We all know we’re supposed to do it, but sometimes it can be hard to get up and exercise. And that’s probably because we’re not getting the proper motivation.
A new study reveals the top motivators for exercising are wanting to beat a partner’s personal best, fit into old clothes, and to shake off a bad mood.
A lot of the motivators are social – not wanting to let down a workout partner, or the excitement of training with someone else.
Mental health plays a part – looking to increase confidence or take your mind off things.
But since the lockdowns began last year, a lot of us need the motivation because we feel we don’t have anything to train towards. Not being able to go to the gym or to workout with someone because of social distancing contributes to our lack of motivation.
Researchers found that an element of peer pressure will help – even doing something online where there’s some sort of interactive element will get us up and moving. And we won’t push ourselves as much when working out on our own.
Until we can interact with someone outside of our household, if there is someone you share a household with and want to exercise together, some tips to get the most out of your workouts are to smile at each other – it’ll trick out brains into thinking the exercise is easier; set a goal in advance; remind each other about proper techniques; and make the session lightly competitive – after all, someone needs to buy the energy shakes after!
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