Projo Fitness Blog

I love working out, but sometimes, I get discouraged because there's a few extra pounds on the scale or I'm just not happy how I look in my bathing suit.

The ideal of "model shapes" are hard to come by, and even those of us who try very hard to love our bodies sometimes lose our motivation and confidence.

So here's some tips I found from Weightladder.com's 7 Ways to Keep From Getting Discouraged at the Gym" to limit your exercise blues.

1. Wear something cute -- and comfortable. Weightladder.com notes that if you're not comfortable in your clothing, you'll feel out of place in your gym. I'll take it one step further -- the first time you venture out for run, bike ride or whatever, wear something new but not too revealing. Give your confidence a boost.

2. Find an affordable workout -- Not everyone joins a gym. Go for a walk at lunchtime, play basketball with your kids, ride your bike on the weekends. We've already blogged about plenty of ideas for cheap or free workouts.

3. Find an activity you love -- The doors really opened for my fitness when I discovered yoga, which was calming, restorative and made me feel wonderful. Doing workouts that are supposed to be good for you, but you don't enjoy, just don't work. Think about what you loved to do as a kid -- play baseball? Ride your bike? Dance? And make that part of your exercise routine.

4. Reward yourself -- Weightladder writes, "It is important to set up a rewards system with yourself. For example, if you go to the gym for five days straight, you can treat yourself to a special manicure, a video game or a movie. Just make sure that the rewards are not food related. By setting it up so that you have a tangible reward, you can train yourself to look forward to exercising."

5. Make exercise convenient -- Is your gym nearby? Can you do your workout at home? If you love to run and that's weather-dependent, find the right gear to run in cold or wet weather, or do what a coworker does -- run indoors on the off days.

6. Mix it up -- Find several activities you like, and do them on different days of the week. For example, my yoga days and Mondays and Wednesdays, I do Pilates on Tuesdays and Fridays, and kettlebells/arm workouts on Sundays and Thursdays. Saturdays I try to ride my bike, or take a day off. That way I am working different parts of my body over several days, and keeping myself from being bored.

7.Set reasonable goals -- Start slow and work up to your full potential. Don't try to lose weight right away, get healthy and fit first, and the weight will come later. Don't try dieting the minute your start working out -- you'll need your strength and it's too much to ask of yourself. Be proud of your accomplishments, even if they're small, and set goals that are fun for you.

 Tags  discouragement tips workout

Comments

Memory Loss said:

It has been revealed that women, who regularly took up laborious exercises like running, swimming or aerobics for a period of decades or so, incurred a major slump in memory. Doing over exercises, may have effect brain and can cause memory loss. So exercise or workout in limits.

Link | July 20, 2009 3:06 AM
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