What motivates you to get your exercise done?

Set goals. Weekly, monthly, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month and a year from the start. Examples, weekly.. go for a run 3x this week. 3 month climb 200 step staircase without having to stop. 6 month.. go hiking in the mountains with my son. And so on… maybe in a year, go backpacking in another country. Always have something to work towards and to dream about, or plan while you’re working out. Keeps your mind off the difficulty, and makes time go by faster.

Working out keeps my anxiety down & helps motivate me to do something with my day. It helps me get in my me time. And know its helping to reach my goal weight!

A trick I recently learned in “Faster Than Normal” (Shankman) has helped me get motivated to exercise when virtually nothing else would. In the book, Shankman explains that folks with ADHD have brains that need a little help producing the right amount of dopamine, and exercise is an excellent, easy, free, non-pharmaceutical way to stimulate the production of dopamine and endorphins. Understanding the connection between what I’m doing with my body out in the world and my internal experiences helped me understand that I have all the power to change my habits, and in turn my brain, thus improving my entire quality of life. Another tip from the book is that you can do small bursts of exercise to help bring your focus back (Shankman calls it taking a “dopamine break,” which I like) anywhere, anytime, and this small shift in how I think about “scheduling” my exercise helped me get over the obstacle of feeling like I had to go to the gym everyday or something – it freed me to play around with different kinds of exercise in different intervals and things, and not view it as some huge chore or commitment. Now I include lots of short “dopamine breaks” for exercise throughout my day, and I even look forward to them!

Exercise can be very difficult to keep up.

What helps me is:
1. Being able to exercise right at home, or without getting into my car. The thought of exercise can be a little bit overwhelming sometimes. If you have to add the thought of driving to a gym, it’s a totally different story. I have an exercise bike and treadmill and can go running outside.
2. Exercising when it works for my schedule. For me that’s early morning or late at night.
3. Exercising a reasonable amount of time. I’ve settled on about 30 minutes. More than that and it becomes too much of a chore. Less than that and it becomes insubstantive.
4. Varying it up when the mood suits me. Switching to weights and a much shorter exercise routine, for example.

I have a knee injury whichm prevents me from playing badminton. This motivates me to keep the exercise up, so I can empty my mind once again in a sport which I am great at

My backpain I know I need to do my exercises on a regular basis because another wise ot will get worse. Even if it’s just 5 min and ligt I still try to do it 5 times a week

I tell myself in my head that I want to be more healthier and skinnier. To be happy in my own body. I want to be proud about the way I look and feel accomplished that I completed a difficult task. And I also wanna get that summer bod.

Look, i faced many things in my life, that just demotivated me, but never stopped me, and I never gave up, I always wanted to keep myself fit and also wanted to be motivated, happy and to feel energetic, so I just found this app, and now I really don't wanna give up, as I never did, but I've realised one thing, that this is the time to make myself fabulous and perfect in everything, so I just did it, as I want to achieve many things in my life, so why not start from now?

I focus in on my body and see what part doesn't feel well. I have RA, so I know if I stop moving my joints will hurt. So I remind myself exercise will make me feel better.

I feel better and have more energy if I do exercise 🙂
Before I did exercire actively. Now I do it slowle without sudden movements and have more pleasure. Good luck

One of my motivation is to get back in shape. Sometimes I just can't exercise; on those days I just push myself to a walk or an exercise routine just for the heck of not breaking my streak

Better Mobility throughout the day helps me to get my exercise done in the morning if I don't do it I find that I am stiff and sluggish tired throughout the day

I am trying to heal a level 2 Achilles tendon issue. My exercise is part of my at home physical therapy program along with twice a week visits to the PT.

Knowing that if I don't get it done I'll both lose my streak and feel bad about not doing it. Get a calendar and start crossing out days for maximum effect. Separating my exercise sessions into two segments has helped as well. The first one is really easy and short, and I see it as mandatory. The second is a little more demanding, and it's optional. Usually finishing the first puts me in the right mood to do the second.

Right now I don't have motivation. I don't have time in the morning to exercise and I won't get up any earlier than I already do. But I do WANT to incorporate more exercise into my daily routine

To defeat my doubts , to know that im capable of doing great things not just for my body but for my mental health too , it makes me feel more connected to the world and to my loved ones.

I strongly associate exercise with fun and now that I do it regularly, I can’t go a day without it. Knowing the benefits of exercise, emotionally buying into it, finding an exercise which you love and building your identity around a daily exercise habit will not only keep you motivated, but cause you to become a life long exercise enthusiast.

