Secrets to staying a motivated exerciser

Do your workouts feel like a chore? Do you keep joining fitness programmes only to find yourself quitting soon after?

Do not beat yourself up as you are not alone. Instead, understand the effective methods of highly motivated fitness enthusiasts and start thinking like them.

Set goals

The key is to start simple, then modify your objectives – but always stay realistic.

According to fitness enthusiast Marie Choo, it is important to make small achievable goals to set yourself up for success.

For example, if you are new to running and hope to run a 5km race in three to four months, start with a run-walk strategy to either cover distance or get up to speed with timing.

Aim to increase this slowly, but progressively, until you reach your goal of 5km within a decent time frame.

Choo started her journey to physical fitness two years ago when she reached a crossroads in her career.

Her first race was the 15km Mizuno Wave Run in August 2014.

Last year, she ran the Tokyo marathon and has two marathons planned this year: in Australia’s Gold Coast and New York, United States.

She suggests would-be runners sign up for a race so that they have a target to aim for. As each race is completed, there will then be the desire to keep pushing and challenging your body further.

Another long-term goal might be to incorporate strength-training exercises for all major muscle groups into your routine at least twice a week.

Make fitness a lifestyle

Avoid making excuses by scheduling workouts like any other important activity.

Also try incorporating some physical activity throughout your day to get your body used to moving around more. For example, whenever there is the opportunity, take the stairs instead of the lift.

Some people find it useful to exercise at the same time every day, say first thing in the morning. This way, you adapt your lifestyle around meeting your exercise goals.

Choo shares that when exercise becomes a lifestyle, it becomes a habit.

To achieve this, she advises making exercise accessible. No gym membership? Why not just run or walk outdoors? Try getting some simple gym equipment for home use such as a jump rope, dumb bells and stability ball, so that if the weather is bad, you don’t use it as an excuse to give up.

Announce your fitness plans on social media

The above works by instilling a sense of accountability.

In addition, very often, friends on Facebook offer a lot of encouragement, experiences and tips, spurring motivation.

Buy new active wear

While this might sound shallow, it really is not – when you look good, you feel good.

Choo shares that once exercise became a lifestyle of hers, not only did she start looking more athletic, but her skin glowed too. Having a fit and healthy body is now her outfit of the day!

Surround yourself with fit friends

Having workout buddies will help ensure exercising is fun, minimising the risk of skipping classes.

Exercise for a good cause

Choo attaches a charitable cause to her fitness journey. Her personal initiative ‘I Run For Rescue Dogs’ helps raise funds and awareness for rescued dogs.

Choo notes that when you run for a cause, rather than for your own ego, there tends to be more determination to complete both the training and the race.

So, are there any other secrets?

Choo shares that she actually loves eating and her daily fitness regime allows her to indulge in this – in moderation of course.

She adds, “When we exercise, the body creates endorphins, and I like the happy feeling after each fitness activity, be it running, swimming, doing yoga or working out in the gym.”

It really does not take much to motivate yourself to exercise.

As Choo states, “Don’t wait until it is too late. It took a health scare and a bid to avoid falling into depression to get me started on my fitness journey.

“Remember, you only have one body, and the sooner you start looking after it, the sooner you can reap the many health benefits.”

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For more information about staying fit and the Live Great Programme, please log on to http://ift.tt/2bswiCs.

You can also visit the FitForLife Penang 2016 fair next month for some healthy living tips.

This year’s theme “Get Fit. Live Great!” aims to inspire Malaysians to lead a healthy lifestyle and adopt a holistic approach to health that includes physical and mental fitness, financial health and general well-being.

The event will feature a diverse range of health and lifestyle products and services under one roof, catering to people of all ages.

Visitors can expect an array of products suitable for various health needs, such as supplements, diet and nutrition aids, health checks, alternative remedies and many others.

FitForLife Penang 2016 is organised by The Star with Great Eastern Life as the event partner, Nestle Omega Plus as Official Wellness Sponsor and Guardian as Health-care Provider. It will be held in the SPICE Arena (PISA), Penang, from Oct 14 to 16. It is open from 10am to 7pm and admission is free. For enquiries, call 03-7967 1388 (ext 1243/1432/1529) or visit http://ift.tt/1SQJj6o.

Source : Star2.com