How to Get Motivated to Exercise (Even When You Don’t Feel Like It)

You know exercise is good for you. You may genuinely want to become fitter, stronger or healthier. You might even start with the best of intentions.

Then motivation disappears.

The planned walk gets postponed. The gym suddenly seems like too much effort. One missed session becomes several, and before long you're telling yourself you'll start again next week.

If that sounds familiar, it doesn't necessarily mean you're lazy or lacking in willpower. One of the biggest problems with exercise motivation is expecting yourself to feel motivated before you begin.

As a clinical hypnotherapist and psychotherapist with more than 25 years' experience, I've worked with many people who wanted to make positive changes but struggled to turn good intentions into consistent habits. What often makes the difference isn't finding endless motivation. It's learning how to make exercise something you do even when motivation is low.

If getting started is the hardest part for you, I've created an Exercise Motivation Self-Hypnosis MP3 specifically to help you overcome procrastination, feel more positive about being active and make regular exercise easier to build into your routine.

Why Is It So Hard to Get Motivated to Exercise?

Exercise has an unfortunate disadvantage: many of its rewards come later, while the effort happens now.

Sitting on the sofa is comfortable now. Staying in bed for another half-hour feels good now. Going home after work rather than stopping at the gym is easier now.

The benefits of exercise — improved fitness, greater stamina, better health and perhaps changes in how you look and feel — usually take time.

Your brain naturally responds to immediate rewards, so when you're tired, stressed or busy, the easier option can win.

This is why telling yourself I really should exercise often isn't enough.

Stop Waiting Until You Feel Motivated

This is probably the most important change you can make.

People who exercise regularly aren't necessarily waking up every morning desperate to work out. They have simply made exercise part of what they do.

Think about brushing your teeth.

You probably don't wait for a burst of tooth-brushing motivation. You do it because it's part of your routine.

Exercise can gradually become more like that.

Instead of asking:

Do I feel like exercising today?

try asking:

What exercise am I doing today?

That removes one decision.

And decisions are often where excuses begin.

Make Starting Ridiculously Easy

When you're struggling with motivation, don't make the first step harder than it needs to be.

If your plan is:

Tomorrow I'm going to exercise for an hour, five days a week, completely change my diet and get fit,

you've created a large psychological hurdle before you've even started.

Try something smaller.

A ten-minute walk.

A short exercise video.

A few exercises at home.

A gentle swim.

Getting off the bus one stop earlier.

The important thing initially is not how impressive the exercise looks. It's establishing the behaviour.

Ten minutes actually done is more useful than an ambitious one-hour workout that keeps getting postponed.

And once you've started, you may decide to continue for longer.

Choose Exercise You Don't Hate

There is no prize for choosing the form of exercise you dislike most.

If you hate gyms, you don't have to join one.

If running makes you miserable, you don't have to become a runner.

Exercise might mean walking, swimming, cycling, dancing, gardening, yoga, exercise classes, strength training, horse riding or simply becoming more active during your normal day.

Ask yourself:

What form of movement could I realistically imagine continuing six months from now?

That is often a much better question than:

Which exercise burns the most calories?

Consistency matters.

Decide When You're Going to Exercise

“I'll exercise when I get time” is an easy plan to abandon because there's always something else you could be doing.

Be more specific.

For example:

I'll walk for twenty minutes after lunch on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Or:

I'll go to the gym on my way home from work on Tuesday and Thursday.

You are turning an intention into an appointment.

It can also help to connect exercise to something you already do.

After breakfast, I walk.

After work, I go to the gym.

After I've taken the children to school, I exercise.

The existing routine becomes a reminder for the new one.

Remove the Obstacles Before They Become Excuses

Think about what normally stops you.

If you intend to exercise in the morning but can't face finding your clothes, put them out the night before.

If going home after work means you'll never leave again, take your gym kit with you.

If boredom stops you walking, listen to a podcast or audiobook.

If bad weather is your usual reason for giving up, decide in advance what your indoor alternative will be.

You're not trying to prove that you have enormous willpower.

You're making the desired behaviour easier.

Use the Five-Minute Rule

On days when you really don't want to exercise, make a deal with yourself.

Do five minutes.

After five minutes, you can stop if you genuinely want to.

This works because starting is often the hardest part.

Once you're dressed, moving and doing the activity, continuing can feel much easier than it did when you were sitting thinking about it.

