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Article
10 Factors To Help You Stay Motivated and Succeed
By Michele Morese
Personal Training Director at
Powerhouse Gym, Bloomfield
Success in the fitness world depends on many different factors that are variable
depending on the individual. Everyone will have their own methods for what keeps
them focused and determined. There are a few factors that are common in most
people. By ensuring that you utilize these concepts, you will be better able to
obtain your goals in a productive and pleasurable manner.
1. SELF-EFFICIENCY
This has been shown to be one of the most important factors contributing to
success in a workout program. Self-efficiency can be defined as your personal
belief that you are capable of performing the behavior necessary to achieve your
goal.
2. FAMILY & FRIEND SUPPORT
Taking up a new exercise program will require many changes in your daily
schedule. You may have to give up some of the responsibilities you previously
held in order to find the time to commit to exercising. With a supportive family
and friend network, this task is much easier.
3. A POSITIVE ATTITUDE
Having a positive attitude about your workout program will go a long way to
helping you stay motivated and committed. When you have positive thoughts
regarding exercise, it makes it seem like less of a chore and more of an
enjoyable experience to you. If you remain positive at all times, even when you
may not be seeing the results you dreamed of, you will be able to stay focused
on how far you’ve come.
4. ACTION PLAN
The next most important aspect of any workout program or goal is having an
effective plan. The plan must be suitable to you. You need to have the means to
reach your goal. Without a detailed account of how you plan on going about
obtaining your goals you will have difficulty getting there as quickly as you
hoped. If you take a casual approach to your goal, you will most likely waste a
lot of time figuring out what steps to take next. When the action plan is
outlined from the beginning you will know where you need to go and in what
order.
5. ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS
Having good organizational skills is very important when you talk about fitness.
Everyday life poses many challenges to sticking with a workout routine.
Meetings, family emergencies, and less than ideal weather can all become
obstacles to your plan. You need to be organized enough within your daily life
to allow yourself enough time each week to dedicate to fitness and preparing and
cooking healthy meals.
6. INTRINSIC MOTIVATION
Intrinsic motivation is performing the action based strictly on the fact that
you love doing something and find satisfaction while doing it. This is more
common among athletes and those who take up a hobby that they tend to lose
themselves in. Studies have shown that people who exercise for intrinsic
motivation are much more likely to stick with their workout program than those
who are motivated extrinsically.
7. A REWARD SYSTEM
A reward system can be beneficial. What is important is the rewards are set by
you. Then they have particular meaning to you. This will keep everything under
your control so you won’t begin to feel like someone else is regulating you.
Setting small rewards after each step in your plan provides you an incentive and
this will keep you pushing forward and onward.
8. A ROLE MODEL
Role models can be very important tools in any type of goal oriented program.
Having someone who you look up to, whether it’s for their values, their hard
work, or how they look you will be providing yourself with an example of which
to measure yourself.
9. KNOWLEDGE
Having a good knowledge base is critical to putting together any workout
program. If you yourself do not know a lot about fitness and weight training,
consulting a fitness trainer, is a great idea.
10. OTHER HOBBIES AND INTERESTS
The final factor that is important in your success is having outside hobbies and
interests. While it is important to be truly passionate and dedicated to your
fitness routine and diet, if it’s really your only interest you will become
burnt out very quickly. You will also tend to ruminate if you are not seeing
results as quickly as you had hoped. You will feel as though you are putting all
your time and effort into this one endeavor, with little reward. Having outside
interests will help keep your mind fresh and keep you looking forward to each
and every one of your workouts.
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