How to fall in love with fitness training: 7 useful techniques

General recommendations

So, how to force yourself to play sports at home or in the gym:

• determine the purpose of training;
• choose a set of exercises and create a training schedule;
• determine the class time;
• choose clothes and uniforms that will be comfortable and pleasant for you to work out in;
• take care of a pleasant environment and equipment; the perception is negatively affected by the use of improvised means or an old rag instead of a rug (some people don’t mind, the effectiveness is the same, but for others it will be more pleasant to work with specialized, new and bright equipment);
• remember the goal and force yourself to study (at first there is no other way);
• praise yourself after training, remind yourself that it’s only 40 minutes a day, and how much benefit it brings;
• don’t scold yourself for laziness (you also need to force yourself with love, just remind yourself of the goal);
• analyze your well-being, record your successes (this will become a new motivation);
• if you decide to go to the gym, buy a subscription (it will be a shame to lose the paid classes);
• advertise your actions and successes (it is popular to keep diaries and blogs);
• Imagine that you are an instructor, count, recite exercises (relevant for home), a person performs a task better if he teaches others.

Finding your best activities will take time, but it will be worth it. Try everything on your own: gym and home, group classes and individual ones, with and without a trainer. Consider different sports, training conditions, regime, complex. You should like physical activity, then it will be easier to force yourself.

During the described tests, observe your sensations and states, record them. Then, on a general basis, create your own recipe for successful and regular training.

Admit it: you're not an athlete.

First: humility. Admit that you are not an athlete, you don’t strain your smile with your biceps on the podium, you don’t break your deadlift at competitions - you came to the gym so that your body is healthy and looks more attractive to your current or future sexual partner (partner, partner, partners).

And once you have recognized this, magical prospects open up before you - train almost as you want, all these details (such as the amount of rest between approaches and the duration of the negative stage of the movement in seconds) are of greater importance the more you are. That is, they never have any special meaning for us, NON-athletes.

After all, for us it’s not about being 3.7% more effective and gaining weight 5.8% faster, but about not quitting the gym altogether - and this is the most important task that we will stick to now.

In addition, considering that we actually intend to train, be healthy and look sexy forever, then WE ARE NOT IN A HURRY ANYWHERE, which means we enjoy SLOW progress and, first of all, focus on what we LIKE. Because only this guarantees the duration and regularity of classes. And the slower the progress, the healthier, happier, more pleasant, better. How do you like this approach, Elon Musk?

And how do you mean “train practically as you want”? And like this: I came to the hall, changed clothes and...

Add fitness training to your schedule

Let’s be honest, we too often allocate time for fitness training according to the residual principle: “I’ll sort out my affairs and work out!” But for some reason things don’t end, and if suddenly this happens, we don’t have time for classes at all. Therefore, psychologists advise setting a specific time for training and entering it in your diary, if you use one. And, of course, then stick to the plan. “When many of us think about what to devote our free time to, exercise is far behind other options in terms of popularity,” comments Tracey Mann , PhD in psychology at Stanford University, author of the best-selling book “Secrets of the Nutrition Lab. The science of losing weight, myths about willpower and the benefits of diets.” - There is no need to pose the question this way. You cannot say to yourself: “Today I will either go to the gym or to the cinema.” The time allotted for physical exercise should be occupied only by it.”

Do a warm-up

If the cool-down at the end can officially be forgotten, then a warm-up should be done. And it’s not only about warming up the body (there are studies and statistics - this significantly reduces the risk of injury - and this is important), but also about preparing the brain and psyche - now there will be training. Switching thoughts from what happened before the gym to what will happen now in the gym is also an important procedure. It’s useful to do something similar before work or rest, to immerse yourself in reality, so to speak.

Twirling your arms and legs, walking briskly along the path or walking on a stepper for 5 minutes is quite enough.

Competition method

You can force yourself to train at home every day through competition. To do this, you can arrange competitions with friends. For example, determine who can do the most pull-ups on the horizontal bar or run. faster distance.

You can choose a sum of money or a nice gift as a prize.

Ideas for competitions:

• the number of kilograms lost;
• speed of covering a distance of 1.5 or 3 km;
• who can hold the plank longer, etc.

It is important to choose a meaningful prize. Then there will be an incentive to fight for it . Excitement and a competitive mood are good for developing motivation. It is important that the goals are realistically achievable. In other words, if the three competitors do not have any physical training, then you should not expect quick results. It takes months of training to run 3 km.

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Don't be afraid to change up your workout routines

It is not necessary to do the same type of fitness all your life - it is very possible that over the years you will stop wanting to do aerobics and fall in love with qigong.
Don't be afraid to experiment and change directions if you feel like they're no longer inspiring. This strategy, by the way, also has a positive effect on memory functioning - just imagine how many subtleties and nuances of different directions you will have to remember! Plus, by changing the types of fitness training, you teach the body to move differently, varying the pace, loading different muscle groups.

