It’s a struggle to get out there every day and get your blood pumping. But a new study proposes that thinking about your last workout — whether it was fun or not — can help get you motivated for another round.
Picture: Phil and Pam Gradwell/Flickr
The research, from the University of New Hampshire, asked participants to recall a memory of themselves exercising. Some were asked to recall a good memory, while others were asked to recall a bad memory. What the researchers found was that participants who thought about a positive memory were more inclined to exercise again, but even the participants who thought about a negative memory were more inclined to exercise than the control group, who was given no instruction of recalling memories.
It could be beneficial for you to simply recall your last workout, even if you hated it. It’s about finding that motivation to get back out there and give it your best. Exercise is physical, but it’s really about mind over matter.
Using memories to motivate future behaviour: An experiment exercise intervention [PubMed via PsyBlog]
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