Human Motivation For Exercise And Weight Loss

If you've made the decision to take off some weight - congratulations! For many, making a commitment to their own good health is the most difficult part. But even with self-motivation, many people find they don't know what exercises to do for weight loss.

There are three key kinds of exercise: aerobic exercise, such as running or biking; flexibility exercises, such as yoga and other forms of stretching; and strength training, including resistance exercises and weight lifting.

Aerobic and strength training will help you burn up the most calories. Since losing weight depends on either consuming less calories or burning more, it's best to concentrate on these at the outset to make sure your self motivation lasts as you drop pounds.

Generally, 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three times a week is best. Build the duration and frequency as you progress.

But many people whose self-motivation has encouraged them to begin an exercise for weight loss program ignore the importance of strength training. Aerobic exercise burns more calories at first, but weight lifting increases muscle mass, and muscle burns more calories than fat. A pound of muscle uses 35 calories per day to function at rest; a pound of fat uses only two calories for the same function.

The fitness consensus used to tell us that to "build" muscle, you should perform fewer reps (3-5) at higher weights, and to simply "tone," higher reps (12-15) with lighter weights was the best way. But there is no such thing as "toning." Definition that happens with what's mistakenly called toning occurs because you have lost the layer of fat on top of the muscle, making the muscle more visible. The size of the muscle underneath depends on how actively you train.

You must "tear down" the muscle so it can rebuild itself afterward. In fact, you don't create muscle while working out but you do in the days afterward when it is "resting." The general guideline for strength training is beginning with three sets of 8-12 reps at a weight that leaves you almost incapable of completing the entire set. Then, rest for 30-60 seconds before beginning your next set.

Do not be discouraged if you're not able to accomplish all of the reps on every set. In fact, use that to gauge when to add weight. If you're finishing each set without any muscle strain, you will want to add weight.

Self-motivation compelled you to begin, but most have a difficult time maintaining the pace. It helps understanding that the source of our motivations is a belief. Consider it: If you did not believe the gnawing sensation in your stomach meant you were hungry, you wouldn't feel motivated to eat.

Understanding what ideas motivate you is imperative to losing weight, because when you feel powerfully motivated, you will exercise without fail. NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) is a form of hypnosis. And there are NLP methods that can build exercise motivation because, over time, desire to exercise for weight loss alone probably will not be enough to keep you going. Hypnosis for exercise motivation therapy can help.

Your first task is naming the most important things in your life. We call these things your highly valued criteria. Highly valued criteria are usually intangibles: money wouldn't be highly valued criteria, but the fun, freedom or security that money can buy would be.

Next, establish what you need to believe to feel motivated to exercise. It is important to bear in mind that logic has nothing to do with belief. Things don’t have to be logical to believe them. You may realize you already have a belief that conflicts this new idea. That’s okay.

While understanding what motivates us is valuable, hypnosis exercise motivation therapy can put these ideas to work by ensuring self motivation endures. Hypnosis for motivation does this by changing the computer codes in your brain, so you believe thoughts that motivate you.

Belief systems are based in our unconscious mind, which is like a computer. Computers don't have any capacity to reason. The input controls the output. The methods used in hypnosis for exercise motivation therapy can make you believe almost anything, as long as you're willing to believe.

You start by creating a picture in your mind that illustrates something you already believe, such as, "I love my children." Then you learn to calibrate the elements or 'Submodalities' of that mental belief picture.

Next, you make a mental picture that illustrates your motivational idea. Let's say your motivational idea is, "If I exercise, then I'll look great and my marriage will get better." Then you learn how to alter the Submodalities of this mental image to match with the Submodalities in your calibrated belief picture. On the other hand, if a belief is holding you back, the same technique can change that belief to doubt.

Hypnosis for motivation that incorporates NLP can give you something of an internal personal trainer. Using an exercise hypnosis motivation program ensures that the zeal you began with persists until reaching your objective, and then helps you maintain that objective.

About the Author

Alan B. Densky, CH has specialized in all aspects of self hypnosis for weight loss, including motivation theory CDs since 1978. Visit his Neuro-VISION hypnosis website and get the benefit of Free hypnosis newsletters, videos, and articles.

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