{"id":64520,"date":"2018-01-05T07:15:13","date_gmt":"2018-01-05T12:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=64520"},"modified":"2021-11-18T08:25:01","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T13:25:01","slug":"social-media-workout-motivation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/social-media-workout-motivation\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Ways to Power Your Workouts With Social Media"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"7
Photo: Twenty20<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Whether you aim to get your foot out the door and start a regular fitness routine<\/a> or want to set a personal record, you probably have a list of goals<\/a> you\u2019re hoping to tackle this year. But let\u2019s face it \u2014 sometimes staying motivated well beyond January is just plain hard<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Luckily, there\u2019s a secret for nailing your objectives \u2014 that is, social media. While you might think post-workout selfies can cause more of a distraction than drive your determination (and they can be), it\u2019s possible to harness the power of social media for good.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing others succeed in sport can spur a drive of wanting to achieve for ourselves. If we can learn to channel this innate tendency for comparison we can leverage social media to motivate performance<\/a> and discipline goal attainment,\u201d says Justin Ross<\/a>, a Denver-based sports psychologist.<\/p>\n

Make social media work in your workout favor with these go-getter strategies.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Just Not Feeling It Today? 33 Sources of Workout Motivation<\/a><\/p>\n

Social Media Tips to Pump Up Your Workout Motivation<\/h2>\n

1. Post a sweaty selfie.<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s time to embrace it. Research<\/a> shows that snapping a selfie can help with your weight loss goals. In particular, before and after photos can motivate you to stick with healthy habits<\/a>. In Daily Burn<\/a>\u2019s active Facebook community<\/a> group, members often post photos of weight loss success, leading to praise and applause from others.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Tone It Up<\/a> (TIU) users share evidence of their exercise and diet achievements. \u201cOn days when we need extra motivation, we turn to our community on Instagram @ToneItUp<\/a>. We scroll through the check-ins for #TIUteam<\/a> to see their sweaty selfies and healthy recipe pics \u2014 there’s nothing more inspiring!\u201d says Katrina Scott, co-creator of TIU.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>19 Reasons to Work Out (Beyond the Perfect Body)<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Join a community.<\/h3>\n

Not everyone has a cheerleader in their corner IRL. And that’s OK, because social media is there to provide a virtual one. Online communities<\/a> on Instagram, Facebook or even within certain apps let you connect to people all over the world and share your journey in a relatively anonymous platform, one which is available 24\/7. New research<\/a> found that sharing ups and downs with these online communities can be key to dropping pounds. \u201cEncouragement from others is perhaps the greatest strength that social media can offer all of us,\u201d says Ross.<\/p>\n

These online support groups can be an incredible resource for overcoming those been-there, done-that challenges and pitfalls. \u201c<\/strong>We created Tone It Up because we envisioned a community where women can come together and support each other to reach their fitness goals, and social media plays a huge role in that,\u201d says Karena Dawn, co-creator of Tone It Up. In Daily Burn<\/a>\u2019s community, you\u2019ll also see words of congratulations and encouragement, as well as accountability threads. Whether you just nailed a full push-up or need someone to motivate you to get up and get sweating, people in the group provide the positivity.<\/p>\n

3. Make it public.<\/h3>\n

If you have a workout goal, target race pace<\/a> or even just a hard workout on the calendar, make it public. \u201cKnowing that you’ve committed to a work out, a training cycle or an upcoming race, and that others will be following your progress online can motivate you to get out the door even when you don’t necessarily want to,\u201d says Ross.<\/p>\n

Strava offers one example of this pay-off. \u201cStrava is great for connecting fellow athletes and being able to follow in real time what others \u2014 including some elites and pros who share their profiles publicly \u2014 are doing. It can also spur friendly competition through segment chasing or signing up for challenges,\u201d Ross says.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>4 Science-Backed Ways to Motivate Yourself to Work Out<\/a><\/p>\n

4. Do a challenge.<\/h3>\n

\u201cEncouragement from others is perhaps the greatest strength that social media can offer all of us.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Speaking of a little healthy competition<\/a>, it never hurt anyone, right? Fitness and health-related challenges are everywhere on social media from 30 days of yoga to #runstreak to Whole 30<\/a> and it can be a good way to kick-start a new habit or routine, while keeping you accountable.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now I’m doing a 30-day gut cleanse. The day I decided to\u00a0do the cleanse, I shared about it on Instagram. By publicly sharing my goal, I’m far more likely to stay\u00a0committed to the plan,\u201d says Gabby Bernstein, lululemon Global Yoga Ambassador and best-selling author of the new Judgment Detox<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

5. Check in.<\/h3>\n

When you\u2019re working out alone and don\u2019t have someone to share your ups and downs with, it\u2019s easy to lose your mojo. Instead, regularly update your social media friends on your progress and milestones. During Daily Burn 365<\/a>, the live chat function allows members to discuss the day\u2019s workout in real-time, including struggles they overcame and how strong they feel mid- and post-sweat.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Scott says, \u201cTIU girls always cheer each other on and comment on each other’s check-ins, too. So many women have met their best friends through this beautiful community\u00a0\u2014 it shows how powerful and life-changing social media can be!\u201d<\/p>\n

6. Stay positive.<\/h3>\n

Social media doesn\u2019t just build your physical fitness, it can help improve your mental muscles<\/a> too. One of the easiest ways to re-train your brain? Affirmations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Luckily, Instagram is full of positive self-talk. \u201cSet your alarm with an affirmation in the morning or all throughout the day!\u201d says Bernstein, whose Spirit Junkie app is also a treasure trove of positive self-talk. \u201cChoose\u00a0from any of the hundreds of previous affirmations to turn inward, and shift your perception. Save your\u00a0favorite affirmations, and share with friends to spread the love,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

7. Set limits.<\/h3>\n

While social media does fire up the competitive juices, it\u2019s important not to go overboard. \u201cWe can quickly derail our training to chase what we see someone else doing on social media, which will ultimately hurt our own progress,\u201d says Ross. \u201cIt\u2019s important to realize that social media is only one tool in the arsenal of training.\u201d His advice? Create your own guidelines for the total length of time you allow yourself on social media each day.<\/p>\n

Read More
\n<\/strong>Social Media Addiction is Real. Here\u2019s How to Avoid It<\/a>
\n19 Positive Affirmations That\u2019ll Change the Way You Think<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Need some extra workout motivation? Social media to the rescue! Here\u2019s how to use your online network to power your workouts and make progress on your goals. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":64525,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,6],"tags":[430,289,56,103,341,343,100],"class_list":["post-64520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exercise","category-fitness","tag-daily-burn","tag-exercise","tag-group-fitness","tag-motivation","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2exercise","tag-workout"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}