Tips to Stay Motivated with a New Exercise Routine

 Beginning an exercise routine can be a fun and exciting time, especially once you decide it is time to change your life. However, sticking to your new routine can be a challenge for many people. Hitting the occasional roadblock is normal and with some advance planning, you can ensure those occasional roadblocks do not become permanent. There will be days when you have a bad workout or just do not get to exercise at all. When it happens, it is important to accept it and turn those negative thoughts into positive motivation to get back at it the next day. Here are a few tips to keep your motivation strong.

Track Your Activity

Keep your exercise routine on track by keeping a record of all the activities that you do. Logging your exercises can help keep you more accountable for the times that you are not able to make time for activity, as well as for times when you could have done more. By keeping records, you can easily identify patterns such as certain days of the week you are more likely to be inactive, workouts that are more difficult for you to do than others, and times of the day when you get in the best exercise. Investing in devices such as an Apple Watch or FitBit can help greatly with your record-keeping, but a notebook will work as well to log your routines.

Mix It Up

Mixing your routine with activities that you enjoy will make sure you are having fun when you work out and keep you active for longer. Switching your routine will also ensure you are hitting different muscle groups, which will not only help your overall fitness but also help prevent you from becoming too sore to keep your activity level up. Varying your activities will also prevent injuries, overworking a certain muscle group can be dangerous as well as mundane, so don’t be afraid to try new things!

Get an Exercise Buddy

Working out with a friend or attending group classes can be a real motivation boost. Having regularly planned activities with a group or even just one other friend helps hold you accountable, plus it adds a lot of enjoyment to your workout routine.

Keep It Fun

Choose activities that you enjoy and fit within your budget and schedule. Select a few things that keep you moving such as aerobic exercise, walking, or swimming along with a few muscle-building exercises that you know you enjoy doing. If your workout routine is tedious or too difficult, you likely will not be able to stick with it. The best exercise is the ones you will do regularly.

Follow the tips above and if you are interested in crafting a workout plan suited to your own lifestyle, fitness and pain levels, and goals you can do so with a Physical Therapist. Phoenix Osteopractic Physical Therapy is ready to help you, contact us at (972) 232-2310 or visit http://www.phoenixopt.com today!