Regardless of whether you are a fitness enthusiast or someone who has never stepped foot in a fitness club, motivation is essential if you have a fitness goal you want to achieve. Motivation is what initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behavior. It is what triggers an action response, whether it is to get a glass of water when you’re thirsty or to lift a dumbbell when you want to get stronger. Motivation, in some ways, is like the ignition switch of your car. If you want to get from point A to point B, a significant distance away, the obvious choice is to drive. Even though you may know the fastest route to your destination, you won’t get anywhere without turning the key in the ignition switch.

What is Motivation?

Motivation is often described as the reason why a person does something. There are three major components of motivation:

Activation – the decision to initiate in a behavior Persistence – the continued effort towards a goal (regardless of investment in time, energy and resources) Intensity – the concentration and vigor that goes into pursuing a goal

Different types of motivation are described as being either extrinsic or intrinsic. Motivations that are extrinsic come from outside of the person and often involve rewards or recognition (i.e. trophies, money or praise). Intrinsic motivations are those that come from within the person (i.e. satisfaction, sense of accomplishment or fear).

What Motivates You?

Typically, we are motivated by things that are important to us. For example, food, shelter, safety and connections with other people are high on our hierarchy of needs. Actions that cultivate our happiness in these essential areas of need are automatic.

When we are hungry, we eat.

When we are tired, we sleep.

When we are scared, we seek shelter.

When we are lonely, we seek the comfort of others.

Unfortunately, getting healthy and fit are not needs that are high on the list. We are not in immediate danger by not working out. We can survive without being physically fit (although we would be living a very low quality of life). Being proactive about our health and fitness requires more motivation because choosing to participate in exercise does not come naturally for most of us.

GET MOTIVATED! Words of Wisdom for Inspired Workouts.

Because each person is unique, with their own reasons for wanting and needing to get physically active and fit, TodaysFitnessTrainer.com has created the “GET MOTIVATED!” series of motivational messages and fitness tips to help you get active … and STAY active.

In “GET MOTIVATED! Words of Wisdom for Inspired Workouts (part one)” we include the following motivations and inspirations:

Get rid of all the excuses (and just do it)! Have a meaningful reason. Set the right expectations for your workout program. Believe in yourself. Choose to turn a negative attitude into a positive one. Be patient. Don’t be afraid to fail. Change your mind (when you want to give up) Get inspired. Embrace challenges. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Celebrate your small victories. Stay focused on the long term goal.

We hope these messages prove useful in getting you off the couch and to the gym. For more useful fitness tips and daily motivational messages check out the Today’s Fitness Trainer Facebook page. Stay tuned for future “GET MOTIVATED! Words of Wisdom for Inspired Workouts” collections in the future!