How To Trick Yourself Into Being Active

I somehow managed to go outside and actually do exercise 4 times this week. This is such a rare occurrence that upon entering the flat kitchen in running gear, several flatmates voiced their surprise that I went outside two days in a row. 

pictures or it didn't happen

Even I was surprised that I dragged myself out of the warm confines of the building and into the typical welsh weather wind and mild drizzle, but I'm putting my sudden motivation down to these factors:

1. If I don't move, I may become an integral part of the sheets and become a human-fabric chimera
2. I rediscovered Strava and remembered how much I like looking at the statistics
3. I can't let the BF be better than me at something I used to be almost okay at

The initial motivation for going into the cold and going for a run only lasts a few weeks if your reasons for running only consist of "it'll be good for me". It's very easy to look out of the window and put it off for later/tomorrow/next week/never. A reliable exercise buddy or group can help to keep the habit up until you show a visible improvement, which will motivate you further. 

Being a university student has given me the great opportunity to join sports societies, such as the Mountaineering society. The fun and social atmosphere outweighs the effort to actually get out there, and this week, after four weeks of attending, I met my goal to get to the top of the green route. Although this is the second easiest route on the university wall, I felt a massive sense of achievement considering my arms greatly resemble spaghetti and have no strength in them at all. I also noticed that I was a lot less nervous about the height, and my goal for next week is to get past a particularly nasty part of the blue route, which involves gripping a small hold with both hands and trying to pull yourself up.  

Leave tips for staying motivated in the comments!

Rowan