Find a workout you love to lose weight

Most people approach exercise with a feeling of dread. Excuses like ‘We just don’t want to go for a workout’ or ‘I’m not feeling up to it’ are commonly made when lethargy sets in after office hours or a draining day of housework. Fitness is the last thing on your mind at this point so you’re likely to decide on skipping your workout instead of starting it.

So how can you find a workout you love to lose weight? Get to a point where you wait for your workout just the way you do a Friday night spent at the movies?

The key is to invest your time in an activity that you enjoy. Choosing a workout that makes you happy will motivate you to stick to your weight loss plans. You will actually find yourself making time for exercise, rather than avoiding it.

So how do you find a workout you love? There isn’t a full-proof way; you need to try different things to see what you enjoy the most. Most fitness centres offer trial sessions, so that is one place to start.

Here are some broad guidelines you can follow while choosing a workout you’ll stick to:

Find a workout buddy

Having a partner join you always make exercise more fun and it also makes you accountable to someone other than yourself.

Find the right moves

If you’re someone who likes to party, chances are you’ll enjoy the cardio workouts that Zumba or dance classes offer. If your personality veers towards the quieter side, you might want a more low-key yet effective regimen supervised by a personal trainer.

Analyse your schedule

Whether you choose a group fitness class, gym or home workout, it needs to be decided in tandem with your daily schedule. You have to ensure it is practically possible for you to commit to your place of exercise and time. If not, your interest too will die down.

Zero travel time

Finding a place close to home or work is of utmost importance. If you spend a lot of time commuting to your workout class, chances are that you will never end up going.

Get advice

Talk to a certified trainer about what kind of workout plan you need to help you with your goals. If you have a professional plan that outlines what you need to do to achieve a certain result, chances are that you will stay focused. If you are working out randomly, with little sense of where you are headed, you’re unlikely to get good results and that in turn will demotivate you.

If you’re looking for advice, a virtual personal training service like HealthifyMe can help you find a workout that suits your personality and schedule. We’ve had clients who juggle home and work, and find it tough to carve time out for fitness, and we’ve helped them find ways around their existing commitments to fit a workout into their routine. Want to know more? Get in touch!

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Written by Roshini Gilbert

After a diligent workout plan helped her lose 30kg of post-pregnancy weight, chartered accountant Roshini Gilbert was inspired enough to go from tallying numbers to training others. A freelance personal trainer today, Roshini has been certified by the American Council on Exercises (ACE) for functional fitness and specialises in post-natal weight loss, exercises for low back pain, arthritis and osteoporosis. She also has REHAB Trainer certification from Australia for rehabilitative exercises and has trained with reputed sports physiotherapist Ulrik Larsen in corrective exercises and injury management. In HealthifyMe, Roshini has found a collaborator with a common cause – making people fit to live life to the fullest. Her assessment of how fit you are is based on three broad guidelines — stamina, body age (a person who looks way older than his age can’t be deemed healthy) and lifestyle (beware, those with bad eating habits and sedentary behaviour). Prepare yourself mentally first and then your body will follow, she says, of the opinion that if you want to change something about yourself then you need to challenge yourself to do it. Are you up for it?