How to Use Movies to Help Motivate Yourself to Exercise

Getting fit for the spring can be fun, but many novice athletes discover that motivation is often a major problem. A great way to promote fitness motivation is to watch movies while you’re working out that focus on fitness or overcoming obstacles, especially where motivation is an issue. There are many wonderful movies available that tell the true or fictional story of an athlete overcoming hardship, finding motivation and personal strength, and beating the odds. Watching these movies while exercising, especially with great uplifting soundtracks or scores, is a great way to get pumped for your own fitness journey.

Inspire Your Team

Consider watching movies like Remember the Titans, Hoosiers, or Miracle with your teams to get motivated. These sports movies tell the story of athletic teams that face a barrier or obstacle of some kind, learning to work together and overcoming the obstacle. These movies are great if your fitness regime involves working with a coach or a workout buddy. Watch these movies before team practices or as part of teambuilding exercises to inspire cohesion and unity.

These films showcase the power of teamwork and perseverance, which are crucial in both sports and fitness. They highlight how individuals from diverse backgrounds can unite around a common goal, overcome internal conflicts, and channel their strengths into achieving success. Watching these movies can provide practical insights into effective communication, problem-solving, and leadership, key skills for athletic teams and training groups. Furthermore, the emotional stories and triumphant moments can instill a sense of camaraderie and motivation, helping teams push through challenges in practice and competitions.

Personal Inspiration

Films such as the original Karate Kid, Rudy, G.I., Jane, and Million Dollar Baby delve deeper into personal narratives, narrating the journey of an individual who, despite physical limitations or overwhelming odds. For instance, Dan Ruettiger’s true story, Rudy, recounts the tale of a young athlete, deemed too small and unfit for Notre Dame football, who manages to secure a spot on the team and inspires his teammates. G.I. Jane narrates the tale of a female recruit to the elite SEAL special forces training program, who must surpass the expectations of her male colleagues. Watch these movies while engaging in your own exercise regime to keep your motivation up. Beyond fitness goals, these films can also encourage personal growth, teaching values like discipline, resilience, and sportsmanship that extend beyond the field or gym.

Watch While You Workout

Other films have great workout sequences that can get you pumped and motivated to work out yourself. Rocky has perhaps one of the greatest training scenes in cinematic history. Actor Sylvester Stallone trains for a boxing match he is not expected to win through a montage of the song “Gonna Fly Now,” which includes the iconic scene of Rocky beating up a piece of beef instead of a punching bag. Other movies like the Karate Kid remake have great training sequences to watch while diving into your own training sequence. Don’t miss Disney’s live-action Mulan training sequence either! Even if it’s not a fitness-geared movie, try watching it while you work out or reward yourself by watching it after you finished your workout.

Perhaps you don’t need to watch movies to work out yourself, but these movies are great for getting you inspired to begin your own fitness journey. Coupled with a catchy playlist of workout music and even some games like Zombies Run, in which you can run while listening to a podcast about a zombie invasion, making it enjoyable, even a game, is a surefire way to ensure that you stick with it. Getting fit should be entertaining and fun, as well as healthy. If your goal for 2024 is to get fit, try some of these movies for motivation.