7 Tips to Keep Your Fitness Motivation Boosted

The hardest part about exercising is getting up and going to the gym. Maybe you want to exercise, but you never find the time.

After a long day working, the last thing you want to do is go to the gym and burn more energy, right? Add in a busy family life and other obligations, and you stay busy until you go to sleep.

Related - 250 Fitness Quotes to Keep You Motivated

So how does someone find the motivation to make healthy habits stick? There are a lot of methods to help cultivate motivation — you just have to find what works for you.

So here are seven different things you can try to pump up your motivation to get some exercise.

Boost Your Fitness Motivation

Tip #1 - Try Making a Smaller Commitment

There's nothing like facing a massive goal that you know will take a long time to accomplish. It's kind of disheartening when you see it. While you need to have big ambitions and goals, throwing too large of a goal in front of you only sets yourself up for failure.

Instead of looking at the big goal as one big accomplishment, start breaking it down into smaller goals. Accomplishing these smaller goals will build momentum and eventually cause a complete life makeover.

Instead of completely changing your diet to "eat healthy," focus on starting with the 80/20 rule. That is, 80% of your calories should come from healthy sources, while the other 20% of your calories can come from whatever foods you like.

This will allow you to have your cake and eat it too... Literally.

A few other smaller goals could be:

• Running a certain pace or certain time
• Losing five pounds
• Being able to lift a certain weight
• Cooking a set number of meals per week at home

Tip #2 - You Can Reward Yourself

When you accomplish a smaller goal, it's important to reward yourself for the work you've put in.

But don't reward yourself with food.

Instead, treat yourself to a day-trip to your favorite spot, get pampered and a massage, buy some new workout clothes, or buy that ticket to your favorite show you've been eyeballing.

It's important to not choose something that will adversely affect your goals.

Tip #3 - Keep Focused on Your Weight Loss Journey, Not the End Destination

Getting healthy and remaining healthy is a long journey with a lot of ups and downs.

When you focus solely on numbers and your goal, you are going to be frustrated because the day-to-day hard work and sacrifice you have been giving aren't showing progress.

This hurts your motivation and it definitely can cause you to want to quit.

Focusing on the journey keeps you motivated and ready to keep accomplishing smaller goals. Learn to love the grind because it's what gets results.

Make sure you exercise enough each week, eat the right foods and calories, and getting enough water and sleep.

Concentrating on these small steps that we have to master will increase your chances of reaching your goals without burning out or giving up.

Tip #4 - Prioritize and Schedule

Out of sight, out of mind. It's actually how I manage to keep a few snacks around the house without finishing off the whole bag.

It only takes a few minutes to block out some exercise time in your calendar. Doing this consistently will help build healthy habits and increase your consistency.

When you schedule time into your calendar, you are prioritizing your health. This takes a lot of resistance out of exercise, which will make it easier to get it done.

Tip #5 - Find a Workout Buddy

Surrounding yourself with like-minded people will put you into the same frame of mind. Finding a workout buddy or group that you could exercise with will increase your success.

Having an accountability partner helps — it's made a world of difference for me.

If you can't find anyone to go with you, try to find some classes at your local gym to look for a prospect to partner with.

Tip #6 - Change Your Mindset

Without getting too "out there" with the power of your mind, what you say and think carries a lot more weight than you think.

Constantly telling yourself that you "can't do this" or "it's too hard" all reinforce what you're saying. It is too hard. You can't do this.

Whatever you tell yourself eventually comes true or you believe it to be true. It's kind of how people who lie honestly believe they are telling the truth. Instead, tell yourself that you can do it. You can commit to your new habits. And you will reach your goals.

If you change your thoughts, the results will soon follow.

Tip #7 - Preparation is Key

One trick for me that helps me stay motivated to exercise is to have everything planned and prepared.

If I have to go home and do laundry to get my workout clothes, find my workout shoes somewhere, stop to grab a snack, and then drive through traffic to get to the gym... I'm not going to go.

Take the friction out of exercise — keep your gym bag loaded with your essentials ready to go. This way you won't have to make an extra trip.

Related - 250 Fitness Quotes to Drive Your Motivation

Want to exercise before you go to work? Spend a few minutes the night before getting your clothes and food ready for the next day. It's much easier to roll out of bed to go exercise than it is to get up, get everything ready, and then going to exercise.

The easier you make it to get to the gym or to go exercise, the more likely you are to follow through.

Wrapping It Up

Getting into shape takes making better decisions every day. Consistency, preparation, and focusing on smaller goals all make the process much better.

Trust me, I know what it's like to eat right all week and still see a higher number on the scale. It all really messes with your head. But if you stay focused on the journey and not the goal, it won't ruin your day.

Make your goals, prioritize them, and make it easy to go exercise.