Five tips to stay motivated for exercise

You may have the best intentions, but recent studies found that more than half the people who start an exercise programme quit within one year! Stay motivated with our top five tips.
By The Newsroom
Published 24th Feb 2016, 06:55 BST

Choose an exact start date. You’re more likely to succeed if you start on a temporal landmark.

How? Choose the first day of the week or month, or a specific timeframe before an event/your goal.

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You’ll feel psychologically different on an exact start date than any normal day.

Establish an exercise habit. According to science, it takes about 66 days to form a new habit.

How? Divide it into three stages.

Day 1-2 – Schedule and speak. Schedule exact days/times that you’ll exercise. Speak about it with friends and family, asking them to hold you accountable for keeping up your new habit 
– it’s harder to let others down than it is yourself.

Day 23-44 – Remember. Remind yourself why you’re doing it and imagine how you’ll feel when you achieve it. If you miss one session, remember that doesn’t mean it’s ruined!

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Day 44-66 – Focus. Don’t get complacent in the final stages, continue to prioritise your new exercise habit within your weekly schedule.

Buddy Up. You’re far more likely to stay motivated if you exercise with others.

How? At home with a friend or exercise dvd, at the gym, attend classes or invest in a personal trainer.

Alternatively join a bootcamp! Attending a session with like-minded people will aid motivation and make your exercise experience more enjoyable.

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Have fun! Boost motivation by including an activity you enjoy. How?

Try ‘temptation bundling’. This method pairs two activities – one you should do, but avoid; and one you enjoy but isn’t necessarily productive.

A US study found that participants who were given popular audio books to listen to while attending the gym, attended more often than those who trained in silence.

At Ladies Bootcamp, we include fun warm-up games and group challenges to keep our sessions enjoyable

Celebrate it! Reward yourself along the way. How?

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Set realistic weekly targets i.e exercise 45minutes, three time this week), as well as monthly goals (lose 6lbs or run five minutes longer).

Track your progress on a monthly basis and reward yourself upon achieving your goal/target.