Sports motivation
Do you have no sports motivation? For the average sporter, the most important tip to exercise regularly is to set the bar low. Goals that are too high can lead to procrastination, giving up and self-rejection. Effortless exercise starts with feeling what you feel like and acting on it. Instead of forcing things, you build it up slowly, so that you often ‘automatically’ start exercising more and more intensively. Because it feels good.
Why don’t I want to exercise?
Part of sports is just psychology. You don’t have to be ‘sporty’ to exercise a lot. You just have to do it. And that requires kindness. Acceptance about where you are and being content with that, so that you keep doing it with pleasure. Not everyone is a top athlete and they don’t have to be. A fit body is possible for almost everyone with the right approach and focus on the process instead of the result.
Exercise for sports motivation
Running, HIIT (an intense workout with a time interval), yoga or Pilates. Almost anyone can do it, as long as you don’t set the bar too high. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do it. See what you can handle and where your needs lie per day. Some days you feel like exercising intensively, other days you might prefer a quiet yin yoga. If you listen carefully to your body, you will feel what your body is asking for every day and you will find the right balance more easily. As a result, you will train more intensively. But that’s not the goal. The goal is to exercise and give your body what it needs.
How do you know what you need? Your body gives you signals about what is or is not good for you. You can learn to recognize and understand those signals. A simple and effective exercise is learning to recognize a ‘yes’ and a ‘no’ in your body.
Ask yourself the simple choice question below.
• Do you fancy an intensive workout such as a HIIT or a quiet yin yoga?
Try to become aware of what you feel and how your body reacts to the thought of these options. If something suits you well at that moment (a ‘yes’), it can feel like relaxation, softness, space, lightness or liveliness. If your body’s answer to this question is ‘no’, it can give you a feeling of tension, closure, resistance or hardening.
Be aware of where you feel it in your body. One feels it in her stomach, the other around the heart and another all over the body. How is that with you?
Tips for sports motivation
- Keep in mind what you are doing it for: you want to feel (more) good. Give yourself a fit and beautiful body. It’s not always easy, but definitely achievable.
- Don’t set the bar too high. Set realistic goals and be happy with where you are. Don’t go every day right away. Take small steps and go for sustainable results.
- Choose a sports environment where you feel like going: where you like the atmosphere, the music and the people.
- Choose a workout that you enjoy, that benefits your body and that you do not easily get injuries.
- Go before/after work or link it to another activity. If you go through at once, you won’t have that difficult moment to get off the couch.
- Think holistically. Connect with your body, become aware of your diet and lifestyle and include that in your sports practice.
Discuss your sports motivation with a coach
Do you not feel like exercising and would you like to do something about it? We have great programs to get motored again and great coaches to spar with. You can read more information about our programs on the website. Or make an appointment on our website for a free trial lesson.
