more photos on flickr >>

 

(This is cross-posted at BlogHer.)

I’m kind of torn on the subject of motivation. While it’s important to utilize anything that motivates us to move, I also believe that certain things should be done simply because they’re the right thing to do. Being active is one of those things. Yes, I subscribe to the concept of flexible fitness — if you don’t want to do one thing on one day, switch it to tomorrow or do something completely different. But when you find yourself making excuses, your mantra should be: Do it anyway.

Here are some things that have helped me:

Don’t make inactivity easy. I live a mile away from the Metro stop that takes me to work five days a week. There’s a bus-stop right outside my apartment, but I’ve never taken advantage of it in the 13+ months I’ve lived here. I refuse to look up the route and timetables because I don’t want to be tempted to use it. Regardless of the weather — humid, freezing, rainy — I’m walking to the Metro. Even if I don’t take another step or do anything else for the remainder of the day, that’s a minimum of two miles I’ve walked. (How can you add extra steps to your daily routine?)

Don’t try to do too much, too fast. (Another term for this: “Take small steps.”) When I was determined to graduate to standard pushups instead of doing them from my knees, I started with one. Sure, that might be a wimpy number. But once I accomplished that goal, I felt awesome — and that’s what inspired me to keep going.

Find a way to hold yourself accountable. My biggest accountability practice is to write things down. If I tell you guys about something I want to do, I try my best to stick to that. It’s helpful for me to come up with a variety of new things to do so I can continue to write about them.

Don’t wait for a particular date. I’m a big fan of starting something new at any time of year, for absolutely no other reason than it sounds interesting and intriguing. I know I don’t have to continue whatever it is if I don’t like it, so that takes a lot of pressure off exploring these new options. After all, what’s an hour out of your day?

If I’m not active, I feel like a slug. It takes a little while to get to the point where going a few days without exercise will make you feel sludgy and gross — but it will happen. That’s why my motivation comes from knowing how I’ll feel afterward.

Do it anyway. This is a reiteration of what I said before. Motivation is all well and good, but sometimes you have to force yourself to do things that you don’t want to do. If you don’t feel like running, walk instead. But do something.

What would help you get moving? Do you need a workout partner? A dog to take for walks? An exercise calendar or vision board? Think about what’s holding you back. Why is it a stumbling block for you and what can you do about it?

Related Reading:

Cranky Fitness has a list of eight tricks she finds helpful in “How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions.”

Get concrete and specific about consequences. Often I just go around with a vague notion that exercise is good, watching portion size is smart, and that healthy meals are better for me than junk. But sometimes, when willpower is lacking, it helps to get more specific. How many Extra Miles on the treadmill will that Extra Value Meal cost? Picture yourself having to walk or run those miles before you decide to indulge.

Roni knows that sometimes you have to force yourself to do something, even when you don’t want to.

So this Sunday was Sensational not because I was perfect but because I made a hard decision, recognized my stress eating, compensated for it the rest of the day and went for a run even though I wasn’t feeling up to it.

La Vita E Bella finds motivation wherever she can, which includes the alternative if she doesn’t go.

It wasn’t that I really wanted to workout. In fact, I had zero motivation. But the thought of getting out of the house and a break from my three beautiful children to read a US Weekly while gliding on the elyptical at the lowest possible speed sounded much more relaxing than staying at home with three small children.

Chelsea had a friend send her an “awesome training plan” and she is “feeling super motivated. Based on my height, weight, and my end goal she gave me a great plan that is sure to help me get fit in no time at all.”

Maria Kang bought tai chi lessons for her dad last year. It turns out that once you find things you enjoy, you sometimes end up discovering that you want to be a motivator for other people as well. (My older sister and I did this for our mom’s Christmas present in December — my sister bought her a set of yoga classes and I paid for a variety of new workout wear.)

Gretchen Rubin: 10 Tips to Change Yourself From a Dedicated Couch-Potato to a Gym Enthusiast

MSN Health & Fitness: Top 10 Ways to Stick to Your Workout

Zen Habits: 31 things to motivate you to exercise

Yahoo Health: 20 Ways to Stick to Your Workout

FitHacker: Need Motivation? 6 Ways To Keep You Motivated

My Lifetime: No More Excuses! Say goodbye to the top six reasons for skipping a workout