How to motivate youself to start working out and is it better to workout at home

1. 61

   gesowesoposted 14 years ago

   How to motivate youself to start working out and is it better to workout at home or the gym?
   
   I had started to work out at home in late 2010 (around November) but then came christmas, and the feasts, and I haven't really been able to get my self working out after that.

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2. 61

   @musedposted 14 years ago

   Good for you on wanting to motivate yourself to workout more!  I'm in a similar boat myself, and although I haven't found a "cure" for staying motivated to workout, I do have a few suggestions. 
   1.  Try working out in the morning.  Even if you do just a little bit, enough to get your heart pumping, you will set yourself up in a positive direction for the rest of the day.  Sometimes I'll take my dog for a morning walk, and I'll experience clarity of thought and ambition for the rest of the day.  It's really amazing what one little walk can do!  **Don't forget to eat breakfast too, though
   2.  Change up your workout routine BEFORE you start to get bored.  I mean days before!  As soon as you even think of getting bored with your routine, you'll lose motivation and proper form.  This can have a severely negative impact on your drive to keep working out consistently.
   3.  Also, don't be TOO hard on yourself if you miss a workout.  I try to give myself very little excuse to miss a workout.  (I workout at home, so that's not too difficult...).
   4.  Cycle through interval training.  When you do interval training, you're less likely to get bored because you raise the challenge each time and you do different exercises back to back.  There are tons of exercise videos on video-hosting websites.  I love that I work out in my home for FREE! 
   5.  Make goals and record them on your phone, calendar, the back of your hand...  They should be challenging, yet attainable.  Make working out "X" amount of times per week a goal and reward yourself for doing so (with something healthy, of course!)
   6.  Eat healthy.  Whenever I eat healthy, I instantly think of working out.  Good food goes hand in hand with exercise for me.
   7.  Last, but not least... Stay positive!  See if you can find a friend/family member to workout with you and challenge each other.  Cheer each other on!

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3. 85

   wychicposted 14 years ago

   Personally, what I found worked best in my case was working out outside of the home (the local YMCA...$5 per month with their low-income membership assistance program) and finding an exercise buddy to go with. My buddy ended up being my mom. Now my mom and I attend a core strength and flexibility class three times a week, and she'll be showing up to my house at 8:30 in the morning regardless of how I feel when I wake up. Since we don't have a working vehicle, she's also the only ride I have to get to class. I end up going to class because she'll be here to pick me up, and she goes to class because otherwise I wouldn't be able to go. We agreed on no excuses unless one of us is on our death beds, and a touch of a competitive element helps goad us along too -- after all, I can't let my mom beat me, and she sure can't let her daughter beat her . Missed one day in two months so far, and I was REALLY sick the day I didn't go.

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4. 59

   mr. daydreamposted 14 years ago

   In most cases, yes, it is better working out in a gym in (an envoirnment that's totally dedicated to getting a frail body in shape) in lieu to the overly cozy comforts of your own living room, or bedroom. But in these tough times, not everyone can afford a gym membership. And if you don't have weights at home, you can start off by doing stardard push-ups and pulls-ups to increase your strength to the point where you can at least left your own body weight. Some pulls-ups will help too if you have something around the house to pull yourself up and down on. There's a lot of information at http://hubpages.com/hub/Worth-The-Weight in reguards to helping to build self-motivation in ppl in are in-earnest about wanting to get in better shape.

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5. 56

   vashalposted 14 years ago

   I think it varies from person to person on which is better. Some people will pay for a gym membership and never use it, others will force themselves to go so they don't feel like they're wasting money. I started running last summer to help me get into shape. It's an activity that didn't require any startup costs and it was beneficial enough to my health that I've kept it up. I'm not a fan of lifting weights myself, so I prefer to find activities that I actually enjoy doing to keep me in shape. Running and swimming are both great examples, although I do have to pay if I want to go for a swim. My advice would be to start with a hobby you know you'll enjoy, and then branch out from there.

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6. 44

   personaltrainingposted 14 years ago

   you can't always wait for motivation to strike, because you might be waiting a long time! Some times you have to force yourself to get started, and then after a few days or a week you're in the swing of it, you build momentum and suddenly you find yourself highly motivated to do more and more.
   
   as for home vs gym... it just depends. Do whatever suits your schedule and lifestyle, and what you'll enjoy and stick to. Personally I love the gym but you can do a great workout at home without having to spend much money on equipment if you prefer.

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7. 62

   rcrm89posted 13 years ago

   A plan always helps and tracking and making yourself accountable is very important IMO.
   
   There are various ways you can achieve this whether it is keep an online log of your training/diet on DailyBurn, competing with a peer, hiring a personal trainer, setting short term and long term goals and telling people about them.
   
   For more see:
   
   http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Motivate … o-Exercise

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8. 59

   BayouDumbbellsposted 13 years ago

   Look at your body in your bedroom mirror everyday. Think of yourself working out in front of your mirror sweating. Remind yourself how good you felt starting your days with exercises. It just takes a day to start and you would go on once you started.
   
   Our days are full of distractions; your work, bills, parties, internet, parking tickets, lots and lots. All you need to do is just to remind that you want to work out a bit everyday.
   
   Working out at home or gym depends on your needs and convenience. If you are more of a beginner, you might want an instructor to give you useful tips. Or you may want an apt environment for working out. Or you may want access to variety of tools.  In these cases, attending a gym could be a better choice.
   
   If you have only a little time to spare for this, or are feeling shy about your physique or experience, or need a familiar and convenient environment, then working out at home could be a better choice.

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9. 0

   trainer ben gamonposted 13 years ago

   Think about the end result. think about where you want to be a week from now, a month from now, a year from now. what gets you out of bed every morning? how do you stay motivated? think positive and be driven, determined and disciplined!

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