Involve friends and family in your plans

Many people try to look better in the eyes of others. Therefore, the next method is to tell your friends or family about your new plans and goals. This psychological technique will force you to approach the matter responsibly, because you have given your word to other people. And in this case, you will not think about how to force yourself to go to training. You don't want to fall in the eyes of others. Such public statements additionally encourage you to take a responsible approach to business.

This could be a specific achievement in training or simply the intention to go to the gym regularly. You don't want to deceive your loved ones, do you?

Active action algorithm

There are special approaches that will help you decide to take such a step. Simple tips and tricks will help with this.

1. Learn to set specific goals for yourself. They should not sound abstract, for example, “I want to lose weight.” You must clearly understand: how much weight to lose, exactly in the number of kilograms.
2. Each goal should have its own specific deadline. For example, recovering from pregnancy in 1 month. As soon as this time is over, find yourself a new clear goal, set dates from such and such a date to such and such.
3. The goal must be realistically achievable. It will be difficult to lose weight by 10 kg in a month, but by 2-4 kg it is quite possible.
4. Keep yourself a diary, where the start and end dates of the goal will be indicated in writing or electronic form. It would be good if it comes with a reminder, which is an additional incentive. If you hang such a calendar in front of your bed, then before going to bed and in the morning it will remind you of the need to achieve your goals.

5. After setting the target, make a plan indicating the number of classes per day, the time spent on exercise, regardless of the season: winter, summer. It doesn't matter when you start.
6. Don’t let yourself be lazy, persuading you that you’ll start tomorrow, on the mythical Monday, next week. You need to start right now, without putting things off for long.
7. Come up with a ritual that will mark the start of your workout. For example, turn on the same favorite incendiary music or a separate composition every time.
8. Start small. For example, for the first week, do daily running in place + plank for only 5-7 minutes. Convincing yourself to take 5 minutes is not difficult.
9. Dress so that you like yourself, even if no one sees you, but clothes still create a mood, and sports clothes create a sporty mood.

Make fitness training "inevitable"

Our psyche is designed in such a way that any, even minor, obstacle can force us to give up action if motivation is weak. And in the case of fitness training, this is usually the case. If in order to go for a run in the morning you have to spend a long time looking for sneakers around the apartment, then the chance that you will start running that morning will drop to zero. Psychologists advise reducing the number of barriers on your way to a minimum: prepare your form in advance and set your alarm clock half an hour earlier. And when you wake up in the morning and stare at your sportswear, you will have no choice - since you got up earlier anyway, why not work out?

Go to rest

Rest is as important a part of the training process as the training itself. It is during rest that progress occurs: muscles grow, their strength, volume, ligaments and neural connections are strengthened.

You should enjoy going to training. Focus on him! Admit it - if there is no pleasure, how long will you last with this tramp? Of course, you will quit – it’s a matter of time. It is impossible to train on willpower forever, just as it is impossible to forever hold a pillow on outstretched arms.

Therefore, only go to the gym fully recovered if you are dragging yourself to the exercise equipment by willpower, but your body and subconscious are screaming “no!” due to under-recovery from previous loads, then something is clearly wrong here.

If you have a routine and seem to be on schedule to go to the gym, but you feel that you can’t today, understand and forgive yourself. It’s better to skip one workout now than to miss the rest of your life later. After all, you’re not in a hurry!

* How to make sure that you don’t suddenly get bored studying

But the most important barrier between you and your healthy, beautiful, longer-living body (thanks to regular exercise, of course) is boredom.

The world offers you so much and it’s all so interesting and tiring that going to the gym again and doing the same thing (do you remember to change exercises, by the way?) gradually becomes boring and the risk of giving up everything increases.

Dealing with this is difficult and everyone has their own tricks, here are some ideas that may help (or not):

• Set a goal. For example, climb to the fifth floor without shortness of breath, learn how to do pull-ups with a wide grip, technically squat with a barbell, achieve the desired circumference in your biceps or waist, see your abs, do 1000 workouts - take it or come up with your own.
• Reward yourself. The brain is not stupid, it will immediately realize that the action-reward connection works. And if you reward yourself simply for going to the gym, that’s already a lot. You just need to come up with this reward for yourself: delicious food or play your favorite game.
• Find a training buddy or group. More fun together! You will encourage and push each other.

Happy gym training! And may you LIKE them.

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To save money

One of the most reliable ways to definitely get to a class is to pay for it.

Rarely does anyone, having invested money, give up on it.

In this case, you need to invest in a club subscription. As a rule, it is not cheap, so your conscience will not allow you to skip classes. Here, in the hall, you can find like-minded people . And this is another motivating moment. Greater interest in the training process arises if training is carried out with a partner or coach.

In addition, here you can find people with training programs similar to yours.

True Champion Award

After another grueling workout, treat yourself. No, it's not cake or a huge pan of chips that should be the reward. Treat yourself to a great relaxation on the couch while watching your favorite movie. Or go to an amusement park. Come up with a worthy reward for yourself after full-fledged and effective training.

It is clear that in the end you will win with a beautiful sculpted body, excellent health and achievements. But don’t forget about the little joys in between. They will be a great motivator for regular exercise.