If you have a hard time motivating yourself to work out, here's a little trick. Every time you exercise, whether you go for a walk, hike with a friend, or hit the gym, mark that day with a big X in your calendar. It'll give you a quick general overview of how often you've been working out that month so far, plus it'll serve as a visual reminder of how long it's been since you last worked out.
If giant Xs don't do it for you, then draw a smiley face, or a heart, or a little flower. You can even use different shapes or colors to show what kind of activity you did each day. It's definitely a great feeling when you can look back in your calendar and see all those days marked off. For even more motivation, reward yourself every time you get 20 Xs.
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This is a great and simple idea! (Makes me wonder why I didn't think of it.) I'm trying to restart my exercise program after an entirely too long break so this will help motivate me, I think.
1I do something like this, except I record the amount of miles I do per day at the gym since I love love love how cardio makes my body feel. When I hit 100 miles, I get to reward myself with something!
2this is a good idea! I exercise on the same days every week so my X's would be a little boring
3Good way to actually visualize the maybe lack of exercise some people might get...
4Ah, I do this!!! It helps me keep tracked of how often I'm working out... or not working out.
5This is such a good tip. I already do this with stickers. It helps you see at a glance how much you've been working out.
6I like this!!
7also use smiley face stickers/ gold stars. It may be silly but when was the last time you got a sticker on a report for work? It's a great flashback to childhood and it makes me smile.
8I record miles/time of a run or what I did at the gym (ie. tread/weights).
9i record the time i spend on cardio, and the types of strength training i do. it's a great motivator to see it all laid out!
10Great idea... In fact, I've started my calendar by X'ing off my Bay to Breaker's run yesterday!
11Love this idea! I have about 10 markers that I color code all my different stats, times, distances, etc. with. A tad 5th-grade dorky, but it's fun!
12I love this idea. Right now I'm using one of those click pens with six or eight different color inks, so I just make little marks in my day planner (running is red, swimming is blue, tennis is yellow, yoga is purple, etc) but I think it would be fun to see it all on the same page--because even though I know that most weeks are just a solid row of red dots with a few purples and maybe a few blues, it's easy to ignore just how much I stick with the same routine.
I saw a dry erase calendar for the fridge somewhere--maybe I'll pick one up and see if it motivates me to branch out and incorporate different activities into my routine.
13I use little colored stars for everyday I work out. It really does make you feel good when you look at the calender at the end of the months and its covered in shiny little stars!
14I do something similar to CiaoBella. I tend to write down what form of workout I did and how long I did it for on a calender. For example: Cardio - 30. I do like Mamarosa way of doing it. Maybe I will get some stickers and see how that goes. Like Steen I am trying to get back to workout. So far writing it down doesn't quite help me. Maybe I have been doing it too long that I do not look at it that much or just have the calender in the wrong spot.
15This is a fabulous idea! So simple.
I love new ways of being accountable.
16I just started an exercise routine this week and that sounds like a great way to keep me motivated. I'll give it a try.
17This is cool. I log my work outs in an Excel sheet. I make it all colorful and organized...i'm obsessive compulsive like that.
18what a great idea!!!! I'm going to buy a calendar during lunch now to keep track of my workouts... i'll also do the same with every day that I eat healthy througout the day
19I log my workouts on beginnertriathlete.com --- great way to see how far I've ran, swam, and biked
20Great idea! I just marked what I've done for the past week & a half, and will continue to put my florescent check marks on the days that I get my butt to the gym or go for a run. I think I'll add some of my daughters stickers, too!
21Cool idea! I wish I would've thought of that back when I was first starting to work out. It definitely would have helped keep me motivated, that's for sure.
22i do this already and i find it sooo helpful. to be honest with you if i don't do it - i feel i lose track and may not go as much. i push myself to workout 4 days a week and so if it's wednesday and i see i've only gone once or something - it motivates me more to go so that i can get all my x's for the week. and i've also started a buddy system and we push each other to meet our 4 a week workouts and for every day we don't go - we put $5 in a piggy bank... it definitely helps to have that extra push from a friend.
23I've done something like this in the past. It does work as a motivation.
24Tee-hee. I have the foil star stickers you get in the office supply section.
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