What kinds of motivation are there to exercise?

There are many methods of motivation, but there are really only two kinds of motivation, internal motivation and external motivation. Internal motivation comes from within yourself – this comes from your goals and desires –  your “why” for doing whatever it is you are doing. External motivations are motivators that come from outside of yourself, these can be used reinforce the habits or behaviors you are trying to create.

For example, some internal motivations for losing weight could be the desire to have more energy, to increase your self-confidence, and to feel sexy – all internal motivators are directly tied to your goal of losing weight. Some external motivators to help you lose weight may be to buy a new outfit or new running shoes at your “lost 10 pounds” benchmark, to get a gym buddy to help keep you accountable to your goals, or to create a music playlist that helps motivate you during exercise.

Creating a plan to keep you motivated from the beginning to the completion of your fitness goals can make all the difference to your success. I propose three important factors to consider in your plan to insure your long-term success:

1. Be consistent: Get a gym buddy to help keep you accountable or put exercise as your first activity of the day (whatever gets done first, gets done!) Put extra focus on being consistent for the first month, then your exercise routine will become a habit and will be much easier to maintain.
2. See yourself positively: Imagine yourself as you would like to be and realize that you are already that amazing person, you only need the right habits to make your external reality match your inner vision. I have several music playlists that I use to help snap me into the right frame of mind before and during exercise – music that helps me feel like the amazing person I’m striving to be. 
3. Plan for the worst, but expect the best: We all have days when we wake up feeling like we’ve been mauled by Thor. Nobody expects 100% from you on your worst day, and you shouldn’t either. But, habits are like a chain and if one link goes, chances are the whole chain will break. To keep your habits strong, you still have to show up on bad days. So, when you create your exercise plan, also create a contingency plan – a simple and light exercise routine that you can still do even on your worst day.