Don't want to exercise? Try one of these

According to my half marathon training schedule I needed to run 8 miles on Sunday.  I didn’t want to do this, not one bit after the long hike the day before.  I woke up so sore, stiff and tight.

BUT, I had made plans to run it with my mom (she is also running the half marathon with me in July).  Secretly I hoped she would call and cancel so that I wouldn’t feel like I skipped out on it.  She didn’t so I went over to her house at 7:30am and we headed out on our bright and cool morning run.

I felt extremely tight during the first 6-7 miles.  It took that long for my hamstrings and glutes to ease up a bit.  We were even able to sprint to ‘the finish’ at the end to it was a good run.

I know that if I hadn’t planned my run with her Sunday morning I would have skipped it completely.

About 90% of the time I can motivate myself to exercise.  I love how it makes me feel so usually it’s not that difficult.  There ARE times when it’s the last thing I want to do.  Here are some tricks I use to motivate myself to get out there and complete my workout.

1.  Have a workout buddy
Making a plan and being held accountable is a great way to stick with your workout.  If you have a date with your friend at the gym or track, or even go to a morning bootcamp each day there are people who will be there looking to see that you made it there too. 

2.  Think about how great you felt
Picture how you felt after you last finished a hard workout.  Pretty proud of yourself right?  I know I feel energized and ready to take on the day after I workout which is usually a driving factor that gets me moving the next day again.

3.  Make a goal
Pick a goal.  What do you want to be able to accomplish through your fitness?  Conquering a longer run, ride or swim?  More strength?  Weight loss or gain?  Most of the time we all have something in the back (or front) of our mind that we look to achieve.  Write this down.  Make a plan of it.  If I hadn’t signed up for a half marathon in July I know I wouldn’t be running as much as I do.  Even if I just planned to run it, but hadn’t paid for my entry I doubt that would be enough motivation to get me out on the road as much.

4.  Buy a new outfit
You buy clothes for work, for home, why not for exercise?  I love having new clothes but most of the time they are for work or home.  It’s not so often that I pick up cute running or exercise clothes.  Buy something new.  It doesn’t have to be expensive, just a fun change.  Maybe it’s a cute tank top for yoga or comfy new socks.  New exercise clothes can help you get out there moving because once you buy them you’ll want to wear it.

5.  Multi-task
When all else fails kill two birds with one stone.  If you really just want to sit on the couch and watch TV you can still exercise.  Pick 10 different exercises you want to do (push ups, crunches, jumping jacks, plank, etc.).  During 10 commerical breaks do as many of your chosen exercise as possible.  Once the show is back on it’s break time.  You probably won’t feel like you’re exercising much because there are long breaks but it can turn into 30-45 minutes of actual exercise depending on how long the commercial breaks are.

How do you stay motivated to exercise?  What other tricks do you use to motivate yourself?