“Joined a gym but soon gave up.”
“The initial enthusiasm to exercise remains just that, “initial”. It lasts just a week or two.”
“The mention of the word exercise makes me feel lethargic!”
Does this sound like you? If yes, then perhaps these tips will keep you motivated enough to keep to your exercise routine.
How to stick to an exercise regimen
Reverse Psychology
All of us are aware of the benefits of exercising, yet they don’t seem to motivate us enough to stick to our chosen exercise regimen. You can use some reverse psychology on yourself to help achieve this. Remind yourself regularly of the harmful effects of an inactive lifestyle. Stick a poster stating points like-increased risk of heart attack, obesity, high cholesterol, weaker bones in old age, lower immunity etc in your bathroom where you are most likely to spend a decent amount of time alone. Knowing that going without exercise will damage your health and your body will help you to stay highly motivated.
Choose the right physical activity
Choosing the right physical activity is also extremely important. We always start with great and positive intentions but after a while something happens, perhaps to break our habit just once, then exercise loses its shine. Therefore it’s important to choose a form of exercise which you find interesting. Running, kickboxing, spinning, dancing, aerobics,swimming or any outdoor sports, pick whatever you like.
Work with your subconscious
Finally, more than anything else it is your own will power which can help you stay motivated to stick to an exercise program. Making a conscious effort will obviously produce results, but you will get even better results if you can align your subconscious mind with your desires too. One way to do this is to use a powerful technique from hypnosis called “embracing a positive body image.” You could do this with help of a trained hypnotherapist or follow the steps listed below:
Close your eyes and sit in a comfortable position
Take a deep breath in and exhale
Imagine that with every out breath you are exhaling all your insecurities, fears and anxieties
Repeat this process for a few minutes
Now imagine yourself the way you want to look, fit and healthy
Embrace this image of yourself
Relax
Take a few deep breaths in and open your eyes.
This technique can be very powerful, but to be able to do it yourself you’ll need some practice. Another interesting do-it-yourself technique is listening to an audio CD containing subliminal messages. These Cds contain messages which have been moved to a sound frequency beyond the limit of human hearing (i.e. the name subliminal). Subliminal messages are considered to be powerful enough to influence your subconscious and reprogram it in such a way that it becomes easier for you to stay focused on your goals.
However, subliminal messages for exercise motivation, hypnosis or any other technique will be beneficial only if you are consciously willing to work towards your goal.