Making exercise part of your daily routine is a wonderful thing, but it’s an inevitable fact of life that what we do every day eventually becomes mundane. If the rush you used to get from working out is starting to fade and you can feel your motivation slipping, don’t give up just yet! Try the five tips below to supercharge your routine with a solid dose of fun:
1. Treat yourself to a tech upgrade
Though all new exercise trends lose their shine after a while, there’s something about fitness tech that’s endlessly fascinating. Devices like Apple Watches gamify fitness while giving you the ability to track your progress. With interchangeable Apple iWatch bands, you can get your fashion game on and ensure the band has a comfortable fit – whatever it takes to make you excited about gearing up and working out.
2. Set goals like never before
Setting goals is one thing, but if you want to actually follow through and achieve your fitness dreams, you need to get some skin in the game. One of the best ways to do this is with accountability apps like DietBet and PACT. These apps allow you to set a goal and bet on yourself with real money. Back out, and you’ll have to pay up. However, if you achieve your goal, you’ll keep your cash and earn a share of the pool from other participants. Scientists have confirmed that financial incentives are powerful motivators, not just for exercise, but for all healthy behaviors.
3. Add (or change) music
Music is one of the most powerful motivators around, but you have to pick the right tracks. There’s no magic formula here either – what motivates one person might send another to sleep. If you haven’t been working out with music, or if you’ve been rinsing the same playlist for a while, consider using sites like Spotify or Soundcloud to give yourself a musical makeover that will boost not only your workout motivation but also your general sense of happiness.
4. Develop a growth mindset
If your exercise routine involves busting through the same number of sets of the same exercises every day, then you’re bound to get bored. Worse than that, your progress is destined to plateau, Instead, focus on progressing to harder variations of each exercise. This could mean swapping regular pushups for incline pushups (or handstand pushups if you’re game), adding more weight to your bar, or increasing the number of pullups you can do. Seeing growth and progression will fire up your brain’s reward system, thus motivating you to keep powering on.
5. Try mini workouts
If you’re feeling sluggish and not on your game, that’s okay – you don’t have to feel on top of the world every day. The more you try to fight it, the longer it’s going to take for you to feel sprightly again. Instead of flogging yourself when you’re down or going to the other extreme and over-indulging yourself, make the most of your lazy days with mini workouts. Do a set of pushups, squats, or any other simple exercise every time you move to a different room in the house. This will give your mind and body a little boost. You’ll be surprised at how much these small movements add up to over the course of a day.
There will always be days when you just don’t feel excited by the idea of exercise. However, if you follow the tips above, you can inject some fresh energy back into this essential health habit.