5 Ways To Stay Motivated

by Tracie Johanson

Do you remember the day you first joined your gym? Wasn't it a great feeling, knowing that you had finally taken that first step towards living a healthier life? Making a conscious, positive decision to improve is rewarding, and hopefully we've all kept that promise to ourselves. But try as we might, it seems that there's always a handy excuse to not exercise.
While gym attendance peaks around January, it slacks off every March/April as people forget about their New Year Resolutions. Summer BBQ's and vacations tend to make people stay away from the gym, and six months later holiday parties and planning to the same thing. Finally, we can all relate to those days when we simply don't want to work out!
The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, a trade association serving the health and fitness club industry, reports that the average health club member in the United States spends only about 90 days at the gym per year.
Our goal at Pick Up The Pace is to help you STAY MOTIVATED to exercise! We don't just want to help you with the 'how' of exercise - we want to help you with the 'why' too!
That's why we regularly bring new music into the gym, offer games and contests, provide fitness education materials, weigh and measure monthly, provide a fun environment, make it easy to get to the gym with expanded hours, and basically just do what we can to help you stay motivated. We want you to look forward to exercising!
So what can you do to stay motivated? Here are five great ideas to help us all keep that inner fire burning.....
1) Find an exercise buddy! When we know that someone else is going to meet us at the gym at a certain time, we will automatically be much more likely to show up ourselves. After all, who wants to abandon their friend?

Don't have a friend at the gym? Invite one along! She will appreciate the invitation, and will be much healthier for it!
2) Get to know people in the gym! One of the many reasons why women enjoy Pick Up The Pace so much is that it's part exercise facility and part social club! Visiting with friends and family while we're exercising makes the time go by so fast it hardly even seems like we're doing something good for us. It's great to get out of the house or office and just have some fun with other ladies!
3) Talk with your doctor! We all know that exercise is good for us. From helping to prevent cancer to lowering our blood pressure to helping us fit into that swimming suit, exercise is the best thing we can do for ourselves. Even with that knowledge, it's sometimes encouraging to hear about our progress from our doctor. Here's a hot motivation tip: ask your gym for a copy of your fitness records (monthly body fat analysis and measurements) and then share that information with your doctor. He or she will be so happy that you're exercising, and will encourage you to continue!
4) Chart your progress! The CEO of a Fortune 500 company once said "What gets measured gets done", and that advice is as good for us as it was for that business. Take the time to keep a food journal, an exercise log, or simply write down your fitness goals. Post it where you will see it every single day (on the 'fridge, in the car, on the mirror, etc.). Life is just so busy these days, a constant visual reminder of our goals may be just the motivational push we need.
5) Give yourself a reward! Sometimes the 'big picture' can be too intimidating. For example, if you have 80 pounds to lose it's tempting to think "It's too much! I shouldn't even try." That's one of the biggest motivation-killers

out there, so combat those discouraging thoughts by rewarding yourself for smaller accomplishments. Treat yourself to a manicure when you lose that first five pounds. Buy a new outfit when you've lost ten pounds. Take a mini-vacation when you're halfway to your goal. Give yourself small rewards for achieving smaller goals, and guess what.....many small steps make up a long journey! Before you know it, you'll have accomplished your overall goal!
There are many other ways to give yourself the motivation to succeed. Try some of these tips today - the only thing you have to lose is the fat!
* Copyright 2005 Pick Up The Pace. Permission is not required for the distribution of Pick Up The Pace articles as long as they are used in their entirety, are properly credited to Pick Up The Pace, and are accompanied by our website link: http://www.letspickupthepace.com/.
* The information in this article and on this site is for general reference purposes only and not intended to address specific medical conditions. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice or a medical exam. Prior to participating in any exercise program or activity, you should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional. No information in this article or on http://www.letspickupthepace.com/ should be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition.
About the Author
Tracie Johanson is the founder of Pick Up The Pace, a 30-minute exercise studio for women, focusing on fitness, health and nutrition for maximum weight loss. Please visit http://www.letspickupthepace.com/ for more information.

Other Articles:

Get It Done-Or 3 Ways to Advance Your Goals
1. WORK WITH THE END IN MIND- OR FOCUS ON SUCCESS “Beginning with the end in mind is the endowment of imagination . If you are the programmer, write the program”, says, goal expert- Stephen R. Covey. Goals help us to focus, and the quality of our attention is enhanced by a having a...

Get the Most from Your Warm-Up
Warming up before you exercise helps to prevent injuries and lets you jump higher, run faster, lift heavier or throw further. Your warm-up should involve the same muscles and motions you plan to use in your sport. For example, before you start to run very fast, do a series of runs of...

In Times Of Stress, Walk Out Of Your Body
Straddling the end of winter and the beginning of spring, March has always been a hectic month—a month of reckoning as it were—when last year's issues must be faced head on. Income tax returns must be filed, and spring cleaning ( both inside and out) tend to become a logistical...