How to motivate yourself to do sports

How to motivate yourself to do sports

Motivation is a psychophysiological process that manifests itself in the form of a desire or need that prompts or forces a person to act, and sometimes to make a decision about inaction. Sports motivation is part of sports psychology. She helps professional athletes to achieve the best results. For the rest, she is a kind of "psychological crutch", which first helps to start, and then does not allow to refuse to practice the chosen sport.

Set a goal

Why do people start doing this or that kind of sport or physical education? The point is the goal, the formation of which is influenced by gender, age, natural physical data, health status, a person's environment, his financial capabilities, sports infrastructure and (even !!!) the current state policy in relation to mass and high-performance sports.

The list of sports motivations is quite large. The motives fall into it:

• become a champion;
• acquire the necessary skills;
• get rid of excess weight;
• become the owner of a beautiful body;
• develop or improve physical performance;
• overcome psychological complexes;
• prevent, get rid of or recover from illness or injury;
• lead a healthy lifestyle (healthy lifestyle), live longer and better;
• be in trend and correspond to fashion trends;
• expand your social circle.
• The listed goals are not isolated and, as a rule, are represented by combinations. Moreover, most of them have a subconscious initial motive - an increase in self-esteem. And sport really increases it.

What kind of sport to give preference

What's the best motivation for sports? As you can see from the above, there is no best and only one. But almost any motivation will lead to success if laziness and bad habits are defeated to achieve the set and conscious goal, one or several sports are adequately selected, and an experienced coach (instructor) will conduct classes or give advice.

When choosing the type of physical activity, apply the principle: the end determines the means. For example:

1. Looking for bumpy muscles? In addition to strength training in the gym, under the guidance of a competent instructor, like it or not, you will need to run and change your eating behavior.
2. Losing weight is necessary, but you can't do it, does the weight jump all the time? Look for a good fitness trainer and certified dietitian with positive word of mouth.
3. Does your heart play pranks, do your legs hurt? Start doing regular walking and then running with Nordic poles. Do not forget to limit your salt intake and normalize your drinking balance.

Choosing a time for training

When choosing a time to work in the gym and planning an individual workout outdoors or at home, consider the following guidelines:

• you need to run to lose weight before breakfast, and get fitness loads in the afternoon or evening;
• stretching and development of flexibility is preferable to perform from 11:00 to 14:00;
• fitness and physical exercises for strength are best done from 16:00 to 20:00;
• with proper nutrition, you can swing to weight both in the morning and in the afternoon, but preferably in the evening;
• you can dry muscles "from morning to evening", the most important thing is to know how to do it correctly;
• you should engage in recreational cyclic loads from 16:00 to 18:00;
• yoga and oriental gymnastics will be more beneficial during sunrise and sunset.

Motivation for girls

Most young ladies and young women start fitness to:

• become the owner of a slim, athletic figure;
• tidy up the body after childbirth;
• look gorgeous, maintain the beauty of body shapes and be proud of them on social networks;
• be in trend;
• get rid of complexes;
• satisfy the need for admiration and adoration;
• meet men who look after themselves;
• spend money on sports shopping.

With the exception of the last point, it seems that all points are significant and weighty. However, there is one "but". Psychologists have proven that the listed motivation for sports for girls, including a zealous desire to lose weight, in most cases causes the exact opposite of the desired effect.

Remember, success will be accompanied only by someone who, willingly or unwillingly, prioritizes a motivational setting that is not related to sports, emotional needs and external data. Do not fight with yourself, "walking in a vicious circle" and "beating like a fish on ice." Accept and love yourself for who you are. And then you will see, after a while, laziness will disappear, willpower will manifest and everything will definitely start to work out.

Motivation for guys

The main motives of boys and men to start or resume sports are fundamentally different from those of women. For example, no one plans to visit a rocking chair for the sake of meeting a fitness girl or in search of a bodybuilding wife.

Motivation for sports for men is:

• the decision to build a new body with strong and enduring muscles, including those dictated by status or professional necessity;
• the ability to improve mood by splashing out negative emotions through muscle work or cardio load;
• method of losing weight and / or maintaining physical condition;
• forced receipt of the necessary physical activity (gradual decrease) due to retirement from professional sports;
• "Everyone goes to bodybuilding, and I'm not weak", "I need to visit the gym by status";
• a way to maintain health, prolong youth and longevity;
• the desire to resume previously acquired or the opportunity to acquire new physical skills;
• pleasant pastime with friends (playing sports);
• a good reason for being absent from the family;
• creating a positive example for children;
• the only treatment recommended by the doctor.
• The main method that will help the stronger sex to start and not quit training is the analysis of excuses and a sincere recognition of their inferiority.

Motivation for children

It is actually not difficult to create a need or desire in a child to play sports, even when it comes to physiotherapy exercises. The only thing that parents need to constantly remember, who have not found the right ways of persuasion and force their children to engage in unloved sports, is to forget about the Olympic medals. True, exceptions are possible when positive attitudes are gradually instilled by a competent coach.

Of course, each age has its own "main" motivations, but the general list of techniques is approximately as follows:

• choosing a sport that is pleasant and suitable for the child, and not for relatives;
• assistance in the classroom - providing uniform and equipment, bringing to trainings, active empathy with the training and competitive process;
• "Creation" of a sports idol, and in case of disappointment - extortion of another candidate;
• creating your own positive example;
• joint exercises, outdoor games;
• selection of motivational materials;
• maintaining the desire to change the sport.

Motivating music

Musical accompaniment increases the efficiency of the lesson, creates the desired mood, maintains or sets the required tempo and rhythm of movements. Modern gadgets allow you to create individual track collections that can be regarded as a workout plan.

Music for sports motivation - rules:

1. For running and cycling activities, select music at a pace that matches your target heart rate zone.
2. For individual fitness aerobics, dance, rock, pop, disco or marching music with a tempo of about 120 beats per minute is suitable.
3. For warm-up, cool-down and stretching - from adagio to andante.
4. Powerlifters and bodybuilders sometimes prefer heavy metal, but anything is possible.

Movies about sports and motivation

Motivational materials: books, audiobooks, feature films (by the way, we recommend our selection of 10 motivational films about sports ) - they work well for everyone. Documentary films about great athletes and motivating films about sports are interesting from adolescence. But we do not recommend watching TV shows about sports either for adults or children. There is no reliable information at all.

Young kids can comment on comics accordingly: Do you want to be strong like Optimus Prime? Then let's start with daily charging!

Finally

A dream comes true only when the thought is transformed into concrete actions to achieve it. Therefore, you need to overpower yourself and at least once try to do what you are supposedly beyond your ability. This will remove the “limitation” complex and suggest the path to success. Avoid communicating with people who do not believe or convince you that it is unrealistic to achieve your goal. Do not look for excuses: if you really want to, then there will always be time for self-improvement!