Ms. Karie Millspaugh
Tapout Gym- Las Vegas

5 Key Motivators to LOVE your workout!

Do you DREAD working out?

Is it one of those activities that is on your “to do” list that you save until the end of the day when you’re running out of steam and thinking of every excuse under the sun to get out of it?

Yes… I’ve been there…  When I get out of routine it’s really hard to get back on schedule again.  The longer I wait the worse I feel…physically and mentally. 

Good news, being active and increasing your exercise activity doesn’t have to be strenuous or a DRAG…

So here are some tricks that I use to get back my “mojo”.

1. Get a work out buddy

Round up all of your friends that are currently active and set a schedule to work out together. 

If you don’t have any active friends, time to make some.  Join a class at your gym and bring out your social side….or you can be the leader and motivate your group of friends to START meeting at the gym or other fun activities.

When working out with a friend, you hold each other accountable while also adding some fun and maybe even your competitive side comes out too which will enhance your workout experience.

2. Create your favorite iTunes playlist

I don’t know about you…but I MUST play music that brings out my fun dancing self!  Isn’t it amazing how much energy you can have when your favorite song comes on the radio… if you’re driving you become more alert, happy…start singing and may even drive a bit faster.  Same goes with working out.  You pick up your pace, start running faster…doing more reps.  Gather a great work out only play list so that you keep that momentum throughout the whole workout.  The longer the playlist the better chance that you will extend your workout…doing one more last rep while waiting for the song to end.

3. Turn it into social time

Want to kill two birds with one stone? Can’t seem to find the time to hang out with your girlfriends?  Why not meet at the gym, or for a hike, take a dance class, or meet up for yoga together?  Make it a social activity and connect before or after as well for some girlfriend heart to heart soul time as well.  I love meeting up with a nice smoothie afterwards to catch up with some girlfriend time.  Us women need to rely on great friendships to help lift us up when your day to day life gets complicated.  This is going to help release some emotion while increasing your happy genes from working out.  Talk about a great addition to your day! 

 4. Get into Nature and turn it into an adventure

Working out is great… but in nature you’ve just taken it to a whole new level!  It’s more SOULful to breathe in the fresh air… hear the sounds of the great outdoors!  Do you have a nice walking path near your home or a park?  Do you have gorgeous mountains and hiking trails like I do here in Vegas?  I have many favorite spots that I call my “church”…where I go and get centered in the sounds and smells of nature.  Over Memorial Day I took some friends with me to one of my favorite “church” spots.  I always feel refreshed and ALIVE after playing outdoors.  Even if it’s just a short bike ride to the park and back, it’s a great way to wake up your inner spirit and get some natural Vitamin D too!

5. Reward yourself… go buy some workout clothes that are fun to wear.

You don’t have to spend a fortune, but how much fun is it to wear new clothes?  When was the last time you treated yourself to new tennis shoes?  Buy fun colors…something bright and cheerful to give you an added skip to your workout routine.  I tend to work out in the color pink so I bought Nike’s with pink stripes.  I also like to wear bright colors that make me feel more energetic.  When you just throw on a frumpy pair of sweatpants that have holes in them it sort of takes the joy right out of working out.  You may as well go paint the side of your garage in that outfit.  You’re a beautiful feminine soul.  Go turn some heads in your fun creative active wear instead of trying to hide in the background.  YOU RADIATE!  Be loud and proud…after all… You’re AT THE GYM for pete’s sake, that by itself says how much you love yourself! 

I hope that you will use these key motivators like I do.  We need all the help we can get until it becomes a natural routine and your body starts to CRAVE exercise.

Enjoy your workout!

Karie Millspaugh

Biz and Lifestyle Expert