We’ve all heard it before: it’s important to eat healthy, exercise regularly and take good care of your body. While this advice is certainly worth incorporating into your lifestyle, sometimes making the choice to exercise is easier said than done. Despite the fact that we know it’s healthy for us, we need a little more motivation to work out.
Prioritizing our health and fitness is easy on days when the sun is shining, we’re feeling motivated, have plenty of time, and things are going well.
But what about those days where everything is rushed, your to do list is never-ending, and all you want to do is take a nap on the couch?
Related: 5 Ways to Overcome Low Motivation
These are the days when we need more motivation and reasons to exercise besides the fact that it’s healthy.
Motivation can be a tricky thing. It comes and it goes, flowing in waves each day and each week. Some days we feel motivated to conquer the world, while on other days, we find ourselves struggling to get a single thing done.
Fitness motivation is no different, and no matter how conscious we are about living a healthy lifestyle, we all have some days where we’d rather just give in to temptations.
Related: 6 Ways to Break Out of a Fitness Rut
Finding a reason to work out sometimes involves a simple mental reminder, while at other times it involves reading an entire list.
Luckily, if you’re in need of a few extra reasons to exercise today, you’re in the right place. Whether you’re starting a workout routine from scratch, or just looking for a few motivating reasons to get off the couch – it’s here.
These 10 reasons to exercise will hopefully provide you with a little more motivation than just choosing to stay healthy. While regular exercise is a great way to enhance your physical health, it benefits so much more than we may even realize.
Check out these 10 reasons to work out today – and then get to it.
10 Motivating Reasons to Exercise (Besides Staying Healthy)
Exercise to enjoy a boost of endorphins.
It’s frequently mentioned that exercise helps boost your mood, and this enjoyable benefit is produced by those feel-good chemicals we call endorphins. At some point during or after any sort of challenging exercise, you’ll probably experience a surge of endorphins.
Hitting the gym or even your living room floor is all it takes to flood your body with these feel-good chemicals. If you’re feeling a little down or just lazy and sluggish, these endorphins will likely provide just the boost you need to reinvigorate your mood.
Exercise to strengthen your immune system.
Not only does exercise improve your overall physical health, but it has also been shown to help strengthen your immune system. Regular exercise helps increase your body’s protection against illness and infection, helping you avoid those common colds and stay feeling your best throughout the year.
Exercise to feel confident and proud.
Aside from the endorphin boost, regular exercise (or even just one killer cardio session) is a great way to improve your self-confidence and keep you feeling proud. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of getting stronger each day, sweating out your stresses, and knowing that you’ve worked hard.
Exercise to become more productive.
It sounds counter-intuitive, right? The fact that spending time being physically active will leave you with more energy and motivation to continue. However, more often than not, completing a solid workout motivates you to continue being productive and conquering your to do list.
If you’re struggling to get anything done, a great way to get started is with a few minutes of exercise. You might surprise yourself to find that completing a workout helps you accomplish more throughout the day.
Exercise to reduce stress and anxiety.
Unfortunately, stress and anxiety are a natural part of life – no matter your age, location, occupation or health. However, these natural feelings can have an incredibly negative impact on your mental and physical health if they are not controlled.
Regular exercise is a great way to help keep stress and anxiety at bay. Hitting the gym or heading outdoors for a work out is a great way to relieve stress from your day, sweat out your toxins, and spend time working through problems in your mind.
Exercise to increase your natural energy.
Here’s another reason to exercise that might sound counter-intuitive: exercising will likely increase your energy levels. After all that sweat and work put in during a workout, it’s hard to imagine that you’ll return home feeling more energized than before.
However, no matter how strange it might seem, sweating it out with a workout each day is a great way to boost your natural energy. The combination of endorphins, stress relief and motivation you experience after a workout will likely leave you experiencing significantly more energy than if you were to lay on the couch all day.
Exercise to spend time with yourself.
Our lives our filled with constant social interaction, whether we’re around other people or not. This age of social media and technology makes it easier than ever to communicate with others. And while connection is certainly a great thing, at times it can feel overwhelming.
It’s easy to get lost in the world of technology and forget to spend time alone or in silence. Exercise provides a great outlet for us to spend time alone with our thoughts, work through emotions and solve difficult problems.
Exercise to improve your quality of sleep.
It’s no secret that we sleep better after a long, exhausting day. Days that are spent lounging and relaxing usually leave us feeling less tired and easily wound up at the end of the day. Regular exercise is a great way to maintain a healthy sleep cycle and increase your chances of sleeping soundly each night.
Exercise to boost your metabolism and appetite.
One of the famous weight loss strategies is simple: get regular exercise. And for good reason – not only does a quality work out help us burn calories, but exercising on a regular basis improves our appetite and helps us burn more fat throughout the day. If you’re looking for an excuse to enjoy that extra snack each day, fitting in a workout is a great one.
Exercise to wear and buy new gym clothes.
Both men (although they may not admit it) and women are at their best when they feel confident in their appearance. Establishing a new exercise routine is a great excuse to purchase some new workout clothes that you love. Treat yourself to some bright colors and flattering styles so you can hit the gym or trails feeling your best.
These reasons, and many more, are a great example of the benefits we all experience from regular exercise. While it’s easy to keep it up when you’re feeling good, it’s natural to experience low motivation from time to time.
When life gets in the way and you’re struggling to get going, remind yourself how much better you’ll feel after your workout. Whether you fit in a quick 10 minute workout in your living room or run on the trails for multiple hours, your body and mind are stronger for it.
