by Deborah Cummings

Created on: October 12, 2008   Last Updated: October 20, 2008

Spring into Action: Five Ways to Get Moving

Five Fantastic Ways to Inspire Yourself to Exercise

If you are like most people, at least those of us who lack motivation, it is easier said than done when it comes to going to the gym for exercising. You promise yourself tomorrow will be different and you will definitely go to the gym and start your exercise routine. Sometimes it takes a few inspirational ideas to actually make yourself do something. The following five ways are not guaranteed to work but they may give you the incentive you need to get up and get moving.

1) Make a bargain with yourself. If you go to the gym like you have planned, you earn something you want. It might be a new dress, a movie you have wanted to see, a something special that you collect, or a special day at the spa. If you try this method you have a motivation for going. Even if you spend the whole time you are there thinking about your reward, think of this - at least you have made it to the gym.

2) Take a friend. Make it a regular part of your routine. Recruit each other to give pep talks about why you need to go. If one tries to beg off going, have all the reasons ready to use as to why you should go. Motivation is the key here. Instead of talking yourself in or out of going, you will have an actual person to deal with and it is often easier to go than make excuses to a friend. It is easier to make excuses to yourself.

3) If one of the reasons you are going is because you need to lose weight, use your computer to generate a picture of yourself at your ideal weight. There are many programs available that will allow you to do this. Put the picture where it is a constant reminder of what you can look like if you just go exercise. The more you are reminded of what you can do if you just make yourself do it, the more you will want to look like that picture.

4) Here is another way the internet can come in handy. Go online and search the results of what being overweight and out of shape can cause. If you see what happens to your body when you do not take care of it, this may just scare you enough to see that your body will react to how you treat it. The incidence of illness is far higher in people with sedentary lifestyles than those who exercise regularly. People who do not take care of themselves do not tend to live as long as those who do.

5) Re-invent yourself. Make a six month plan to a leaner and healthier you. Plan how many times a week you will go to the gym and how you will change your lifestyle. Clean out your refrigerator and pantry. Get rid of all the high calorie junk food and drinks. Go shopping and read the labels. Buy foods that are good for you and are not loaded with sugars and fats. Buy new work out clothes. Get a new hairstyle and tell yourself, this is the new you - one that is going to be healthier and happier by losing weight, staying fit and eating right.

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