It’s gone thru many stages, at first it was because I didn’t want to end up like my parent, and that was only marginally helpful as a motivation. Then it was because fat old women weren’t supposed to be able to change, and that was more helpful as a motivation. Now it’s because I want to have a better health, and while that’s a better underlying motivation, I’m still struggling to be as good about exercising as I would like to be.

It was very hard for me to get back into an exercise routine, but I knew that I had to make it a priority, even if I had to do it alone. After weeks of missed workouts and start-and-stop exercise, I realized that I would do best as a morning exerciser, so that I could get my workout in before the day began. Although it was hard for the first week, I noticed an increase in my energy levels and I started to make better choices throughout the day after working out (eating, being more active, etc). I don’t want to lose that feeling, or stop seeing results, so that’s what motivates me to keep going.

Part of it is not breaking that streak, but part of it is knowing that I’m treating myself right every time I do. There’s a bit of celebration whenever I exercise, that’s I’ve come to not want to miss out on. It puts the exercise higher in my priorities than it was before.

My morning routine always includes getting ready to exercise. I usually get up and put on my sporty clothes, shoes and sun block. My main motivation it's to contemplate the beautiful flowers of my neighbors during my morning walks.

The feeling I get after I exercise. Mostly mental clarity and positive self image. It’s also part of my morning routine, my morning doesn’t feel complete without it.

I want to look and feel better. I've always been a little overweight so if just like for that not to be my norm. I want to have more energy and have more confidence.

If it’s for cardio to lose weight/tone up/get fit I look in a mirror for about 2minutes being honest about how I feel about my body (not examining the parts I need to fix but instead looking at if I’m comfortable with where I’m at). If it’s a stretch or weights or yoga class I’ll move around a bit and notice any stiffness. Usually after 2 leg lifts is enough to convince me my body will appreciate the long term effects of smoother and more comfortable movement. So I guess just check in with your body and see where you want to be in the future instead of examining your current wants. Doing the child and the sage meditation also helped.

I try to remember every day before I get to bed how I feel after I'm done exercising then I also remind myself that I want that level of fitness and shape to my body, so I wake myself up everyday that I have to do it to get the goals I set..

We are all going to get older and weaker whether we like it or not. When I see people who are young, constantly complaining about aches and pains, looking and acting older than they actually are, it gets me to say to myself. "Not you Scott. Don't let that happen to you. Get up. Get moving".

The need to improve my health and feel energized through the day. Once I do it makes me feel like I'm ready to conquer my day.

When I work out, I feel better physically, mentally, and emotionally. Plus, I enjoy the feeling of getting a work out done and sweating afterwards. I know there are plenty of people out there who would love to be able to go outside and run, or go on a hike, but they physically can’t. I want to take advantage of my ability to do these things.

Every day I look at my abs and they get smaller and smaller every single day!!! I always ding an workouts and extra workouts when I want to or have time!

I used to be okay with my body but now I have been working long hours in a desk job and even my psychology started to decline. All I did was sit on the couch and watch Netflix. Then people that care about me thought I was depressed or sad, but what I was feeling was drainage. I was angry at myself because I was always happy and energized, so I decided to shift gears and do things that make me happy, reduced my working hours and exercise more. Now I am starting to feel great again and want to keep going

I started crossfit half a year ago and this is the best that ever happened to me. Seeing how your body transforms and feeling great every day and being a part of community – this is very motivating

For me personally, I’m working on a new yoga pose so, every morning I try to get better and better at that particular pose. Setting a goal and striving to reach it is a good way to stay motivated!

What motivates me is this. The way I feel when I'm done exercising. And in fact, I feel more energetic and willing to do more sometimes.
Sincerely,
Selmaan A Ali

At this time it’s because the health condition I have has not been helped so far by medical doctors and my naturopath has at this point only treatments to help with pain but a cure is very slow going.

Because the condition results in a mechanical problem, at this point exercise is the least trouble since I want to keep functioning independently.

I tell myself I can only watch a certain show if I am on the treadmill or stationary bike. So if I want to binge watch I will need to exercise.

Start off by doing something you really like. I loved walking and sometimes running. I decided I was going to get up in the morning and go for walk a walk- be gentle and forgiving with myself and start small. So I did for a week and I wasn’t miserable. I truly enjoyed it. And some days I decided to run. It was nice.

Having an accountability person works.

Signing up for classes that you have to pay for and cAnt cancel.

I also suggest reading Atomic Habits by James Clear.

The feeling of reward I get. Also just getting up and moving feels great at the beginning of the day. It feels like I have more clarity when I even get a little bit of movement in.

