Four small changes to boost your workout motivation

The struggle is real for most of us. That is, the struggle of finding the motivation to move more and eat better. Our reasons for wanting to be active and eat well are often varied but the most common reasons are usually weight loss, stress management or because of that great feeling afterwards!

Why do we often put off exercising? Often life gets in the way; we live ultra busy lifestyles and our health can become the first sacrifice we make in order to survive the daily grind. There just never seems to be enough time in the day.

Here are a few tips/adjustments you can make to get started:

Start small

If you don’t exercise or haven’t in a while, don’t set a goal to go to the gym five days a week. Don’t aim to run 10 kms in your first effort. Start with small additions to your life that you know are reasonable and attainable.

Change it up 

We all love brunch. Some of us have brunch dates twice over the weekend and follow it up with dinner and drinks in the evening. Make one change; ask your friends if they’d like to walk around a local park/reserve/lake instead. For the Melbournites, there are plenty of places to venture to – The Tan, 1000 steps, Koonung Trail, Albert Park Lake, Patterson River. The list is endless. Not only are you working on your health and out in nature, you still get that much needed catch up with mates! Win-win-win.

Join a movement

There are plenty of fun runs which have short and long distance opportunities to sign up for. Some examples to sign yourself and friends up for  are The Mother’s Day Classic, Run4Kids and Colour Run. You’ll be raising money for charity, having a great time with friends and enjoying the benefits that exercise offers.

Get appy

Invest in one of the many Apps out there as a source of motivation for you. Most smartphones come with an inbuilt health App eg. Samsung ‘S Health’ App. There are also plenty of others which can track your steps for the day, record your workouts over a week, month, year and include distances etc. Some suggestions for FREE Apps:

• Preva
• Johnson & Johnson Official 7 Minute Workout
• Map My Fitness
• Strava
• My Fitness Pal
• Lose It!
• Jetfit workout
• And of course the crowd favourite, Fitbit

So, there you have it.  One adjustment at a time. Pick one of the changes you’re going to try and let us know how you go.

Here’s to your health!