When ya just don't wanna

When You Just Don’t Wanna:10 Ways to Get Moving!

BEEP BEEP! It’s 6:30 a.m. It can’t be morning already! Your eyelids feel like they have weights attached to them, it’s pitch black and cold outside, you’re feeling cozy in your cocoon-like bed and you reach over, ready to hit the snooze bar. Then that tiny little voice in your head says “To workout, or not to workout, that is the question…” 

This is just one scenario that can happen when you just don’t want to workout; we’ve all experienced lack of enthusiasm to reach our fitness goals. Here are ten ways you can avoid the “I just don’t wanna” Syndrome.

• Be positive!

Have you ever met someone who seems like they are living a charmed life: healthy, spiritual, successful? Most likely they are positive people, because there is power that comes with being positive; being positive will supercharge your workouts. Positive thoughts are like a safety net when life gets hectic. Norman Vincent Peale in his book The Power of Positive Thinking talks about “How we think we feel has a definite effect on how we actually feel physically. If your mind tells you that you are tried, the body mechanism, the nerves, and the muscles accept the fact. If your mind is intensely interested, you can keep on that activity indefinitely.” Whether you think negative thoughts or positive thoughts, these thoughts will affect your performance. A simple piece of paper posted in a place where you can see it with positive affirmations written on it can make a huge difference in your motivation. Choose words of encouragement, favorite quotes, anything that motivates you toward your goal. When negative thoughts come to us, this can affect our state of happiness and keep us from goals. 

• Visualization

The mind is a powerful thing. Picturing yourself strong, fast, and fit is a great way to motivate you into action. When I raced bikes I would picture the people that I cared about most cheering me on; this worked great on days that I felt tired. I also stored away some of my favorite memories to use on days when it was bleak outside, or I was just plain sick of the gym. For example, my family and I use to live about a mile from South Beach Miami. My morning run would be on a boardwalk right on the beach with breathtaking views of the ocean; I have used those images long since then to break up the monotony. Your vision might be somewhere on a mountain path or dodging traffic on your bike in a big city. It could be that you picture yourself getting a top finish in a race; the point is to change your perception and fuel your workouts around life-changing moments.

• Birds of a feather flock together.

Find someone you can work out with! Why? Because accountably is everything. If you commit to meeting someone to work out with it is a lot harder to bail. Also having a friend there can make the workout more enjoyable. If you don’t have anyone to work out with, go to the gym or park and start making friends that like fitness. Hit a class on a regular basis; you will be surprised how well you get to know everyone. Attitudes are contagious, so surround yourself with people that you want to be like.

• Commit to an athletic event.

This is a great way to ensure that you keep to a goal! Don’t just say “Sure I’ll do that 5k,” go and register early and pay the money so you can’t back out. Committing to an event can take your workout to a whole new level.

• Get to bed early.

Be kind to your body. Sleep promotes faster recovery and repair. Many people quit because of body soreness or fatigue. Remember when you push your body, you also need to give it rest.

• Load up on motivating music.

Bored? Mix it up! Don’t listen to the same old stuff for months on end. Costas Karageorghis, a sports psychologist, has found three contributing factors that motivate us to move. The first one is rhythm response (BPM), so try matching the beat with your heart rate or your revolutions per minute (RPMs) to a pedal stroke. The second is musicality: matching body movement with rhythm. The third is association. The funniest thing happens when I teach a class and the Rocky theme song comes on: all of a sudden people are digging deeper, riding faster all because of how they associate with Rocky!

• Reward yourself.

Rewards are fantastic motivators! Sometimes just a little something can get us back on track and on fire for more. A reward can be anything: a smoothie, a new outfit, or even a hot bubble bath. I go to a gym that has a sauna, so one of my rewards is that I can have a nice long sauna session after I finish exercising. 

• Gear up!

