21 Tips on How to Get Motivated

December 22, 2009 by Gail Grannum  
Filed under Exercise & Fitness

How to Set Goals21 Tips on How to Get Motivated

If you want to succeed in today’s competitive world, you need to know how to get motivated and how to set goals.  But it is quite possible that although you want to stay inspired, you just have no idea of how to get motivated. Well, don’t worry, there is help at hand! Here are 21 wonderful tips that can get you motivated enough to set and pursue your goals:

1. Know your goals

Of course, you want to get motivated but towards what? Yes, goal setting is indeed important. Vague goals will not help. Be as specific as possible. Create SMART goals; Specific, Measurable, Action, Realistic and Time bound.

2. Have a positive attitude

Goal setting is fine. But if your attitude is not right, you won’t succeed. So, make sure that your attitude towards a task is positive. If you find that a particular task is interesting and the other quite monotonous, then it is probably your attitude.

3. Don’t forget to reward yourself

A key to get motivated is the reward that you will get once you achieve a goal. So, once you accomplish one stage, give yourself a treat. You deserve it!

4. Stop procrastinating

You can go on and on procrastinating. But it will not help you achieve anything. Don’t postpone anything onto tomorrow. If there is something that needs to be done, do it today.

5. Set yourself a deadline

A very important thing in goal setting is to set a deadline for each goal. Be professional. Set yourself a deadline. Stick to it.

6. Have a good support system

Everyone needs friends and loved ones. Their help and support can really come in handy when you are going through those tough phases in your life. So, make sure you have a good support system.

7. A goal for every work

Goals do indeed help you get motivated. So, whatever you do, make sure you split them into goals. They help an individual in staying enthusiastic and keep moving on.

8. A good rest

Being all charged up and working long hours is fine. But a build up of stress and fatigue can take a toll on your health. So, don’t forget to get a good night’s sleep and that occasional afternoon nap.

9. Change your approach towards failures

If things just keep going wrong, may be it is time to step back and contemplate about what is really happening. Study the matter at hand and try a different approach.

10. Keep a track on your progress

If you have divided the work at hand into smaller goals, it does become easier to keep a track of how you are doing. It also makes it interesting which further helps you get motivated for future goals.

11. Exercise regularly

Now, how will exercise help you get motivated, you might ask. Well, it’s because regular exercise releases endorphins and will keep you healthy and fit and make you feel good about yourself.

12. Interact with others

Keep in touch with people in your area of expertise. It can help you learn different perspectives in effectively resolving a situation.

13. Start your day with a positive attitude

If you begin your day thinking about the failures of the previous day, you will find it difficult to get motivated for the day ahead. Instead begin your day with a morning walk and a positive frame of mind.

14. Say thanks for your blessings

It is very difficult to be grateful for what you have when you are focused on what you don’t have. But a prayer of thanks in the morning and at night can help you count your blessings.

15. Meditate daily

A regular practice of meditation can go a long way in helping you both in goal setting and getting you motivated. Tough days, especially, become easier to deal with a regular practice.

16. Face your fears

If you want to get motivated, you have to face those fears. Running away will not help. So, get out there and crush them.

17. Take good care of yourself

A busy lifestyle can often force you to neglect yourself. But that is never a good idea. If you want to achieve your goals, you need to pay special attention towards taking good care of yourself too.

18. Cut out on clutter

Clutter can be in the form of unachieved goals or just problematic behaviors. If you want to get motivated and work towards your goals, you need to conserve your energy for the important tasks. So get rid of those distractions right now!

19. Notes to get motivated

Place small uplifting notes on places such as your refrigerator door. These notes can be just compliments on a work well done. Just notice the changes in how you feel each time you reach for that can of soda! (Make sure these notes do not become additional clutter)

20. Why are you doing it?

You need to have a reason for doing whatever you plan on doing. The stronger the reason, the more the motivation, and the more are the chances of success.

21. Set goals according to your capacity

Unrealistic goals will not help you achieve success. Goals should be hard enough to keep you motivated and yet not so far off that they become impossible to achieve. Before you start an exercise program, make sure you consult with your doctor.