I feel more awake and relaxed after the exercise. I will also not suffer from back pain througjout the day if I do the stretching and the exercises every morning.

Wanting better health, more energy. Want to live long. Want to be strong. Enjoy being fit and in shape. Want clothes to fit well. Want to be able to eat run foods. Want to stay young.

I want to be healthy for my son and wife, and live a long and HEALTHY life with as little physical problems as possible.

At this point I am motivated by not wanting to feel bad about myself for missing it. When I do workout I feel proud of myself for doing it, plus I feel good from endorphins so it's win / win.

The feeling of fit keeps me motivating. I want to be fit and fine. As I have to do my studies I need to focus and have full concentration. Exercise improve the level of concentration. It's amazing when we do our task energeticly.

Of course at the beginning it looked like an annoying task to complete… But the more I do it, the less difficult it is, the more I see progress, and the more I am proud of me. Being proud of yourself isn't something that happens all the time, even though it feels extremely good to know you're doing good. So it motivates me to keep going!

Tracking my routine through my apple watch and setting activity goals on a daily and weekly Timelines. Making a game out of it.

I wake up at an earlier time and do my exercise right when I get up in the morning for 7 minutes and then do my morning routine. It gets it out of the way and I never forget to do it.

Remind yourself you wanted to start exercising in the first place is what will motivate you to get your exercise done each morning. Try your very best to start your say out with exercise because you know it will wake you up, get blood flowing, make you feel more energized and stronger. The earlier you get it done, the better because the negative self talk that usually stops us from doing things is still not up and in full mode. You will still have to remind yourself that you did not get where you are over night and therefor you will not get to your desired journey over night however you will be a step closer to getting where you want to be depending on what you do today.

The feeling that I feel after I do it…it’s just so energizing and well I’m proud of me because I’ve done it today as well.

It is another target, another goal, I have set to myself. I have signed to 10K Great Manchester Run, so, I would like to be in the best possiblle condition. And there is another motivator for me. My very best friend have lost a few ponds thanks to change her eating habits and different food, wich is much healthier. She has sent me her picture and once I have seen the result, I have realised, everything is really possible. Since that day, I took my training for the trace seriously, even with change my diet as well.

I know when I exercise I feel more flexible, stand up straighter and have more energy to tackle my day. Those feeling are my motivation to exercise every day. Exercise is really becoming a habit already.

I wanna do a regatta in 4 months from now and I need more strength in my arm. So I make my exercise be partially for that and in this way I am really motivated to do it. Sometimes I cut the rest of the exercise routine but I feel this is still good

I try avoiding thinking about it like exercise, i think about just one small task at the time, in my case i do rock climbing, so I just think one movement at the time, and forget anything else, hand-rock-feet-rock, the smaller the task the easier, thinking on doing exercise is to big for me. Doing something that gives you sense of accomplishment, helps a lot!

I miss being healthy. I miss waking up and not hurting.i have so much pressure on my body it’s hard to get motivated and stay motivated. But I am hoping this app will help me fix that.

A thought about my goals. I realized that I’m on my way to launch new habit that will improve my life. I try to be better than me a minute ago

Almost gave up today… I have no idea. I just didn’t want to break the streak. But to be honest, I was supposed to go for a jog or something but I’m just tooooooo lazy to get out of the house. So, I’d rather do a short workout at home. So the guilt-trip works too 😂

I know I will feel better afterward. I also enjoy the feeling of my heart pumping fast and not thinking of anything else for a few seconds. The loss of anxiety while and a bit after I exercise.

I want to be the best version of myself. I want to feel great about how I look, build my confidence and self-esteem. I want to be able to look at my myself in their mirror and be proud of what I’ve worked so hard for. No one can take away the sweat and work you’ve put in. I’m proud of the accomplishments I’ve made thus far.

Meditation is a great way to let go of blockages and assist you in reaching your goals
Don’t be too hard on yourself when you getting started and keep reminding yourself that small steps forward are better than none

I'm motivated by my roller derby teammates. If I workout on my own time, I will be a stronger, better, and more-valuable teammate.

I like being somewhat strong, so I can do dumb things like lift my friends or surprise people who ask for help lifting or carrying things.

Right now, it is the consciousness that it does good to my body. I can feel it, I can see myself in a better disposition every day thanks to the exercise. I still don’t experience the runner’s high because my exercise portions are still short. But it feels nice to stretch the muscles and see them function.

My dog! She likes to get outside and get moving. Even if it’s just a short walk down the street. Plus it’s good quality time to spend with her on the morning before I leave for work.