“The only thing standing between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.”

You know that when your workout motivation reaches the zero point you are in trouble. I’m giving you my 6 tricks to boost your motivation to exercise and I guarantee that if you follow them you will become a gym-addict.

Workout motivation trick #1 – Find time to workout

We all need more time in our days to get everything done. But that can’t be an excuse for cheating on your workout plan. How many times a week do you need to exercise? Maybe 4? How much time do you need? One hour sounds enough to me. So you need 4 hours a week. Did you know that a week has 168 hours? Do you think you could find those 4 hours out of 168 to workout in?

• Drop something you don’t need – most people spend 2-3-4 hours a day in front of the TV. I consider TV to be the biggest time-eater of our time at home. You may think that sitting on the coach every evening watching your favorite show is the only way to ease the tension from the day. You are wrong. How about going out for a run? It will take the stress off you and will make you feel full of energy. Besides TV always goes with food and drinks that are definitely out of your menu.

• Become an early riser. I’m personally enjoying the benefits of rising earlier in the mornings – I wake up and start my day at 5 a.m. so I have 2 more hours for doing my staff every day (I used to sleep till 7 a.m., some days till 8 a.m.). That makes 14 hours a week. It is hard in the beginning but soon it turns into habit. Try it for yourself.

• Cooking simple healthy meals takes less time. And if you can put 15-20 minutes in preparing the dinner in advance you will save up to an hour. Eating out requires an extra 1-1.5 hour. Another chunk of time you could use for working out is your lunch break.

• Don’t get caught up in the gym chit-chat. Get in, work out and get out.

• Make a gym at home. It is great to have gym equipment in the next room so if you can afford it, buy it.

Workout motivation trick #2 – Start today

“Put it off for a day and 10 days will pass.”

Don’t wait for the perfect day to come – it won’t. There will always be those little hitches like you get sick or you get late from work or your sister has a BD party tonight that can discourage you. Don’t procrastinate.

Workout motivation trick #3 – Make it fun

Do you look forward to your workout hour? Or do you force yourself everyday into exercising? People who don’t like what they are doing sooner or later quit. Find a way to get involved in this working out thing.

• Join a group or find a gym buddy. When you know someone is expecting you to do something you are less likely to skip it. You will have bad days and support definitely will help you get over them.

• Make your workout hour eagerly awaited. If you can’t live without Oprah, make a deal with your mind – put her show on your iPhone and watch it when you are on the bike. Or read the book you never found the time to read.

• Make your own best workout music compilation and listen to it in the gym or while running.

• Disguise your exercise – walking the dog, playing catch with the kids, or working in your garden also helps keep you fit.

Workout motivation trick #4 – Keep it real

You need to remember one thing – results take time. It is true for both good and bad results. Don’t expect to lose 10 pounds this week just because you stuck to your workout plan. Same goes when you miss a day. You won’t gain weight back immediately but if that one day turns into ten or a month you will regret your lack of perseverance. So work for realistic goals and don’t expect miracles overnight.

Workout motivation trick #5 – Keep a log

Make a workout plan, set specific and realistic goals and keep track of every day you are working out. This will help you in two ways:

• First it will let you see your moments of weakness. When you know how certain circumstances make you react you could try to avoid them or you could work to change your reaction.

• When you happen to have one of those bad days that everything seems pointless and you feel like giving up just take a look in your log to see how far you have managed to come. No one said it would be easy but it will get easier with the time.

Workout motivation trick #6 – Make it a routine

When you do the same thing over and over again for a given time it becomes a habit. You don’ think if you should brush your teeth or do your hair or flush  the toilet – all these things have turned into habits and you do them no matter if you are late, if you are sick, if it is raining outside or your partner cheated on you. But it takes time. I have to remind my sons (1 and 4) to brush their teeth every morning and to wash their hands every time we come back home from walk.

If you don’t feel like going to the gym today… I say “Just do it”. Go there, do what you have to do and even if you don’t feel better after 10 minutes working out, that I doubt, you would be a step closer to turning your workout into routine.