Now that winter is here, it is dark and cold outside.  If you choose early morning exercise, sometimes it is hard to get out of a warm, cozy bed to face the elements outside.  It can be hard and challenging to keep motivated with your exercise routine.  Here are three ideas on how to stay on track. 

Remember your goals

What is the reason behind your workouts? What is it you want to accomplish? Do you want to get fit? Walk around the block? Lose weight? Build muscle? Whatever the reason is, let your goal help you create and maintain your exercise habits.

Make a plan

Whatever your goal is, it is good to break it up into small achievable chunks.  Let’s say you want to run a mile.  Your first plan is to walk for 10 minutes.  Then you move your plan up to walk for 20 minutes.  Once that is accomplished then you can add in 3-4 minutes of running.  The minutes of running keep increasing until you can run a mile.  Creating a plan will help you make progress towards your goal.

Listen to your favorite podcast or playlist

Saving certain podcasts or music playlists to listen to during your workouts can be motivating.  You can’t wait to begin your workout so you can connect again with that special podcast. 

Summary

It can be challenging to keep motivated with your exercise routine.  Somedays, I could talk myself out of doing my workout, that is why I created the habit of doing them first thing every morning.  There are several other strategies you can develop to keep motivated.  What are some that work for you?

To read more about picking an exercise activity, read Find a Fitness Activity That Works for You.