With beach season is just around the corner, what are you doing to get that rock hard body? Starting up is the easy part but sticking to your routine is what most people struggle with. The answer varies from person to person but some burn themselves out, get bothered by not seeing results, or are just sometimes lazy. Here are 5 easy ways to keep your focus on shedding weight and getting that beach body.
1. Give Yourself a Pep Talk
This may sound a bit cheesy but it can actually work. The best way to go about this is to recall a time when you have exceeded all expectations. This can give yourself a positive attitude as well as that extra push to keep powering through a work out. Positive thoughts, also known as self-talk, can help improve your concentration as well as keep you mind off fatigue. Pep talks can also get you motivated to get off the couch, which is the hardest battle in getting back into shape.
2. Refocus Your Thoughts
The worst thing you can do during a run or a tough workout, is to focus on the pain or what you are doing. This will cause you to become more tired as well as bored. If you are in agony and are starting to feel exhausted on a run try naming the naming every person in your 5th grade class or name all 50 states. This will keep your brain busy enough to suppress its stress responses. Our minds are a very powerful tool but it can be fooled!
If you are a visual thinker, try imagining different scenarios to distract yourself from working out. If you are running try to pretend a tiger or a flesh eating zombie is running after you until you reach your next mile.
3. Find a Rhythm
Finding your rhythm in every aspect of life is very important and the same applies to exercising. Find the pace that you are comfortable going and step it up one notch. To get results, pushing yourself past your comfort zone is a necessity.
4. Little Accomplishments
Don’t ignore small victories because each is a stepping stone to get closer to your ultimate goal. Going along with that idea you should also look to seek out small victories. For example, force yourself to sprint for a minute straight or try to complete your entire workout in 45 minutes instead of an hour. This will actually help keep your intensity as well as focus. Boosting intensity in the workouts will also give you faster results.
5. No Excuses
Make it a routine. Get it in your head that you are never tired, sore, and too busy to go get your workout in. Nobody has ever said, “I really regret that workout.” The more you commit and force yourself to stick to your workout schedule, the more you will not feel tired or in better words, lazy. This is the reason so many people decide to quit a month and a half into their resolution, because they have one day that they are too “tired” or “busy” to go.