Find it hard to choose fitness when your Netflix is waiting for you? Catch yourself scowling in the weight room mirror? Lose motivation to move as the day goes on? You’re not alone. Nearly half (43 percent) of Americans report having a lack of motivation to exercise. Thankfully, there’s something that psychologists and exercise physiologists say may help: Cultivating a fitness mindset.

Broadly speaking, a fitness mindset is an approach to physical activity that posits it as a positive thing in an individual’s life. “Someone with a fitness mindset views exercise as something that you want to do because you enjoy it and because you see yourself as an active and health-conscious person, rather than as something you need to do to avoid sickness or a lecture at the doctor’s office,” says exercise physiologist and certified strength and conditioning coach Sharon Gam, Ph.D., CSCS. In other words, someone with a fitness mindset sees exercise as something you get to do, rather than something you have to do.

Someone with a fitness mindset might have specific performance goals, notes licensed psychotherapist and mindset coach Rebecca Capps LMFT, founder of Mind Body Thrive. But typically, does not have aesthetic-based goals. “Folks with this mindset are interested in cultivating a life-long relationship with fitness, rather than achieving a certain body or look,” she says.

Ahead, learn more about the benefits of working to cultivate a fitness mindset. Plus, 7 steps you can follow to do just that.

Yes, A Fitness Mindset Is Something You Want To Cultivate

Point blank, someone with a fitness mindset is going to be more likely to stick with (and achieve!) their health, wellness, and fitness goals than a person who does not have this mindset.

When you have a fitness mindset, you are more likely to stick to your fitness plan, says Capps. Indeed, whether your goal is to hit the gym 5 days per week, or lace up every other day, people with a fitness mindset are more apt to stick to this schedule, she says. Long term, this increases the likelihood that they will achieve whatever overarching wellness goals they have. After all, as far as health and fitness are concerned, consistency is key.

Beyond just being more physically active, people with a fitness mindset are more likely to enjoy the time they are being physically active. “People who have a fitness mindset are more likely to see exercise as a source of joy,” says Capps. (Rather than punishment for eating a certain snack or drinking a certain amount on the weekend, for example).

The benefits of having a fitness mindset carry over outside of fitness spaces and into the rest of your life, too. “People with a fitness mindset are resilient in and out of the gym,” says Dr. Gam. “They usually see challenges as opportunities for growth and are proactive about finding workarounds when things don’t go according to plan.”

How To Cultivate A Fitness Mindset

1. First, understand that it *is* something that can be cultivated.

Good news: A fitness mindset isn’t something you are born with or not. “A fitness mindset may come easier to some people than others,” says Dr. Gam. (Usually, as a result of the ideas about movement they were taught growing up). “But it is definitely a skill that can be developed even if it’s not natural for you,” she says.

That means that if you currently dread going to the gym, there are some action items (ahead) that you can implement to replace that dread with excitement.

2. Make a list of your current values.

Hook yourself up to the metaphorical lie detector because it’s time to get honest. Dr. Gam recommends taking inventory of your personal values. “Once you take a good, hard look at your core values and what matters to you, it will be easier to craft a path forward towards a fitness goal,” she says.

Some questions you might ask yourself:

• What are your top three priorities in life?
• What qualities do you admire most in others?
• What motivates you?

Once you have a sense of your core values, you can use those to re-frame how you understand fitness. “If, for example, one of your top priorities is taking care of others, you might re-frame fitness as an opportunity to get the physical and mental resources you need so you can be there for the people you love,” says Dr. Gam.

Meanwhile, if your ability to take risks and make bold decisions is one of your favorite things about yourself in a work setting, you might consider doing so in regard to your fitness. For instance, what if you signed up for a totally new kind of fitness class, like pole-dancing or rock climbing? Similarly, if seeing the world is important to you, you might decide to sign up for 10k somewhere that’s a plane ride away and use the race as an excuse to sight-see.

3. Start small (really small).

Sure, some people who are physically active are out here running marathons, slanging barbells overhead, and competing in local CrossFit competitions. But there are ways to be active — and regularly show off and strengthen your fitness mindset —  that do not involve competitions, races, or meets.

“Do some brainstorming on the small things you could do throughout the day to be a more active person,” says Dr. Gam. People who intentionally add movement into their day-to-day activity are people with a fitness mindset, she says.

