First and foremost, so that you don’t stop working out the first moment you’re not uber motivated….
No one in the history of working out is stupidly motivated & pumped every single time they workout. It’s not realistic.
Sooo, if you run into a day or two where you don’t feel like working out, that’s normal.
You still need to work out when you don’t feel like it.
Cool. I’m glad we have that covered.
That disclaimer is absolutely necessary before we get into the nitty gritty of ways to enjoy your workouts & be (more) motivated to knock them out on a regular basis.
Because although you won’t be motivated & amped up to workout every day, if you start to implement some of the different things in this article, you will be excited about your workout journey & enjoy going to the gym.
And once you get on a roll and have a nice routine/rhythm with your workouts, you’re going to be feeling fantastic and on your way to making a buttload of progress. Like getting strong, having your abs popping, looking good, feeling better, and overall happy you put forth the continuous effort.
All of that sounds pretty ideal right? Cool, let’s started on how to get (and stay) motivated for your fitness goals.
Have A Positive Mindset Around The Gym: You Don’t Haaaave To Do It, You GET To Do It.
Most of the time, when people are talking about getting in shape, you’ll hear them complaining to their friends talking about: “Yeah I haaaave to go to the gym today”
And not in a confident way. Not in a way where they’re letting their friend know they can’t make it to a social event because the gym comes first.
Nope, they’re saying they “haaaave to go” in that annoyed, not really feeling it type of way.
Change that.
You have the opportunity to go workout. You have the opportunity to look great. You have the opportunity to feel amazing and be a healthy human.
Treat working out like it’s a great opportunity…..Because it is.
2. Action Builds Confidence, Habits, and Discipline
When you’re first starting out, no matter the reason you want to get in shape, it’s challenging.
However, once you take that initial step and continue to follow through on your goals, the more confident and comfortable you’ll be with working out.
When you fit an activity into your schedule multiple times per week and make sure you make it happen no matter what situations come up, it’s going to be hard to stop doing it. It becomes a part of you.
Take consistent action. You’ll be surprised how monumental it can be - both with your fitness progress & in life.
3. Have a plan when you step into the gym.
It’s already a mental challenge to get yourself to go to the gym. Once your there, make sure it’s the most enjoyable it can be.
A big part of that is not aimlessly wandering around trying to figure out which machine to jump on next.
Orrr trying to impromptu decide whether you should do 8 rep or 15 reps.
Orrr if you should do more cardio or lifting.
Have set workout routine that you can go in and execute.
4. Figure Out What Kind Of Exercise You Enjoy.
Again, the gym needs to be relatively enjoyable in order for you to stick with it for the long haul.
Most people’s workout program should have a mix of both lifting and cardio. However, not everyone enjoys the normal lifting & cardio methods.
However… there’s this really cool thing about working out: There many different ways to get in cardio or get in strength training.You don’t have to do something you can’t stand.
If you despise running on the treadmill, try going for a hike or play a sport with some friends (basketball, tennis, soccer, etc).
If you don’t like lifting like a typical bro, try doing different strength training circuits and supersets.
There are always different ways to mix up your workout to enjoy it more and make it something you look forward to.
5. Have Specific Goals In Place For How You Want To Look, Feel, and Perform.
This is going to push you on days when you’re not feeling like going to the gym.
If you know you want to get a six pack in 8 weeks, you have reason to not miss a gym session.
If you want to fit into your shirts from college again, you’re probably not going to miss a workout.
If you want to squat 225lbs for the first time, you’re likely not going to miss a leg day.
Have specific, trackable goals for yourself.
6. Track Your Workouts To Make Sure You’re Making Progress.
Look, I’m not saying you have to track every single rep, weight used, and the rest time you took for every exercise you do.
Buttt please keep track of at least 1-2 exercises per workout. Mark down the amount of reps you did and weight you used.
Then the next week when you step in the gym, you know what numbers (weight or reps) you need to hit to be better than you were the previous week.
This is right up there with having no planned workouts. If you’re doing the same amount of weight and number of reps each week for months (or years) on end, you’re going to be making minimal (if any) progress.
Anddd when you’re making minimal progress, that isn’t too much fun. Anddd when the gym isn’t too much fun, you stop going.
Track your weights & try to be better each week, month, year. You’ll look better, feel better, and want to keep grinding.
7. Spice Up Your Workouts
There are lifting exercises that most people should include with their workouts.
Ya know, variations of: Squats, deadlifts, push ups/bench press, pull ups, rows, lunges.
However, your workouts don’t always have to be the same every month.
You can spice it up by:
Throwing in different variations of those above exercises.
Doing supersets for most of your workouts. Doing high reps and/or lower reps.
Trying out different exercises or machines.
Don’t be afraid to spice it up. A new challenge can be fun.
8. Get A Change Of Scenery
Most gym memberships allow you to go to different locations. Take them up on that.
If you feel like you’re going through the motions with your workouts, go to a different gym in your area. See new faces. See different people working hard.
If you don’t have that option to go to a different gym, going to your gym at a different time of day may also be a nice change of scenery.
9. Find A Workout Partner
If you can’t get to the gym regularly and don’t feel like pushing yourself when you do go….
Having someone there to make sure you hit the gym & push you while you’re working out is fantastic.
Make sure your gym partner wants to work hard & put in the work with you though.
Navigating a journey by yourself is normally better than embarking on a journey with the wrong person.
You might have to test out a few different workout partners. It’s kind of like dating. Swole Session dating?
10. Work With A Trainer/Coach
There’s a surplus of information on the internet about what you should do for your workouts.
Key word: Surplus.
There’s sooo much information out there that it can be hard to figure out what you should be doing for your goals.
Also, that whole being accountable & sticking with your goals thing….Yeah that’s tricky as well.
That’s where a good coach or trainer comes into play (either in-person or online/remote can work).
A good trainer/coach will listen to you & your goals, want to know what you have been doing, and then come up with a game plan customized for you.
Additionally, a good trainer/coach will be there to hold you accountable and provide support along your journey.
Ready to hit the gym now?!
Before you jump in your car & speed off to the gym, remember this….
Motivation to work out isn’t something that will be there every single day. You have to push yourself, both mentally and physically.
However, by implementing these tactics, you can push yourself to accomplish any and all fitness goals that you have for yourself.
…..that is, if you put together fitness specific goals ;)
Seriously though...You got this.
There aren’t many better feelings that taking consistent action with your workouts and noticing the progress that comes from them.
And I can’t wait to see the progress you’re going to make.