Finding motivation to work out can be difficult at times. Use these 9 easy, effective tips to help keep motivated.

Write your goal
Its obvious that we sign up at the gym for a reason, but sometimes we lose track of our objectives when theyre not reaffirmed. Write down the reason you wanted to go to the gym in the first place. Whether it was because you wanted to lose weight, gain weight or strength, or to improve your cardiovascular health, write it down on paper somewhere and keep it next to the bed so you can see it every morning. You can always put another one by the door to remind yourself when youre about to leave or considering not going.

Set a short time goal
Setting short term goals gives you something to strive for and lets you know youve achieved something when you reach it. If youre trying to lose weight, set a short term goal for a couple of weeks time.

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It takes a lot of work to exercise, but sometimes the hardest part is just getting motivated to start in the first place. People get bored quickly doing the same workout routines over and over again.If youre there to gain muscle, aim to gain a small about of weight within a few weeks, or to be able to lift a specific weight for your favourite exercise. Make sure your goals are achievable.

Keep track of your progress
Write down your status for each week. How far and how fast you can run, or how much youre lifting for each exercise. Keeping track of your progress is very useful because you can see your improvements. It can sometimes feel like not much progress is being made, without the ability to track it. Photographs are another useful way of keeping track of progress. Its much harder to see and appreciate the improvements when you see your body each day. Photographs let you go back in time and see how your body looked back then so you can compare.

Find a partner
Having a partner along with you can break up the monotony and you can encourage each other.
Make sure you pick someone whos not going to complain throughout the whole session, or gives up easily, as this will affect your own motivation.

Be prepared
Know beforehand what youll be doing when you arrive at the gym. Know which exercises youre there to do so youre not stood around trying to decide.

Vary your routine
By changing your workout routine, you can keep things from feeling old. If you always do certain exercises in the same order, change them around.

Go anyway
Go for ten minutes and if youre really not enjoying it after that, you can always leave. A small amount of exercise is better than none and once youre there, Im pretty sure youll stay for the entire session. Most of the time, its just getting there thats the hardest part, so remember that.

Update your music
If youre by yourself at the gym, take an MP3 player and load it up with good songs to keep you going. Remember to update those songs though, to stop them from becoming boring.

Treat yourself
This goes well with setting goals as its helpful for motivation as well as being a reward. Buy a really nice item of clothing that will fit you in 2-3 months time and wear it with pride when you get to your goal.