4. Find a movement practice you enjoy.

“The best type of exercise is the one you’ll actually do,” says Dr. Gam. And the one you’ll actually do? Well, usually it’s the one you actually enjoy doing.

“Human beings generally do the things we do because we enjoy them and avoid things we find unpleasant or uncomfortable,” she says. As far as exercise is concerned, if you try to force yourself to do a type of exercise you don’t really enjoy, you’re going to eventually run out of willpower to do it, and then stop. True!

“You don’t have to enjoy every part of the exercise, but if you can identify one or two things you do enjoy, like the feeling of being strong when you lift a heavy weight or the social connection in a group exercise class, you’re more likely to stick with it,” says Dr. Gam.

How do you find a movement practice you like, exactly? Trial and error. If you live in a city where boutique fitness is big, you might sign up for a one-month membership at a different studio every month until you find one you really love. If you live near a gym that offers a range of group fitness offerings, you might commit to trying a new offering every week. You might also ask each of your fitness-minded friends if you can tack onto their workout regimes, as a way to taste-test different modalities.

5. Set some goals.

One of the best ways to stay committed to your long-term goals is to set some goals. Specifically, Dr.Gam recommends setting outcome goals and process goals. Simply put, outcome goals are the BIG thing you want to achieve, and process goals are the smaller steps you’ll implement in order to achieve them, she says.

Outcome goals read like bucket list items. “They name what it is that you want to achieve,” she explains. Think: Run a 10K, finish a marathon in under 4 hours, podium at a local CrossFit competition, lose 20 pounds, or deadlift 300 pounds. When you’re coming up with an outcome goal, you need to implement process goals along the way.

“Process goals are the daily and weekly habits you are going to commit to in order to move you closer and closer to that goal,” says Dr. Gam. If you want to lose weight, your process goals might be to walk 8,000 steps per day, eat a protein-rich breakfast, and cut your soda intake in half. Meanwhile, if you want to deadlift more weight, your process goals might include things like strength training three times per week, doing posterior chain activation exercises each morning, and having a post-workout shake.

Pro tip: Write both types of goals down somewhere. “When you have a detailed plan written down somewhere, you are more likely to follow through with it,” says Dr. Gam. Then, once it’s written down, assess how confident you feel that you can achieve your outcome goal with the process steps you can realistically implement. “On a scale of 1 to 10, you want to be at least an 8 out of 10 confident that you can achieve your outcome goal,” says Dr. Gam. Why? Because when you are confident, motivation comes more easily, she says.

6. Cleanse your social feed.

No doubt, if you are in the process of developing a fitness mindset it can be helpful to consume more fitness content. But, Dr. Gam recommends following people who make you feel good about yourself, not people who make you make you feel bad about your abilities, your look, or your body.

“Social media has contributed a lot to unrealistic expectations around the physical results that the average person can achieve,” says Dr. Gam. “Trying to look like an athlete or fitness influencer is just not going to be achievable for most people who don’t have the genetic predisposition or the time and resources to exercise that much,” she says. (Plus, a lot of peeps on FitTok are taking performance-enhancing drugs!).

The current fitness landscape on social media has also created a sense that exercise is only for improving physical appearance, says Dr. Game, which is just not true.

7. Keep a fitness journal.

Writing down your workouts may sound tedious, but doing it is a great way to stay motivated, as well as to tangibly measure how far you’ve come.

Not only can writing down your workout can feel as rewarding as checking off an item on your to-do list, but it also gives you a way to track your progress, says Dr. Gam. “When you record your workouts, you give yourself a way to see how much progress you’ve actually made,” she says. Particularly after a rough day at the gym or a slower-than-wanted run, it can be helpful to go back and flip through all the workouts you’ve done, miles you’ve logged, and weights you’ve lifted.

In addition to writing down what you did at the gym, Dr. Gam recommends recording more nuanced tidbits about your workout, like your mood and energy levels during the workout, your confidence level that day, how easy or hard the workout felt, and even where you are at in your menstrual cycle.

The Takeaway

A fitness mindset is a framework that posits physical activity as a value-add to someone’s life.

If you are someone who dreads exercise or finds themselves drawn to quick-fix approaches, consider implementing the above steps for cultivating a fitness mindset. Trust, doing so will have both short-term (no gym dread!)and long-term (met goals!) perks.