Everyone wants to develop a great physique, carry around six-pack abs and strut off a slim figure. However, not everybody can bring themselves to do what needs to be done.

This is where getting psyched up to exercise comes in.

Get a buddy or two

One of the most effective methods to get yourself motivated to exercise is to get a buddy. Exercising with someone else makes it a social event, not just a purely physical activity. You can chat things up while you workout together, compare each other’s progress and just hang out with someone while you exercise. You could even bring along your special someone to bring you two a little bit closer together.

Check your progress

Speaking of progress, it also helps to see how far you can go with the passage of time. While a lot of people say that exercise only pays off in the long run, there are a lot of things you can improve with the passage of time. Even little things like a firm tummy, a growing bicep or even a slight reduction in waist size are great motivators for exercise.

Push the envelope

Progress yields results, and another great way to get motivated is to seek greater and greater challenges. Increasing the weights in half-pound increments, increasing the tension on the treadmill or going a few extra meters on your jogging course are just some examples of how you can go the extra mile to keep yourself motivated. Push the envelope, and you will find your body getting better and stronger.

Exercise intensely

One interesting twist to exercise is to actually give it all you’ve got. Draw power from your muscles, twist those joints and draw deep, heavy breaths to increase the intensity of exercise. This is one great way to make exercise a more energetic and life-giving process. That and you really feel like you’re exercising when you do it intensely.

Enjoy the process

While building a killer body or shaving off a few dozen pounds might be enough to get you motivated to exercise, you will quickly find the energy seeping away from you once you achieve your original goals. Learn to enjoy the process of exercising, and you will find yourself keeping your body in tip-top shape for the rest of your life.

Oh, and one last thing about exercise. It is not just about shaping the body, but strengthening the mind and spirit as well.

Simply getting up and moving your body changes you on both a biological and spiritual level. Good exercise plus good vitamins and herbs produces a certain feeling of peace and contentment when you do it right, which is mostly due to the release of endorphins as your body sweats it out. However, the mere fact that you are doing something to strengthen your body goes a long way to making you feel more confident with yourself.

So remember to keep exercising, and you will find yourself a stronger and more confident person at the end of the day!