This article is unlikely to be of interest to professional athletes for whom physical exercise is the meaning and way of life. Fans who spend their days and nights in the gym and on the treadmill may not be reading this either. But for all ordinary people who experience ordinary human feelings – laziness, boredom, fatigue – this text can be extremely useful.
“If you decide to do something, but don’t start doing it within 72 hours, in 85% of cases you will never do it.”
Bodo Schaeffer, writer, financial advisor.
Galina Sinaevskaya, head of the Vertical fitness club and dance school, says:
— There is probably no person who does not realize the benefits of playing sports for the body. However, it is common knowledge that not everyone can do systematic sports. Any of us can find among our acquaintances, friends or relatives more than one or two examples when a person began to engage in fitness with the most sincere intentions of putting them on a permanent basis. But 3-5 days or at most a week passed, and good intentions evaporated somewhere. Various excuses come into play, ranging from lack of time, fatigue and ending with promises that “I’ll definitely go to training on Monday.” But Monday comes with its urgent matters, worries, meetings, etc., and sports are postponed for some more time. And there are several reasons for this: weak motivation (or lack thereof), inflated goals, excess goals, and low self-discipline. Let’s try to figure out how you can make sports activities a need of the body, how to motivate yourself to play sports with pleasure and do it systematically.
If you find motivation, everything will work out!
Motivation is half the success. You should be able to give yourself an answer to the question: “Why am I doing this?”, formulating your expectations: “to be healthy,” or “to be beautiful and to be liked by others,” or “to be noticed by someone in particular.” ” And so on. This is the lever that will start the mechanism and force you to attend sports training.
The very first thing that usually prompts you to start training is dissatisfaction with your appearance and figure. For example, it may be insufficiently elastic abdominal and buttock muscles, or the very fact of the inability to squeeze into your favorite things. I believe that this is the most important “lever” for influencing your willpower and a good impetus to start a fitness routine. Buy an absolutely charming outfit one or two sizes smaller and set yourself a goal to dress up in it within a certain period of time. This will help you at least start studying, and this, as practice shows, is the most difficult thing. And once you start, you will then get into the rhythm and control the regularity of your classes yourself. And when the first results appear….Here you will “move mountains” during the training!
It’s better to start your classes with something relaxed and pleasant. For example, attend some crazy incendiary dance class or meditative yoga. A charge of energy and a lot of positive emotions are guaranteed!
Someone may be encouraged to go in for sports by watching programs and videos promoting a healthy lifestyle, where slender girls with excellent figures give short fitness lessons or motivational videos, the slogans of which encourage you to run to the gym.
Make promises to yourself and others
Make promises to yourself, promises to your loved ones and friends. Having said that, it will be difficult to retreat. Of course, as often happens, on the appointed day thousands of excuses appear to reschedule classes – the weather is bad, and suddenly a lot of work, housework, etc. has piled up. But, remembering that the promise has already been made, you have to get up and go. But after classes, you will have so much strength, energy and desire to do fitness regularly that next time it will be much easier.
So, if you belong to the category of people who have a hard time not keeping their promises, then this method will be very suitable for you. The more people you promise that, for example, from Monday you will definitely start going to the gym, visiting the pool or doing sports at home, the more difficult it will be for you to break your word and you will have to fulfill your promise at all costs.
Another good way is to organize a group of girlfriends and play sports together. Exercising together is not only healthy, but also fun. And if you are the organizer of the group, you will feel responsible and will make every effort not to miss classes.
Set yourself a specific goal
The result largely depends on the goals set. Or rather, it depends on how the goal is formulated. For example, if you say to yourself: “I want to look great in a swimsuit on the beach in the summer,” then most likely this will not produce the desired result. But if you set a more specific goal – “pump up your thighs, arms, abs by July 1st, in order to conquer everyone on the beach during your vacation,” or “in a month, by June 25th, lose 5 kg” then this will encourage you to achieve your goal. After all, when you see specific dates in front of you, it is much easier to plan your time and not put off your plans “for later.”
Setting a specific goal also helps you develop a more effective training plan that addresses your specific desires. If, for example, your goal is to lose several kilograms, then the workouts should be vigorous, affecting various muscle groups, aimed at losing weight. If you decide to improve your posture, then your sports complex of exercises should include more load for the back and lower back.
Don’t set grandiose goals right away. Often, a complete discrepancy between what you want and the picture in the mirror has the opposite effect: it kills the last hope and desire to study. Therefore, set yourself clear and reasonable goals that you can definitely achieve in the foreseeable future. This will instill confidence in you and perhaps even awaken your passion for sports.
Buy stylish sportswear
Once my husband and I were choosing a gift for his brother. Being avid supporters of a healthy lifestyle, our feet carried us to the sports store. My brother didn’t play sports at all, but there was a need for it. He understood this, but he still couldn’t get to the hall. We bought him good sportswear, sneakers and gave him a gym membership. The next day, my brother was already in the gym in new clothes.
Therefore, my advice for those who want to start playing sports, but constantly putting it off, is this: buy yourself a new stylish sports uniform or sports equipment for the sport that you would really like to do and start practicing!
Be more active in your daily life
For physical development, it is not at all necessary to go to the gym. If you don’t like it there, then try using the entire surrounding space as a universal sports ground. Stop using the elevator and escalators, start walking in the evenings and during your lunch break, and eventually switch from a car to a bicycle, why not?
Having completed all these points, sooner or later you will be able to easily and quietly introduce sports into your life. Don’t wait for the right moment – create it yourself!
There are many ways to force yourself to do something. But none of them will work if a person has no desire to do it. If you really want to play sports, but you don’t have the willpower to start exercising, then I hope the tips listed will be useful to you and will make you get off the couch and go for a run with a friend instead of watching an evening TV series.
After all, sport is the youth of the body, beauty, grace and a source of energy!