Goal setting is a key to success. But to set your goals and achieve them, you need to get motivated. So, use the above tips and notice the difference.

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Holiday Fitness Tips

December 17, 2009 by Gail Grannum  
Filed under Exercise & Fitness

strength-training-and-health-eating-110-x-110

Holiday Fitness Tips

What are tips to keep fitness as part of your holiday? Plan ahead and be realistic. How can you enjoy yourself and not completely surrender?

Start the day with a brisk walk around your neighborhood. Be kind to yourself during the holidays, brief (15 minutes) routines are okay. Just don’t give up exercising each day. (If you need to…take a day off, just not two in a row, okay?)

  • This is a great way to spend time with focusing your day or spending quality time with a rarely seen friend or family member.
  • Also, you will feel great knowing you have raised your metabolism earlier in the day.

Did you know that if you eat right after exercising, it is not stored as fat?

Remember to hydrate with water. You will be tempted with other fluids during the holidays. So make sure you focus on including extra water. It helps flush your system.

Home Workout Alternatives

List five things you can do at home that will combine fitness with family time. This way you won’t beat yourself up if you really can’t get to the gym.

  • How about squats and standing on toes while brushing teeth
  • Arm exercises while watching TV
  • Gentle stretches at the computer

Each person will have different needs and challenges.  Just be active to the best of your ability. Enjoy your holidays without guilt or surrender!

Leave a comment, sharing examples of home holiday exercising alternatives. Thanks!

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Review: Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD

July 24, 2009 by Gail Grannum  
Filed under Exercise & Fitness

Got 25 minutes? Spend it ’shredding’.

Most of us excuse ourselves from having a regular exercise regimen because of our busy schedule. But if you really want to establish a workable routine that will fit into your daily activities, then a short exercise video would be the easiest solution. Let’s look at a particular video – Jillian Michaels – 30 Day Shred (Amazon affiliate link)

There are so many short exercise videos out there, specifically because trainers already know you’re busy and they want to give you no excuse not to work out. There’s that important question, though, of how effective a short exercise video can be.
The Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels leads the workout in this video. It features workouts that are around 25 minutes long. It surely sounds like a short time but when you do it for the first few times, especially if you haven’t been working out for a long period of time, you’ll surely feel like you did an hour and a half’s worth of exercise.

  • The effectiveness of this workout comes from the intensity, not the amount of time you spend doing it.
  • You will have no chance of resting in between the routines. It is designed to move you to the next routine right after a previous one.
  • Jillian stresses in the video that it’s better to really work your body in a shorter amount of time than spend hours faking it at the gym.

There are three parts to a work out. Every part is made of 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio and one minute abdominal exercises. The workouts involve movements that require larger muscles and more muscles at the same time. This adds to the intensity and fat burn.

Jillian Michaels – 30 Day Shred” (Amazon affiliate link)

    DVD is designed to take you through 30 days of workouts with progressing intensity.

  • You spend the first ten days following Level 1.
  • The next ten days will have you perform Level 2 and the last ten days will see you through Level 3.
  • People who qualify themselves as intermediate exercisers or advanced exercisers might want to skip Level 1.
  • However, it will do everybody good to start with Level 1. After all, you will not find the intensity of the workouts in Level 1 disappointing.

Jillian Michaels provides really great motivation. For most of the exercises, there are equivalent beginner moves so that you can still perform them if you’re a beginner. The difference for beginner moves is that there is a shorter range of motion. The workouts are doable but they are definitely not easy, enough to challenge you and shred your fats day by day.

After this short workout, you will definitely feel that you spent 25 minutes of your day wisely. In that short amount of time, which is easy to squeeze into your morning routine before going to the office or your evening routine after coming home from work, you will have worked your muscles enough to shred those pounds and shape your body into a healthy new form.

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Go For Those Calorie Burning Activities !