Look the part! Not only will it help you to see yourself looking like a fitness pro, but also lightweight, breathable clothing can prevent overheating and injury. Shoes are a must; if you can’t invest in anything else make sure you have the right shoes. Injury prevention will keep you moving like nothing else. 

• Put it on paper.

    Write your goals down! Writing down your goals helps you to have a better chance at achieving what you want. I have a chart that has the days I want to exercise; I put it on my bathroom mirror so that I see it every day, and when I finish a workout I mark it off. Marking off a workout gives you a feeling of accomplishment. 

• Just show up.

Sometimes all it takes to get motivated is to just show up. Fight the urge to skip workouts by telling yourself “All I have to do today is show up.” More likely than not, once you get there you’ll feel motivated to get moving

Remember: half the battle is just getting there! 

What it means to be hooked!

Bri posted this in June, I love it!
TASTE THE DIFFERENCE
Exercise makes everything better---including the flavor of life.
By Joe Kita
A cup of dirty ice
A handful of melted Gummi Bears
A ham-and-cheese sandwich in a microwavable bag
A glass of warm Coke
A badly bruised banana
A packet of vanilla GU
These are some of the best things I've ever eaten. In fact, if I close my eyes and think about each one, I can still remember exactly where I was and how delicious it tasted. That cup of ice, for instance, was handed to me at an aid station 4 miles from the finish of an Olympic-distance triathlon on a 90-degree July day. Up until that point, I'd only had warm water and Gatorade, but this—my gosh—was treasure.
I spotted that ham-and-cheese sandwich in a rest-stop vending machine off a highway near Westport, Ireland. My 9-year-old son and I had been pedaling our tandem ­­­all day in the rain. We were cold and hungry. We listened as our last coins clattered into the cashbox, watched as that sandwich fell from its A3 perch, waited as the microwave worked its 60-second magic, then split it exactly even and let the cheese seep into our mouths.
So it is with everything else on my list. Ordinary stuff that's either gulped down or refused entirely under normal conditions becomes an unforgettable gourmet treat when seasoned with physical exercise.
Everyone knows that exercise strengthens the heart and lungs and muscles, but did you also realize that it conditions your taste buds and, more broadly (and importantly), your appetite for life?
There's an interesting physiological reason for this. Ninety percent of what we think is taste is actually smell. Try holding your nose the next time you take a bite of anything, and you'll experience this firsthand. As your body heats up during exercise, your sense of smell becomes more acute. Increased air-and blood-flow through the nose, combined with the release of endorphins and the uptick in your arousal system, all serve to further enhance your sense of smell. So when you eat or drink something during or immediately after strenuous exercise, it tastes better.
That's the physical part. But after many years of workouts, I've come to believe there's a similar psychological effect. It's not just food and drink you come to savor, but also conversation, people, and the surrounding environment. I'm the 47-year-old son of a stalwart Marine, yet I cried running up Fifth Avenue during the New York City Marathon, and I've told things to buddies on bike rides that I'd never think of broaching with my wife. It's as if molecules in your brain and your heart, along with those in your nose, dilate and become more sensitive, too. You feel more intensely, you appreciate more deeply, you listen more closely, you taste life in the pure, organic way it was meant to be served.
This is why I exercise. This is why I'm in the pool at 7a.m. or at the gym on weekend mornings while almost everyone else is sleeping. This is why I prefer to take my family on bike tours rather than to Disney World. This is why my wife and I go for a walk when we have something important to discuss. Activity brings awareness. Start moving the body, and the soul will follow.
You've probably heard the term "target heart rate." If you're serious about exercise and want to train most effectively, this is the heart rate you should aim for. It's your engine's optimal rpm. But what if we redefined the concept? Instead of aiming for our physical target hear-rate zones and counting off beats per minute, what if we focused instead on our emotional target heart-rate zones and tracked our connections per minute-the number of times we really notice or experience what's around us?
After all, it's not just getting back in shape that we need, it's getting back in touch.