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Dissatisfaction with the body encourages us to go to the gym. But how long can we stay there? Psychologists have found out what helps to motivate yourself, and what only hinders.
1. Tune in to good memories
If a new acquaintance evokes pleasant emotions, you are likely to be glad to see him again. The same rule is true for sports. Those who recalled successful past workouts before training visited the gym more often and with pleasure.
If a happy picture doesn’t pop into your head, try creating one yourself. Headphones with your favorite music in your ears, sneakers on your feet – and go ahead, create a memory!
2. Don’t try to “exercise”. Looking for fun!
We often look at sports as a way to get in shape. And it is right. But it can also be a source of joy. Those who speak of sport as a game often use the words “pleasure”, “challenge”, “excitement”. Those for whom sport is primarily exercise focus on appearance, weight and stress management. Research shows that intrinsic motivation works best when we need to learn and reinforce a new habit.
Find an inner drive that will fill you with energy. Love to fight one on one? Sign up for the fight. Prefer noisy companies? Play frisbee with your friends more often. Or just set yourself up for the fact that from next Sunday you are preparing for cyclocross.
3. Don’t train next to the fittest person in the gym.
Fitness club ads lure us in with pictures of models and athletes with perfect muscles. But meeting such a person in the hall will not add motivation. On the contrary, you are more likely to do less and go home with an unpleasant feeling.
A few years ago, psychologists conducted a study on how the appearance of the desired body affects our motivation. The first participant worked out on a treadmill next to an athlete who wore a tight top and short shorts. The second was engaged in the company of the same woman, but in a shapeless tracksuit. In the first case, the participant spent less time in the gym, and her self-esteem worsened. The second, on the contrary, trained longer and in the end did not feel dissatisfied with herself.
4. Do not think about the shortcomings of your body
The frequency of exercise is related to three things:
- satisfaction with your body
- attention to his needs,
- the joy of knowing what it is capable of.
But none of these points will have the desired effect if you think of the body with dislike. Do not imagine yourself as a sculptor carving a masterpiece out of shapeless stone. Rather think of a gardener tending his garden. The trees in it are good on their own, but a couple of sweeps of scissors will only add to their charm.
5. Customize your workout routine
You found a program on the Web that promises a dream body in X months. But the first half hour of exercise squeezed you out like a lemon. The thought of repeating this nightmare terrifies you. “Maybe this is not for me,” you decide. And you are wrong.
Those who stick to a rigid program without taking into account their condition achieve less effect than those who select exercises based on their capabilities. Do not be slaves to the program and do not set records. Listen to your body and from time to time review the order and intensity of exercises, the number of sets and other parameters.
6. Stop Focusing on Your Laziness
Our psyche strives to ensure that reality matches our self-image. If we build an internal image of ourselves out of negative traits – “I’m a lazy lazy person, I have absolutely no willpower” – our brain will interpret what is happening in such a way as to confirm this image. Did you oversleep your workout? Well, of course, what else can you expect from such a bumpkin? Instead, try to think of yourself as a healthy person.
Did you oversleep? This is not so bad – sleep is also necessary. You are a busy person, you need to recuperate. An important point: this does not mean that you need to justify your weaknesses. Just don’t let them define who you are. If we stumble, that’s no reason not to move forward at all, right?