Photo Credit: LuluLemonAthletica on Flickr.com
Whether you jog in the early morning, daytime, or night, there are hundreds of distractions to keep you from sticking with your workouts. Work, family, school, TV, and even just redundancy can give you excuses not to follow your running plan. There are a lot of things you can do though, to keep yourself motivated, keep jogging enjoyable, and help you reach your fitness goals.
Buddy System: Having a partner to run with will keep you accountable to someone other than yourself. This means, you’ll be less likely to bail at the last minute if you have a friend awaiting your arrival. You’ll also be more likely to push yourself harder and run as often as you set out to. Running with buddies is an easy way to keep up with friends or even make new ones. Better yet, get your family involved before work or school, or during the evening and spend some quality time together while creating a healthier lifestyle.
Enter a race: A buddy of mine loved to run and did so about three miles a day. However, he didn’t have any goals other than to just stay healthy. He and a friend eventually decided to enter a 5k run and used that as incentive to keep themselves motivated. Turns out, with that new motivation, my roommate pushed himself to run six miles a day, five days a week until the 5k run. He didn’t win the race, but performed well and happily knew he had achieved new heights. Another thing to remember is that not only does entering a race create a new “fire” for running, but it may also allow you to support a good cause like curing breast cancer, diabetes or heart disease. There are plenty of resources like active.com and coolrunning.com that can help you find races in your local area.
Change Routes: Changing the route of your run is one of the most versatile options you have for keeping your routine fresh. If you’re an outdoor runner, try alternating the route or time of day you run. For those of you who run at the gym, try a different machine like the elliptical or bicycle once in a while. Both offer great ways to effectively work your legs and maintain your cardiovascular fitness. Gym-goers may also try running outside once a week, and outside runners should venture in to the gym. Again, the change of environment will help keep you motivated.
New Gear: Everyone knows that when you buy something new, the first thing you want to do is try it out. So buy yourself some new gear! New shoes, pedometers, new clothes, or a smart phone app like Nike+ GPS, will crank up your desire to try your new stuff out and maintain your running schedule
When running becomes more redundant than enjoyable, use these tips to liven it back up. In the words of my mother, “make any difficult situation into a game with a goal in mind … play the ‘game’, and you’ll have more fun than you realize.” Staying motivated is the key for you to reach your fitness goals. When you come up with an excuse not to run, think of another excuse as to why you should. Use any means necessary to keep running enjoyable and challenging. As Oprah Winfrey once said, “Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it.” Happy Running!
Information and ideas comprised from:
Brooks, Amanda. “10 Tips for Increasing Running Motivation.” RuntoTheFinish. Amanda Brooks McLatchie, 12 Jan. 2010. Web. 06 June 2011. .
Luff, Christine. “Motivational Running Quotes.” Running and Jogging. About.com, 05 June 2011. Web. 06 June 2011. <http://running.about.com/od/runninghumor/a/runningquotes.htm>.
“Running Motivation Tips and Techniques.” Running Advice – For Runner’s of All Abilities. TheRunningAdvisor.com. Web. 06 June 2011. <http://www.therunningadvisor.com/Motivation.html>.
