How do I get excited about working out?

If you're asking, "How do I get excited about working out?" I'll show you why you're not looking forward to it and, more importantly, how to bring back the fun...

Exercise. So many people see it as a chore, something they "have" to do, or worse, something they absolutely dread.

Why?

Because they're falling victim to the three mistakes guaranteed to suck the joy out of exercise.

Avoid these mistakes with the strategies I'm sharing, and you'll learn to bring the fun back.

Let's start by talking about the biggest exercise mistake.

MISTAKE #1. You're making exercise feel like a chore.

We look forward to eating cake or sitting down to watch an episode of Seinfeld, but we don't look forward to working out. What gives?

If you're expecting exercise to be a chore, then that's exactly what it will be. Let's face it, if you don't like the activity you have planned, it doesn't take much for it to become a hassle, and the whole thing will feel like a job.

And to make matters worse, you see those people that seem to love exercise and wonder, "How is it fair they're excited, but I'm not?"

Make no mistake, they didn't find the "secret" or stumble upon the well of motivation. They're excited to exercise because they're doing something they enjoy. And when you do what you enjoy, exercise isn't an obligation you *have* to do. It's something you *want* to do. And there couldn't be a bigger difference.

"When you do what you enjoy, exercise isn't an obligation you *have* to do. It's something you *want* to do."

When someone asks me how they can get excited about exercise, the first question I ask is, "What *do* you get excited about?"

Listen, exercise isn't something you have to dread, and I know there's an activity you can get behind. Often, all it takes is to think about the times in the past when you were excited to get moving.

Maybe you loved those evening walks with a neighbor, playing tennis with friends, riding bikes with your kids, or going on a hike. Or maybe you loved working out with a group and going to a Zoomba, Yoga, or CrossFit class...

Take out a sheet of paper and spend a few minutes brainstorming and writing down ideas. Talk to a friend and ask them what they like to do. Make a list of activities you've always wanted to try but never have. It won't take long until you have five or ten ideas you can see yourself getting excited about.

With a list in hand, all you have to do now is give the first activity a shot. If it doesn't turn out the way you'd hoped, try the next, and the next...and keep going until you land on something you like.

I know this isn't going to blow anyone's mind, but the secret to getting excited about exercise is all about finding and doing what you enjoy.

MISTAKE #2. You're trying to do too much.

The trap most people fall into is thinking if they can't carve out an hour or two to exercise, then it's not worth doing.

"I am too busy to exercise. Between work and kids and school and [insert a billion other reasons] I just don't have the time." 

We all have too many errands, too much work, and far too many demands. And when you're overwhelmed and tired, the last thing you want to do is exercise. That's why it's so easy to skip.

Hey, I get it. I've been there many, many times. And the reality is, if you haven't found a free hour by now, it's not going to happen any time soon. So the trick is to fast forward to that conclusion because the sooner we stop waiting for time to appear the sooner we can get going.

So if you're pressed for time, let me introduce you to "chunking." What I'm talking about here is taking an activity and breaking it into smaller chunks.

We might not have a full 60-minute stretch to take a walk, but...four 15-minute strolls? Probably. Or how about starting with two 15-minute walks? Now that's doable!

So think about the activity you want to do and see how you can slice it and fit it into your daily schedule. The bottom line is the short workout we do always beats the long workout we never do.

"The short workout we do always beats the long workout we never do."

MISTAKE #3. You think of a workout as well...work.

Let's be real. Forcing yourself to exercise isn't a winning strategy. Instead, it's a recipe for dread.

When you think of exercise as high-intensity workouts (that you don't want to do) or trudging away on the treadmill, is it any wonder why it feels so hard?

If you find yourself stalling, procrastinating, and pushing exercise off, then you're looking at it through the wrong lens. But fortunately, there's a better way to think about it, and it starts with redefining "exercise."

In fact, exercise is overdue for a rebranding. "Exercise" is out and "movement" is in.

"Exercise is overdue for a rebranding. 'Exercise' is out and 'movement' is in."

So what is movement? It's any way we move our bodies to increase physical activity. Sure, a traditional workout is one type of movement, but it certainly isn't the only one.

What's important to understand is that movement isn't confined to the gym or an exercise bike. It can be mowing the lawn, walking the dog, stretching, dancing, or even cleaning the house...

In the fitness world, a more technical name for movement is NEAT (or non-exercise activity thermogenesis). And the activity NEAT covers is just about everything you do outside of traditional exercise.

But even though NEAT has "non-exercise" in the name, don't let it trick you into thinking folding the laundry won't make a dent. It does.

The reality is there are mounds of research proving that non-exercise activity is the leading way to raise metabolism. So if you think you have to spend an hour a day running or lifting weights, think again.

If you want to make progress faster, it's time to change your perspective. Stop exercising and start moving.

"Stop exercising and start moving."

Okay, guys. Just to recap:

I see three big mistakes most people making that drain the fun from exercise -- making it feel like a chore, trying to do too much, and seeing a workout as work.

And while most people will be caught in these traps, you can easily sidestep them if you do these:

1.) Go back to doing what you enjoy. Because if you don't look forward to it, you'll find ways not to do it.

2.) Break your activity into smaller chunks. If you're like most people, you're already pressed for time. But, it is possible to fit smaller versions of the activities we enjoy into our day.

Remember, the short workout you do is always better than the long one you never find time for.

And the last thing:

3.) Shift your mindset away from "exercise" and toward "movement." There's too much evidence showing what matters most is how much we move and not how many hours we spend doing the very things we dread.

And that's it.

I hope these tips have helped you out and have given you some new insight into bringing the excitement back to moving.

One last thought:

How to work yourself out of stress...

I believe stress is energy, and if you don't do anything with the stress you feel, you're going to look for ways to suppress it.

And let’s be straight: one of the easiest ways to escape stress is to eat. Eating suppresses stress, and you get relief, but that relief is only momentary.

So instead of eating, a far more effective way to remove stress is by moving.

If you enjoyed these tips, be sure to join our free weight loss mini-course, where I'll show you why diets fail and how to change your relationship with food, and you'll discover what every diet you tried before was missing.

As a bonus for signing up, you'll also get my "10 Best Weight Loss Tips" eBook. I've been a weight loss and accountability coach for over a decade, and the tips I share are what actually works.

If you know *what* to do but just can't make yourself do it... 

If it feels like you've tried "everything under the sun."... 

If you're tired of making and breaking promises to yourself...

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