How To Stay Motivated And Exercise Consistently

Let’s face it; everyone can get motivated to exercise for a while and achieve some modest results. In most cases, this period lasts anywhere from a few days to several months. 

Sadly, people usually lose interest and give up at some point. Yet, many people also feel motivated and remain consistent for years. So, what makes them keep going? 

This post will go over proven tactics you can use to establish exercise as a habit and do it consistently.

What Does Motivation Mean (And Why You Shouldn’t Rely On It) 

In the simplest of terms, motivation is the willingness to do something. It can come from within (intrinsic) or from an outside influence (extrinsic). For example, if you watch an inspirational YouTube video or read an article about a famous athlete’s training, you might feel intrinsic motivation. In contrast, if you know that your coach is waiting for you at the gym to have a session, you might feel extrinsic motivation.

The problem with motivation is that it’s fleeting. It comes on strong and leaves us before we know it. As you can imagine, that makes for a poor long-term strategy because you can’t be sure how well you can rely on it a week or month from now. Sure, you’re motivated now, but will that be the case next month?

A Common Misunderstanding About Motivation

One common way to look at motivation is this:

Motivation è Action

But, the truth is, it can also look like this: 

Action è Motivation è Further Action 

Indeed, motivation can sometimes come after we start doing something. For example, have you ever found yourself procrastinating on something? But then, once you took action, motivation skyrocketed, and you found yourself enjoying the process? 

The truth is, we can’t always wait for motivation to strike. Sometimes, all we can do is suck it up and get started on what we need to do. The good news is, motivation often follows. 

So, What Should We Do?

As you see, motivation doesn’t necessarily come before we get started; it can also come after. So, the best thing we can do is make the act of starting as easy as possible. In doing so, we won’t need as much motivation to get started.

Here are three tactics:

1. Make small and consistent efforts

Many people bet on huge but rare actions to make any progress. For example, having a two-hour workout every once in a while. The truth is, focusing on small but consistent actions is much better. For instance, make it a point to exercise for ten minutes, but do it daily.

In doing so, you can gain momentum, make exercise a regular part of your day, and achieve excellent results in the long run. 

2. Use implementation intentions 

Implementation intentions are about taking advantage of routine actions and using them as triggers for new habits. For instance:

“When I finish X, I will do Y.”

• When I get back from work, I will exercise for fifteen minutes.
• When I make my bed in the morning, I will stretch for five minutes.

Research finds them to be incredibly useful because they provide clarity for our actions.

3. Make it easy to start

The more complicated something is, the less likely we are to do it, especially if it’s something small and seemingly routine. For example, if exercising at home involves taking out all of the equipment from your closet, taking it downstairs, and moving around furniture, you’ll find it challenging to start and it creates an obstacle. 

In contrast, if getting started is about putting some comfortable clothes on and starting your warm-up, you’ll be more consistent. The reason for that is convenience.

So, think of what you can do to start each workout more quickly. The less friction there is initially, the more likely you are to overcome it.