. So: try it out, don’t think about it too much, and just get started. There are so many different means of exercise out there – the more you try, the better chances of finding a sport that you really enjoy.

Tip 2:
Define your personal “plan”, preferably as precisely as possible. Simply saying “I want to do more exercise” is too imprecise and leaves too much room for backing out. To achieve your goal, it’s better to say “I will exercise three times a week at 6 p.m.” or “I’ll start every day with a few exercises”.

Tip 3:
Pave the way. Think about what could prevent you from completing your sports programme and make the first step as easy as possible. For example, pack your sports bag in the evening and take it with you to the office the next morning. This saves you a lot of time and and leaves less room for second thoughts after work. If you would go home after work to fetch you gear, the comfortable sofa is probably more tempting than the spinning course.

Tip 4:
Treat yourself to new sports equipment. This might be trendy new sportswear or a new fitness app or Smart Watch. Smart Watches and Fitness Trackers can motivate you, for example, by reminding you to reach your step goals and then thinking about getting off at a bus station on your way home or taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

Tip 5:
“Only for a very short time”!
It doesn’t always have to be an hour of training. Why don’t you plan on only a few minutes? Once you get started the motivation usually comes by itself and if necessary a short training is still better than none at all.

Tip 6:
Pay tribute to small successes. But please do this appropriately, because the reward should not contradict your personal goal. If you want to lose weight, a piece of cake as a reward after a training session would be counterproductive. But don’t be too strict either. The quantity is decisive. At best, you will find another way to reward yourself.

Tip 7:
Invest in a personal trainer. He or she can’t relieve you of the training, but can ensure that it becomes more effective and thus provide extra motivation. This is especially useful for beginners or returnees, so that the exercises are carried out correctly. Many good resolutions often fail because you expect too much of yourself at the beginning, simply train incorrecly and don’t know which exercises are the right ones for you. In addition, an advanced trainer can show new ways of training and thus ensure variety during the workout.

Tip 8:
Music. Listening to your favourite music is motivating. Researchers at Brunel University in London have discovered that music boosts performance in sport. So quickly put together your personal playlist and off you go.

Tip 9:
Treat your workouts like appointments at work or at the doctors and at best always train at fixed, repetitive times. Because the human being is a creature of habit and exercise units can quickly become routine once they are integrated into the weekly schedule.

Tip 10:
Find your “Fitspiration”: This can be someone from your family, friends or acquaintances who is very active in sports. But in times of social media, this can also be an influencer who posts videos or pictures from training on a daily basis.

Last but not least, it helps to think positively. Remember the feeling after a workout in the gym or after a 60 minute run without a break. Not to mention the positive effects of sport on physical health. Taking the first steps can sometimes be difficult. This also applies to exercise. The most important thing is: Keep your goal in mind and regularly try to put yourself in the position of your future self. This mindset lets you stay at it almost automatically. And if the couch is more inviting than the gym, it‘s no big deal either. Don’t be too hard on yourself, because recovery and regeneration are an important part of getitng physically fit.

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