Blog - The Australian & New Zealand Mental Health Association

How to Trick Yourself into Loving Your Workout

Written by Brittany George | Apr 16, 2020 3:41:57 AM

Exercising, although very important, is not really everyone’s favorite activity. Even though people understand all the benefits of exercising, some of them simply don’t like doing it. As you know, if you’re making yourself do something you don’t quite enjoy, it automatically becomes 10 times more difficult to do.

That’s why you should try and trick yourself into loving your workout. That way you’ll get the best of both worlds. You’ll a) get your workout done and b) you won’t struggle as much to finish it. Here are a few ideas.

Choose the Right Type of Workout

The fact of the matter is that not all of us enjoy the same things. What this means is that if your friend Jessica really enjoys weightlifting, you- on the other hand – can absolutely hate it. That being said, you should explore various types of exercises until you find your perfect fit. Once you manage to find the right plan and create a schedule that fits your daily lifestyle, you’ll have a much easier time finding the necessary motivation. All of this may sound too simple to be true but trust us, it really does do the trick.

Combine it with Something You Like

Aside from choosing the right type of workout regimen, you should also try to combine it with something you thoroughly do enjoy doing. For instance, you can listen to music while working out if music is something that suits your soul. There are even numerous studies that suggest that listening to music while working out can significantly improve your performance, motivation and focus.

On the other hand, if you’d like to engage your brain a bit further, try listening to audiobooks. This way, not only will you get your body in shape but you’ll exercise your brain as well. Finally, you can even enjoy your favorite TV shows or movies while working out - whatever seems to be doing the trick for you.

Track Your Progress

Tracking your progress is another thing that can assist you in changing your current mindset and enjoying your workout a bit more. Once you reach the point where you can obviously see how far you’ve come, you’ll start appreciating all the hard work you had to do a bit more. That being said, don’t weigh yourself after every exercise.

Instead, choose a specific day in a month where you’ll weigh yourself and note down all of your other measurements. If you didn’t have too much extra weight to begin, you might not notice a significant change on the scale. But you’ll notice that everything that used to flap around is now nicely and tightly packed together.

Get New Workout Gear

Finally, if you’re one of those people who work out in old clothes, change it up and find workout clothes and athleisure wear that are stylish and suit your style. This way, your brain will automatically get more excited as soon as you put your workout gear on. Add a pair of comfortable workout shoes to the whole mix and you’ll be good to go.

It’s funny how we can consciously choose to do things that can trick our own brains into liking something it wasn’t really a fan of. So, try out these nifty tricks and see if they work out for you in the end. Who knows - you may even end up falling in love with working out in the end.