Physical activity is beneficial. It helps you stay healthy, keeps you fit, and eliminates extra pounds. Nevertheless, realizing all this does not always make you get up from the couch, go to the stadium, or pick up dumbbells.
The intention to play sports often remains unfulfilled. You shift it to Monday, then to the next week, at the beginning of summer. Let’s try to answer the question: Why is this happening, and how can we start?
How do you fix the reason you can’t exercise?
Lack of motivation
The most common reasons that prevent a person from doing sports are not original. Fatigue after a working day, preoccupation with household chores, and the exercises cause boredom. In general, these three points are enough for explanations and complacency. However, the real reasons for the lack of motivation can be much more complicated.
Unfamiliar activity
Training must have a certain structure; otherwise, its effectiveness is greatly reduced. These are special programs tailored to an individual’s needs and capabilities with strict adherence to the schedule. When faced with something new and the moment is not the most pleasant, it is easier to postpone classes for later. Take a break, think a little more, and collect your thoughts.
This tactic is especially relevant for people who have a busy daily schedule. By the evening, no physical and mental strength is left; there is no desire to strain the body and deal with the training program. This problem is especially relevant for people who have never played sports before.
A sedentary comfort zone
The average large-city resident does not require much movement. Many of us work at the computer and spend our evenings in front of the TV or with the phone, scrolling through the news feed. Some people like online games, maybe books, but it’s still a passive pastime. Only the brain works relatively hard, while the body remains sedentary and rests comfortably.
A sedentary and sometimes recumbent lifestyle becomes a comfort zone. It is always challenging to get out of it. Not only will they not pay for it, but they will also have to fork out for themselves. For what? You ask and stay on the couch.
Sports are a luxury
Many people perceive playing sports in adulthood as an element of luxury. It seems this is the highest step of the pyramid of needs, which opens after reaching the top. First, earn a million dollars, start a family, have a child, buy a house with a car, and only then satisfy other whims.
This image is easily consistent with the pictures we see on social networks and movies. Durov or Zuckerberg first became rich and famous, after which they began to invest a lot of money in their health. You look at stories like this and think, “Maybe the time hasn’t come yet. First, my career, and then I will focus on sports.”
Too heavy loads
Training takes time and often costs money because you must buy a subscription or sports equipment with clothes. As if that’s not enough, they’re also physically heavy. You need to run, jump, and pull the iron yourself. Sometimes, walking down the street, you see a runner or a kid rushing past with a lean face, soaked not from the rain but still to the skin, walking with a ball. Do you want to do the same? Perception paints sport as extremely difficult, monotonous, meaningless, and negative.
No negative consequences
You have postponed the day you will start exercising many times, and nothing terrible has happened. Of course, you are aware of the long-term negative consequences. Once you gain weight, you may get more severe diseases, but it’s not known for sure; the deadline has not been set.
Meanwhile, life is full of things that lead to immediate or immediate consequences. If you ignore the traffic light, you will get into an accident. You will receive a lower salary or even enter the labor market if you miss a few working days. Therefore, training seems to be something that is not so significant, with vague advantages but quite apparent disadvantages.
How to motivate yourself
First, physical activity is aimed at the body’s activity, which enjoys all the benefits of sports. Strength, speed, endurance, and finally, an attractive shape. However, almost all obstacles on the way to training arise mentally. Thus, to move on to the development of the body, you first need to work with your head and thoughts.
Realize how life has changed
Until recently, ordinary people had much more reason to move. There was no online shopping or deliveries. I had to go personally for each purchase. All household chores (from washing dishes to general cleaning) were performed by hand. Students usually walked to school. Having no Internet, we generally spent a lot more time outside.
Modern technology makes life more convenient, but this comfort has its hidden price. For example, extra pounds, shortness of breath after a 100-meter run, and more severe illnesses in the future. Realizing that your body is not getting the necessary loads turns sports into a helpful activity. This is not a whim, not a desire for the perfect image from a magazine cover, but a health concern.
Accept the need
A strong and healthy body can be obtained only through effort. No wonderful pills, diets, or surgical operations can compensate for the lack of physical activity. At best, you will get a beautiful wrapper, which can be expensive.
Don’t consider playing sports a choice — it’s a direct necessity, like keeping the house clean, showering, and washing clothes. The obligation will become a habit if you overpower yourself in the first few weeks. I don’t think it will always be as hard as in the first days.
Find the meaning
All workouts have a primary and understandable meaning—to get in shape, lose weight, and have a beautiful body. However, in addition to these, there may be less obvious but no less important goals. For some, this is a time of complete privacy with themselves.
Another struggles with anxiety and stress when coming to the stadium. The third, while doing sports, simultaneously listens to audiobooks that cannot be reached during the working day. If you add extra meaning to training, it will become the desired and most anticipated event.
The right choice
Everyone has their preferences in everything, including sports. You may not like football, basketball, or any other team sport. In the same way, you cannot accept martial arts or gym equipment. Choose exactly what you like, without looking back at fashion and the opinions of others.
Perhaps you don’t like the concept of fitness clubs, but an hour-long ride on an exercise bike with a look at the wall or a monitor seems stupid. No problem — buy a real motorcycle and choose any location. Adjust the intensity of training — there will be no quick result anyway. Therefore, it makes no sense to overload yourself in the first days and weeks. Roll in gradually; increase the load when you feel the need.
