Between the demands of studying and maintaining a healthy social life, it’s common for students to find themselves getting just a bit heavier, perhaps falling victim to the infamous “Freshman 15.” However, it’s typically not a lack of desire to exercise, but rather it can be difficult to motivate yourself when you’re already so bogged down with your academic responsibilities. To help give yourself a boost, here are some ways to motivate yourself to work out.
Work Out with Friends
A good way to get motivated and still enjoy your social life is to work out with your friends. This is one of the few cases where peer pressure is positive because by working out with others, you and your friends can hold each other accountable. This accountability and support will give you the push to complete your routine. If you’re a freshman and still feel on your own, the gym is a great way to be social and meet other students.
Get Competitive
While working out with friends, you can try getting competitive with each other. This encourages a “prize” to work for, even if that prize is just bragging rights. Making it a good-hearted competition will also turn your routine into something of a game and a lot less like a chore. Even if you work out alone, you can still make your workout competitive by recording your time and results so that you can strive to beat your records.
Add Music
This one seems very obvious, as music is most people’s go-to as a way to occupy their mind while working out, but adding music has benefits that drive motivation you may not be aware of. Once you are aware of how music can affect motivation, you’ll be able to plan out a playlist to maximize that inspiration, making your favorite songs a powerful way to motivate yourself to work out.
Visualization
A tangible reminder of why you’re working out can be very helpful to put your workout into perspective. A picture of how you used to look is a good reminder that the results will come, it’s just a gradual process you may not even fully realize in the moment. Or you can use an image of your goal—someone you’re trying to be like in terms of fitness—to remind yourself what you’re working towards and why you started.