Motivation for exercise

As PPs have said, put it in your everyday routine. Do a tough 30 minutes and then it's done.

Or fit more exercise into everyday life. Walk instead of using your car. Try to walk everywhere as your default, rather than as the exception. It really helps.

F8nd an online trainer on YouTube who floats your boat.

Lucy Wyndham Read is very good for beginners and people who are not very fit. She is very calm and gentle and most of her workouts are very short. Start w,ith maybe just a couple ad work up to 30-40 minutes.

Also have a look at Growingannanas whose workouts are a bit more energetic and challenging. Start off with some of her tabata sessions and also have a look at those where she is using weights, ie dumbbells. Training with weights is very important, particularly as we age - though you're never too young to grow muscle!

Firstly, motivation, discipline, willpower etc. all make it sound harder than it is. In fact it's just habit. You need to start a new habit. You've done this before, e.g. when you learned to brush your teeth twice a day, tidy up the kitchen after dinner, take daily medication, etc. So look at your life and see where you can build in a new habit for exercise. And start small. It's not all or nothing. Something is a good enough start.
Secondly, do something you like. If there was something you liked before just do it again. Or try some taster classes, maybe the next step is to try a few different things. There are lots of inclusive gyms and classes out there.
Finally accountability. I've started a new activity with an introduction class that felt outside my comfort zone but turned out I love it. I got buddied up with another woman and we now organise to go to the same sessions each week and this is keeping me on track. We were strangers but were progressing at the same rate so now we're gym buddies!
And good luck, you can do this.

I have a gym friend and we encourage each other if one of us is procrastinating, it helps.

Try making it a habit. Habits are hard to form sometimes, but if you can make something a part of your daily routine, it’ll be easier. Try walking or cycling to work or walking to the shops instead or driving/public transport.

Hey – Its completely normal to feel demotivated when starting exercise and what may work for someone else, may not work for you. So having some acceptance around that and not beating yourself is important!
May I ask – what is your motivation to exercise?

I say in your responses that you enjoyed cycling when you were younger. What was it about cycling that you enjoyed?

Could you get a personal trainer? I have one (well when I can afford him) and it's great as it means I actually have to go to the gym at a certain time and have someone there telling me what to do. It helps my motivation to go other days.

Is there a sport you like? I like tennis so took up tennis classes a few years ago (had to stop due to covid and never signed up again as I got into the gym).

I've lost motivation recently mainly injury (tennis elbow) and a poorly cat but i went back this morning and it felt good even though I had to drag myself there.

Discipline, and mornings, is the key - as others have said.

The truth is, nobody wants to get up at 5.30am for a run. Not even super-fit marathon running types who have been doing this for years. I'm well aware that's probably what I look like to passers-by when I'm doing my morning runs, but the reality is I'm still having to peel myself out of bed in the same way as when I did c25k all those years ago. I'm just disciplined and know that if I don't get it done in the morning, it'll never happen, as evenings are a chaos of kids/dinner/jobs/kids clubs/etc. I lay out my kit the night before, up and out after a coffee, and am back in time to sort everyone out for the day ahead.

Also, discipline. You just make yourself do it. I've coached c25k courses before and the ones who finish it and go on to be runners aren't the ones who look like "natural" athletes - they're the ones who come out on the rain, or in the heat, or when they're tired, or when they're busy. They keep showing up. The ones who have excuses never finish; and that's because we could all have excuses if we wanted to. People who exercise daily aren't less busy than anyone else - they just prioritise it.

Finally, don't exercise with a friend, or at least not all the time. You're halving your chances of success if you do, because if they cancel then you'll be tempted to cancel too. Make this something you do for you, and you'll be more likely to stick at it.

I bought a second hand peloton months ago and have been on it every day since. I find that seeing a physical person helps a lot. I would definitely recommend!

Something poignant that I read is that the time will pass anyway. So if you don't get up and do it, 6 months down the line you'll be in the same position when you could be very different physically.

This is what's keeping me going!

I’m not a morning person at all.
I’ll do 8am classes at the weekend. Or 9.30 in my day off after the school run. Can’t do before work though!

I can exercise any time between 5 and 10 though, and do every day. Sometimes I’ll do 2 hours.

In ref to the PP suggesting early morning - great if you can do it!!

Weirdly morning exercise doesn't suit me. It makes me super exhausted for the whole day. So for some people afternoon is better for example. Follow your body.

Another one for first thing in the morning.

I find that if I don't do that, life just gets in the way.

So... up and at 'em!

I find a really engaging podcast or book I want to listen to and only allow myself to listen to it when exercising.

'Give yourself permission to not do the stuff you hate. I have a strict no Burpees rule for example.'

Same here! They're so undignified 😁

OP, I agree with everyone else - it's discipline, not motivation! I go to the gym several times a week, first thing in the morning. How often am I bouncing out of bed raring to go at 6.30am? Never! I tell myself I don't have to like it, I just have to do it. It's so worth it

My current tip is get out of bed and go straight to the exercise! Before the brain has a chance to realise what you are doing! Get stuff ready to go night before. I've stumbled into this and it works a treat as you get a boost of dopamine from doing it, and it creates a habit.

Find something you enjoy and then it doesn’t become a chore. Mine is exercising in classes, it’s social and we motivate each other. I can see the progress as I lift heavier weights and that’s what keeps it enjoyable.

I agree with all the PPs who say you just have to make yourself do it. I swim three tines a week, and I often don't feel like it, but once I've got started, either it is fine or I actively enjoy it.

what are you doing with your time instead that is so much funner or nicer to be doing?

start small - 1 - 2 minutes, but make sure you do it every day. keep it as your base minimum. Then when you can manage it, do more. You might work up to 10-15 minutes some days. other days you can do 2 mins then leave it!

Another good way is to always record it, keep a record or a spreadsheet to make sure you do your 2 mins a day. So even if you miss a day you will go back to the spreadsheet or diary again then do it again.

Yes and do something you enjoy

Do it with a friend. Makes it fun and more of a commitment

Find what you love. I did and it feels entirely different. I am motivated every time. (For me it's lifting)

Yep agree with the above. Just do it.

there’s never a right time, or empty time in the diary. Life just has to be holy round it. Need to go to the supermarket? Ok great, I’ll go after my gym class. Not using needing shopping as the excuse not to go