How to Work With a Trainer for Motivation

Staying motivated is key to workout success. If you are not properly motivated to work at your exercise routine, you will not stick with it, plain and simple. The fact is, more people find exercise boring than not. A good personal trainer can change all that, however. Learn to stick to your workout plan by working with a trainer for motivation. Follow these steps to learn more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Keep Yourself Motivated With Help From Your Trainer

1. Tell your trainer what types of exercise you like best. When your trainer gets to work designing your personal workout routine, this information will help her choose things that you are likely to actually do.
2. Inform your trainer about any stumbling blocks to working out that you've encountered in the past. If you've tried sticking with a workout routine before and let it fall by the wayside, knowing the reasons why will help your trainer think of ways to keep it from happening again.
3. Ask for a varied workout routine. You will quickly become bored doing the same exercises over and over again. Work with your trainer to think of ways to mix it up. Alternating cardio and muscle strengthening exercises throughout the week or completely changing your routine exercises every month or so can help fight boredom.
4. Report to your trainer on a regular basis about your progress. This is called being accountable and it's a big motivator. When you have to let your trainer know how you are coming along in meeting your goals, your motivation to meet those goals will be much higher.
5. Set up a reward system. Having something to work toward increases motivation. Work with your trainer to establish milestones. When you reach these milestones (for example, losing 10 pounds or being able to do five sets of bicep curls with the 20 pound weights), you will be entitled to something pleasurable, such as a massage or a new pair of jeans.

Tips & Warnings

• Once you've reached a milestone for one reward, make sure you immediately set a milestone for your next reward in order to keep your motivation high.
• If you use a reward system to keep you motivated, make sure your chosen rewards do not sabotage all the work that you've done to earn them. This means avoiding setting up rewards that involve high fat or high calorie foods or being able to skip a day or two in the gym. Instead, choose rewards that are material, recreational or nurturing in nature.