June 20, 2009 by Gail Grannum  
Filed under Exercise & Fitness

There are many roads leading to weight loss but the most proven and effective way is still through proper diet and exercises that focus on how to burn calories. And to understand how calorie burning works is to first know how many calories you are burning for each activity you undertake. How many calories do you burn with each activity?

The number of calories that you burn in any activity depends on a lot of factors such as age, body structure, heredity and lifestyle. Below is a table that shows the amount of calories burnt on some examples of outdoor activities per 3 levels of weight: 100 pounds, 150 pounds, and 200 pounds.

Activity                                                                 Calories Used Up

100                   150                200    (pounds)

Step Aerobics with a 4 inch step                  145                   218                290

Hiking                                                                 155                  232                310

Basketball Game                                              220                   330                440

Canoeing  (2.5 mph)                                          70                   105                140

Golfing  (walking, no cart)                               100                  150                 200

Jogging  (5 mph)                                                185                  278                 370

Mowing                                                               135                  202                 270

Swimming  (25 yards per minute)                  120                   180                 240

Walking (3 mph)                                                 80                    120                 160

Washing car                                                        75                    112                  150

Based on this chart, it shows how every step and every movement can help lead you to a healthy path. Exercising doesn’t have to start in a gym and spending hours on cardio machines, simply walking uphill and running laps through water will burn those calories down. Learning how your daily routines match up against a regular workout on the treadmill can help you plan your exercise routine based on your fitness level, time and even your budget. Turn everyday activities into calorie-burning workouts now!

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Achieving Fitness Goals: Building Your Fitness Dream Team

June 15, 2009 by Gail Grannum  
Filed under Exercise & Fitness

When it comes to attaining fitness goals, where should you go for help? Who would make the best fitness training buddy? Here’s our take on how to build your fitness dream team to help you achieve your fitness goals.

There are three main companions you can have for your fitness dream team: a personal trainer, training buddies, and a training pet – yes you read that correctly. We’ll discuss each one in turn so you’ll know how to find the best of each.  At the fitness clubA personal trainer is a fitness training professional. The one who’ll teach you how to workout correctly when you first set out to conquer your fitness goals, but you don’t need one every time you workout.

A weekly or fortnightly schedule is enough to get you going on your fitness plan. However, if your fitness plan involves exercises that need individualized supervision such as yoga or Pilates, you might need one more often.

If funds are tight, you might want to get a virtual trainer instead. Many pro trainers have their own exercise videos, whether for cardio, aerobic, strength, or individualized workouts.

Once you’ve settled on a personal trainer, it’s time to find good fitness training buddies. The rule of thumb is to always have more than one. That way, you’ll always have someone in case the other fails to show or drops off. Ideally, find one who shares the same fitness goals as you. Get one who is at the same fitness level so you could encourage each other, and then get one who has a higher fitness level to challenge yourself. If you do multiple types of exercises, i.e. aerobic and weight training, it is ideal to have one buddy for each activity.

  • You can find fitness buddies from your family, friends, the office, a sports club, the gym, or your local YMCA. You can even find fitness training buddies online. You can find a buddy to join you in your fitness workout from just about anywhere, really.

    Your Canine Training Buddy Will Commit You Daily To Your Fitness Goals

    Your Canine Training Buddy Will Commit You Daily To Your Fitness Goals

  • For dog lovers, you’ll be delighted to know that your pet can help in your fitness program. Dogs are great fitness workout companions. They don’t complain, they’ll follow you wherever you go, protect you, and keep you company.
  • If you’d like to get a dog as a fitness training buddy, try a Labrador. It is versatile, dependable, intelligent, and has good disposition. It’s also energetic so you might have to keep up with it instead of the other way around. You may also want to try German Shepherds, Siberian Huskies, Jack Russel Terriers, or Collies as all these breeds love to run.

However, make sure your pet is trained first, and be mindful of their needs, as they can’t tell you what they’re feeling.  They might have blistered or scuffed paws, be dehydrated, or tired, so stay sharp. Bring extra water and a drinking cup, and maybe some doggie treats.

Having all these people (and pets) with you makes attaining your fitness goals easier, not to mention more enjoyable.

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