5 tips to start exercising and not quit

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Iya Zorina shares methods that really work.

1. Use the power of someone else's opinion

Our entire civilization is built by The Social Brain: Neural Basis of Social Knowledge on the ability to understand other people and unite with them to achieve goals. Our brain is simply tailored to interact with our own kind.

So start exercising with a friend. First, it will make it easier for you to adapt to a new environment, if we are talking about a gym or group exercises. Secondly, you will feel some obligations and it will be embarrassing to break them.

If none of your acquaintances is inclined towards sports, try concluding a contract.

You commit to exercising regularly for a specified amount of time, and your friend makes his promise, maybe not even related to physical activity. Set clear deadlines (week, two, month) and come up with some kind of punishment in case of default. Not so long ago I became convinced that this scheme really works.

I used to be friends with sports, but over time I completely stopped training. I didn't even exercise in the morning. I could not force myself to study. And no matter how many times I returned to training, I always gave up after some time.

As a result, the situation was corrected by a dispute with a friend. We agreed that she would do her part, and I would do mine. The payback for violating the terms was severe - 50 burpees right in the office. At first, it was this that spurred me not to give up what I had begun, I just did not want to lose.

Then the action of the dispute ended, but I was already drawn in, I felt much better, and on the whole it became some kind of ritual. As a result, after the argument, a lot of time has passed, and training has not left my life either. There are fewer of them, but this is no longer so important: the main thing is that they exist at all.

2. Consider fatigue

Once the exercise habit is established, nothing will make you miss a workout: not tired after a day at work, not friends suggestions. But while it is not there, you will have to turn on willpower - a resource that mental fatigue, lack of glucose, or constant forced self-control can exhaust.

These factors tend to converge after work: you are hungry, tired of stress, forced communication and performing not the most desirable tasks. And all of this can greatly affect your determination to play sports.

When you are planning an evening workout, fresh and rested, you don’t think at all about how exhausted you will be after work. But it should be.

Walking 10 minutes on foot, not eating eight hours, getting to the gym on the other side of the city or practicing while the child crawls around and interferes - for a person full of strength, all this seems like a trifle. But when the energy is almost zero, these actions turn into serious reasons to postpone the sport indefinitely.

To help your future self, think about where you will play sports, how long it will be since the last meal, whether you can get at least a little rest before heading to the gym, whether it will be convenient for you to get to the place.

3. Activate the dopamine system

You don’t need to force yourself to do something pleasant: eat sugary or fatty foods, socialize with friends, or have sex. All this causes an increased production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that provides a sense of pleasure. It is an important part of the reward system that motivates us to take action to get what we want.

After all, if you enjoyed it, you are more likely to do it again.

Exercise itself increases dopamine, serotonin, and endocannabinoid levels. But unlike stimulants like drugs, the effect is less dramatic or noticeable.

Over time, you will get a kick out of the sport, but until that happens, find a dopamine release agent and link it to your workout. This could be:

• Music. It increases dopamine production, so why not exercise with headphones on? When I was introducing long runs after work into my training process, I was often rescued by the thought that I would listen to my amazing playlist on the run. Without this, the venture was doomed to failure.
• Communication. Scientists have found that talking about yourself activates brain structures that are charged with dopamine neurons. Indeed, communication is very pleasant, and it will serve as additional motivation for you.
• Public acceptance. Post photos and videos from your workouts. Community support in the form of likes will help you survive addiction.

4. Create a plan

While people like to have some choice - this creates a sense of control over the situation - the process itself takes a lot of energy. Especially when there are many options and you do not know what to rely on and by what criteria to judge.

It works in all areas: it doesn't matter if you choose a kettle, a dress for a corporate party, or an exercise in the gym. Therefore, give up the test sessions, in which you just dangle from corner to corner, looking at the simulators.

The eternal question "What can I do?" very quickly kill your motivation to do anything at all.

There are two options: find a trainer or download a workout plan from the internet. And the first is, of course, a priority. The coach will tell you what to do and how exactly, so that you will immediately get rid of unnecessary worries and doubts. If this is too expensive for you, find a lesson plan on the web. And go with it, saved in your phone, for a run, in the pool, in the gym or on the horizontal bars in the yard.

Firstly, it will relieve you of a choice, and secondly, it will help break your big ghostly goal - to lose weight, build up, become healthy and beautiful - into small feasible pieces: close the approach, run 10 kilometers, complete 20 burpees per minute.

As a result, the brain will cheer you up with neurotransmitters for achieving your goals, you will feel right and good, and you will form a habit of sports.

5. Review your story about yourself

In her book, "" behavioral psychologist Susan M. Weinschenk touches on the subject of self-made stories. She claims that each person has many images in accordance with which he acts.

We make decisions based on the images we have created. Once we have made a decision that matches one of our images, we try to continue to adhere to the chosen behavior. Given a choice, we are more likely to take action that is consistent with our story or image.

Susan Weinshenk "The Laws of Influence"

Perhaps, as a child, you hated running because of your excess weight, at school you went to a special group for physical education, or had an experience of unpleasant communication with athletes. And now you often say something like "I am too lazy", "I am a pie", "I hate sports."

It seems to you that this is an invariable part of your personality, but it is not. This is just a story and it can change. The main thing is the beginning. One small step that will shift your attitude a little. And then everything will go on the knurled one.

Anonymous athlete

I have had bad eyesight since childhood. And in general, I have always considered myself an unsportsmanlike person, the loads were given hard and difficult. I went to school and at the institute in a special group on physical education.

After pregnancy, she gained a fair amount of weight and decided to go to the gym. Since my friend was engaged in CrossFit, I went for it too - then it did not matter to me. As a result, regular training has brought endurance, weight loss, and an athletic environment. Not a trace remained of an unsportsmanlike person, because what could be simpler - you go and do it!

Remember: any "lazy person" who hates to move can turn into an athlete who cannot live without sports.