This is the key to exercise motivation.

By NATALIA HAWK

When I think about it, I realise that I don’t know a lot of people that exercise on a regular basis.

I know plenty of people with gym memberships or people who own a fancy pair of running shoes. But at the end of the day, few of them are actually likely to put on those fancy running shoes to go for a run after work. And they’re also unlikely to use that membership to get to the gym for a workout before work.

In my opinion, it all comes down to one thing: exercise motivation. That slippery little word that can make all the difference between you working out and you sitting on the couch every night, scoffing at ridiculous episodes of The Bachelor.

Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by femaleforlife.com.au. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100% authentic and written in their own words.

Some people don’t believe in exercise motivation. They believe that it’s all about putting all excuses aside and actually forcing yourself to get your butt into a pair of pants and out the door.

Me? I love a bit of exercise motivation. I love incorporating an extra factor into my life that’s going to encourage me to actually get a move on. And I LOVE hearing about other people’s motivations to get moving.

So here are some of the better exercise motivation tips I’ve heard over the years. Feel free to come and leave a comment of your own.

1.      An exercise diary/whiteboard

I use a few different apps to track my runs. At the end of each run, I grab a little neon orange notebook I have on my desk, and write down the date, my distance, my total time, my time per kilometer, and the amount of calories burned, plus any notes about variable conditions (eg. excessive heat, injury, etc.).

It’s such a good way to track your progress and it’s even better to use as a tool for recognising when you’re slacking off – if it’s the 31^st and your last recorded run was on the 12^th, you know you’re probably not doing too well in terms of the whole exercising-regularly thing…

2.      Sign up for an event

One of the best-ever motivating factors is to sign up for an event (like a fun run) and actually have to train for it. There is no worse feeling than being at the very back of the pack of a marathon consisting of thousands of people. Nothing.

If you can, pick an event like Tough Mudder, which requires you to cross-train for all the different challenges you need to experience.

3.      Plan out your week

At the beginning of each week, I like to look ahead and lock in times where I’m definitely going to exercise. I book gym classes, runs and exercises with friends into my diary – just as I’d lock in a non-negotiable appointment with a specialist I’ve been waiting to see for ages. This takes the whole, “hmmm, will I exercise today and how will the logistics work?” out of it.

4.      Get a dog

One of my friends got exceptionally fit in a short period of time last year. When I asked him about it, he said: “I got a German Shepherd. If I don’t walk her every day, she destroys something. It’s the best exercise motivation ever.” Well… Can’t argue with that.

5.      Fitbit

FitBit is an activity tracker that you can actually use to make sure you exercise every day. You see, if you hook it up to an internet-controlled power outlet, it cuts the power to whatever it’s plugged into. So if you don’t go for that run – you lose power to your fridge. Or your TV. Or your Playstation. Or your alarm clock. Whatever means the most to you. I can’t decide whether this idea is absolute genius or kind of just evil.

6.      Buy yourself beautiful exercise gear

If you have really nice exercise gear, you’re much more likely to wear it and therefore much more likely to exercise.

Make sure you pick something that actually makes you feel good about yourself – there’s no point in buying a pair of tight booty shorts when you are incredibly self-conscious about your legs. You’ll end up focusing more on your insecurities than on your workout.

Choose good-quality gear in nice colours that make you happy, flatters your shape, and that you’ll feel comfortable in. I recently wore some fabulous new gear from Female For Life for a recent run and it definitely put an extra spring in each step – it’s comfy yet flattering and beautiful-quality material.

Check out some of the great styles of active wear available from Female for Life.

Looking to get motivated this spring? femaleforlife.com.au has a super stylish range of sportswear that will make you feel comfortable and look fantastic! Designed in exotic Brazil where womanly curves are revered, the quality and cut of the styles will bring out the best in your shape. Best of all, we are currently on SALE and for one week (until 9^th October) and  Mamamia fans get FREE Delivery, just use promocode ‘FFLROCKS’ at checkout.

What’s your exercise motivation?