And if you do stop after five minutes?

You've still maintained the habit.

That matters.

Don't Let One Missed Day Become a Lost Month

Missing an exercise session isn't failure.

Life happens. You may be ill, busy, tired, travelling or simply have a day when exercise doesn't happen.

The problem often begins with what you tell yourself afterwards.

I've ruined it.

I've got no willpower.

There's no point.

I'll start again on Monday.

One missed session then becomes a week, and a week becomes a month.

Instead, treat the missed session as exactly what it was: one missed session.

Return to your normal routine at the next reasonable opportunity.

You don't need to start again.

You're simply continuing.

Focus on How Exercise Makes You Feel Now

Long-term goals can be useful, but they're often too distant to motivate you on a wet Tuesday evening.

Look for immediate benefits too.

Perhaps you sleep better after exercising.

Maybe you feel pleased with yourself.

Perhaps a walk clears your head after work.

You may enjoy having some time alone, listening to music or being outdoors.

The more immediate rewards your brain associates with exercise, the less dependent you become on distant goals.

Be Careful With All-or-Nothing Thinking

A surprisingly common barrier to exercise is the belief that it only counts if you do it properly.

If you don't have an hour, you do nothing.

If you can't get to the gym, you do nothing.

If you've eaten badly that day, you think there's no point exercising.

But twenty minutes is better than zero.

A walk is better than remaining completely inactive.

A short home workout still counts.

Consistency doesn't require perfection.

What If You Keep Starting Exercise and Giving Up?

If this happens repeatedly, look at the pattern rather than criticising yourself.

Perhaps you start too aggressively.

You may choose activities you don't enjoy.

Maybe your plan doesn't fit realistically around your life.

Or perhaps you're motivated mainly by something negative — disliking your body, feeling guilty about your weight or believing you should exercise.

That can get you started, but it isn't always a good foundation for a lasting habit.

Try shifting the emphasis towards what you're gaining.

More strength.

More energy.

Greater mobility.

Time for yourself.

A sense of achievement.

Improved fitness.

Taking care of your future health.

Exercise becomes something you're doing for yourself, rather than something you're doing because you're unhappy with yourself.

How to Motivate Yourself to Exercise When You're Tired

There are days when tiredness is genuine and rest is exactly what you need.

But there are also times when I'm too tired really means I don't feel like starting.

It can help to distinguish between the two.

Ask yourself:

Do I need rest, or do I simply not feel motivated?

If you're genuinely exhausted, unwell or recovering from illness or injury, listen to your body and seek appropriate medical advice where necessary.

If it's simply a low-motivation day, lower the requirement.

Take the walk.

Do ten minutes.

Start gently.

You don't need every exercise session to be your best one.

Build an Identity Around Being Active

There is a subtle difference between saying:

I'm trying to exercise.

and:

I'm becoming someone who exercises regularly.

The second statement begins to make activity part of how you see yourself.

Every time you follow through — even with a short session — you're reinforcing that identity.

You don't have to become a fitness fanatic.

You are simply becoming someone who makes regular movement part of life.

Can Self-Hypnosis Help With Exercise Motivation?

Knowing what to do isn't always the same as doing it.

You may already understand the benefits of exercise perfectly well. The difficulty can be overcoming procrastination, changing established habits and developing a more positive mental association with being active.

This is where self-hypnosis may be useful.

During hypnosis, you're deeply relaxed while focusing on positive suggestions and mental rehearsal. Rather than relying solely on conscious willpower, you can rehearse seeing yourself approaching exercise differently — getting started more easily, enjoying movement and feeling good about following through.

I created my Exercise Motivation Self-Hypnosis MP3 for people who want to become more active but find themselves repeatedly putting exercise off or losing motivation.

The aim isn't to turn you into someone obsessed with exercise. It's to help exercise begin to feel like a more natural and rewarding part of your routine.

Start With What You Can Do Today

If you've been waiting to feel motivated before you start exercising, try reversing the process.

Don't wait for motivation and then take action.

Take a small action and allow motivation to follow.

Put your shoes on.

Walk for ten minutes.

Do the first five minutes of the workout.

Book the class.

Make tomorrow's exercise easier to begin.

You don't need to transform your life today.

You just need to make the next step easy enough to take.

And when you repeat those small steps often enough, exercise can gradually stop being something you're always trying to motivate yourself to do and become something that simply forms part of your life.