You’ve considered trying to get fit at some point in your life. You’ve even bought yourself a Bollywood dance DVD workout to help you with your goal. Unfortunately, you still haven’t started working out, promising yourself to do so when the time is right. Maybe you’ve done a few dance routines but quickly stopped due to your hectic schedule, convincing yourself that you’d get back to it as soon as you’re able to. But the reality is, you’re not motivated enough to seek a healthy lifestyle. If it isn’t your busy schedule, it’s your knee acting up, or the workout being too boring.
At Bombay Jam, we pride our Bollywood-infused dance workout on being so fun it hardly feels like work. But if you still need extra motivation to continue your fitness journey, check out these four ways below.
Create attainable goals
This is the first and arguably most important step when starting a fit lifestyle. It’s hard to begin without a clear goal, so be sure of what you’re aiming for. This, in turn, will allow you to figure out the appropriate steps required to attain that goal.
A word of warning though, be sure to have goals that you can reasonably reach. Almost everyone wants to be the next Chaning Tatum or Kate Upton, they don’t realize that getting to where these celebrities are requires years of hard work and discipline. As a result, these hopefuls quit within a month, disappointed that they are nowhere near their lofty goals.
Start small and have a goal that you can reach in a short span of time, say, within a month. Trying to lose 5 pounds or fitting into a dress one size smaller is much easier to accomplish and will boost your morale toward future exercise in the process.
Track and record your progress
Every week or so, monitor how far you’ve progressed into your new fit lifestyle. Be sure to record your weight and vital statistics. It would also be helpful to note your physical condition and what you’re feeling after finishing an exercise routine like our Bollywood dance dvd workout. Things like how tired you are or whether or not you’ve managed to complete a whole workout without stopping to catch your breath are some of the important things to remember.
If you’ve been diligent about tracking your progress, you will begin to see improvements to your physical condition and performance. Seeing these positive changes you’ve made over time will be all the evidence you need to know that you’re heading in the right direction. Nothing is as motivating as success.
Invite your friends
Exercising to a dance fitness workout shouldn’t be a lonely affair. Invite friends and family to join you. Research has proven that exercising with those closest to you leads to even more weight loss. Make it a regular social event by setting aside an hour at least once a week for the group to get together and exercise. Help keep track of each other’s goals by creating an online group to record the progress of each member or by partnering with another person who’ll be sure to keep an eye on you. Celebrating each success together and encouraging those who may start feeling a bit lazy will keep everyone on the fitness path.
Reward yourself
Getting fit isn’t all about sacrifice and deprivation. Treating your new healthy lifestyle as a jail sentence is one way to get off the horse as quickly as possible. You need to reward yourself sometimes to stay motivated. Whether it’s going out for sushi with friends or a new pair of workout shoes, investing in your happiness is pivotal to the fitness journey.
Even treat yourself to a full-slab rib dinner on occasion or devour a generous slice of red velvet cake. Being healthy isn’t about completely abstaining from all unhealthy foods; it’s about tweaking your lifestyle to consistently involve exercise and a well-balanced diet. Take your “cheat meals” when you’ve reached milestones, but don’t make the meals a regular habit.
Whenever you have a hard time getting motivated to workout, keep these four motivational tips in mind. Remember that consistency is the key to being fit and being motivated to do so will make the process feel enjoyable and less like a chore.