If you’re walking to lose weight and become healthier, it’s important to stay motivated even when you feel like you aren’t seeing results. Fitness is an ongoing commitment and there are times when it can seem difficult to keep it up. That’s why we’re looking at 4 great ways to stay motivated and stay on track.
- Invest in a good pedometer
A good pedometer allows you to track your distance and the number of calories burned. This can be an excellent motivator that gives you measurable results for the amount of time you invest in your fitness routine. A pedometer helps you set personal goals and achieving those goals will keep you motivated to continue.
- Track your progress
Tracking your day to day activities is a great way to see your progress over time. This can be done by keeping an activity journal in which you list your daily activities including how far you’ve walked and how many calories you’ve burned. With more advanced pedometers that connect to the computer, this information can be downloaded daily and charted over time.
Tracking progress is a great motivator because it allows you to see time based improvements. Even if you have an off day you can still look back and see how your overall activity level has increased from week to week or month to month.
- Find a partner
Having a friend to walk with is always a great motivator. They are there to support you on those days where just don’t feel like being active. They can also keep you company on those long walks. Motivating others and allowing them to motivate you is a rewarding part of any fitness friendship.
- Sign up for an event
Events are a great way to set a long term goal. Even if a 5k or 10k seems like a lot of work now, you can work your way up to that point. When you set a goal that is outside your comfort zone and achieve it the resulting enthusiasm and motivation keeps you going and makes you want to set further goals for yourself.