Exercise Motivation From Within: 10 Winning Ways

How do you find the motivation to workout when you don’t quite have the time, are tired, and just don’t feel like it?

This happens to all of us at different times, but the great news is that we can generate our exercise motivation anytime. 

Use these 10 simple ways to increase your exercise motivation!

I often feel stuck, overwhelmed by work, and sometimes just lazy.

At that moment, I focus on the habit I have created and the commitments I have committed to.

There are endless ways to motivate yourself; each of us is different.

What makes one person go might make another person stop.

What fires someone up might dull someone else.

I know that when I have needed the motivation to work out, these ways have helped me.

Exercise Motivation From Within: 10 Winning Ways

1. Focus on the post-workout victory.

After I work out, I love to recognize how I feel.

How clear my mind is, how accomplished I feel, and thankful I am for following through with my commitments.

After every workout, I feel proud.

And that feeling keeps me going.

So when I need exercise motivation, I always focus on how great I will feel, mentally and emotionally, after the workout.

2. It’s fun is a great way to be motivated to workout!

I have designed my workouts around movements and activities that I find fun.

Knowing I will sweat and have fun for the next 20 minutes is great motivation for exercise.

If we think our workout will be boring and painful, it’s over before it starts.  

Experiment and create your own workout that is intense and fun!

It will be much easier to be consistent!

3. Love how you look!

If you want bigger muscles and better definition, imagine yourself that way.

Want to lose weight and slim down? Imagine yourself that way.

If you want better posture, a straighter back, and more flexibility, imagine yourself that way.

We can generate motivation to workout just by imagining how we want to be.

Try it!

4. Me time!

Make an appointment with you.

Yes, we know you love your kids, your job, and your friends and family.

We know this.

But don’t make the mistake of not making time for yourself.

Is there a better way to spend your time than by improving your health?  

So if you want to know how to motivate yourself to exercise, see it as the most important meeting of the day and the most important project of the month.

Commit to YOU!

5. Find others winners for that extra boost of exercise motivation.

When you need the motivation to exercise, one thing that has been inspirational for me is finding other people who have succeeded.

When I hear about other people who are doing great things with their commitments, it inspires me to stick with mine.

I’ve found that surrounding myself with winners, even if it’s just their stories, is highly motivating for me to keep pushing forward.

Find success stories, find winners, and fuel your drive!

6. Less Stress!

All of us experience stress.

Some more than others, but we all feel it.

Burn off that stress and unwind! Allow yourself to be relaxed and present for yourself, friends and family.

The more stress you have, the more intense your workout will be.

It works every time!

Let less stress be your workout motivation!

7. Find a workout buddy for exercise motivation!

Sometimes your motivation to exercise will come from someone else, and that’s OK!

My best workouts come when I am working out with someone else.

Have a partner who will push you, support you and elevate your workouts. A partner can make a world of difference.

Find one!

8. Find a coach or personal trainer to get the motivation to exercise.

When thinking about our motivation for working out, we often need an outsider to push us to our limits.

It’s easy for us to take it easy on ourselves and to get comfortable with our usual effort.

A coach and trainer’s job is to help us get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

To push us out of our comfort zone, burn those extra calories, and help us experience true effort and exhaustion.

This alone is worth every penny.

9. Recognize how you feel when you don’t workout.

How does it feel emotionally and physically?

Whenever I don’t workout, I find myself not sticking to other commitments I set for that day.

Sticking and not sticking to our word can have a domino effect.  

If you feel lazy, sluggish, and overall not good about yourself from not working out, feel it, embrace it and use it as workout motivation!

10. Reaching a goal.

You can’t reach a goal unless you set one first.

It can be a weight.

It can be a certain amount of reps, a distance, a time, or a heart rate.  

Set yourself up for success and start small.