Want to know how to motivate yourself to workout but find it hard to get started or stay consistent? In this article I am going to share with you my best tips that has kept me feeling motivated to go to the gym over 10 years.
Let’s face it, we’ve all experienced times when we just don’t feel motivated to workout when we know we should.
You know the feeling when you are all excited about going to the gym and look forward to working your butt off, then after a few weeks your just not bothered because the motivation isn’t there anymore.
Staying consistent with a new workout routine or fitness program can be often harder than starting it.
It can also be easy to be under the influence of people and situations in our lives that we find ourselves procrastinating instead of doing the things that is important to us.
No matter what your fitness goals, you should always set aside enough time in your day to workout so that you move closer to achieving your goals instead of moving away from them.
I think people lose motivation to workout is because their reasons to get off their butt and workout just aren’t big enough.
You need to ask yourself, why do you want to workout? Do you want to look and feel good about yourself? Do you want to look good with your shirt off on the beach? Do you want to compete for a bodybuilding competition?
Whatever your reason, make that picture as big and bright in your mind to the point where nothing can stop you from taking action. You get the idea!
You should know why exactly you want to workout. Then once you “Know Your Why”, you need to set specific goals that will help you achieve them. Knowing exactly why you want to workout and get in shape will make it so much easier to feel motivated.
…And when you feel like quitting, just remember why you started.
Here’s what keeps me motivated to go to the gym and run outdoors when the whether is good.
How I Motivate Myself To Workout
I simply don’t wait to feel motivated to workout. I workout to feel motivated!
I do it because I enjoy working out. My reasons are big and strong enough there is very little room for self-doubh or procrastination.
Read: Procrastination and Exercise – A Solution For I’ll Do It Tomorrow
If your interested or passionate about something, it’s won’t require much effort on your part, because you always look forward to doing it anyway.
I enjoy the feeling of being able to rep out heavier weight than the previous week. That feeling of accomplishment keeps me focused and wanting to challenge myself every time.
Don’t get me wrong, there are times I feel unmotivated but what keeps me going is the ability to take consistent action regardless to how lazy I feel. I’ll explain how I overcome this in a bit…
Unfortunately not many people are like that, they wait for inspiration to come to them so they can feel motivated.
Don’t seek motivation to inspire you to workout. Instead, take action. Let Action be your fuel for motivation.
If you have clear goals and are hungry to achieve them then motivation should never be a problem for you.
What do you think comes first, motivation or action?
Think about that for a minute.
The logical answer for most people would be “motivation” but that’s not true.
MOTIVATION DOES NOT COME FIRST! ACTION COMES FIRST!
People who procrastinate often confuse motivation with action.
Are you one of these people that waits until they are in the mood to do something or do you get a buzz of of taking action instead?
Action comes first and motivation comes afterwards.
For example, I set a goal to write three articles today and I wasn’t in the slightest mood for it.
The thought of writing that many articles bored the hell out of me. I imagined it would take me between five or six hours to type out my ideas and thoughts down before I could feel satisfied with the final draft.
Also, the thought of proof-reading the articles bored me to death.
I’d say my motivation to write this was between 1% and 2% and my urge to avoid writing it was close to 100%.
But I just said to myself, “Just start and see how it goes”. To my surprise, after about ten minutes I suddenly felt motivated and I actually enjoyed the writing process.
Not so much that I want to sit down and force myself to write an international bestseller, with the title, “How to motivate the the hell out of yourself”, something along those lines anyway,
But I’m sure you get what I mean here.
Most people don’t want to workout because it requires too much effort so it’s much easier for them to stay at home and watch TV or get a few hours nap.
Humans are experts at making excuses…
“I could go to the gym or a jog today but….”
“I don’t have time”
“I’m too lazy”
“I’m not in the mood”
So in order to prove these excuses aren’t actually true…
Here’s an exercise that I want you to try.
The next time you don’t feel motivated to workout, ask yourself “Why you don’t feel like working out”.
Whatever the reason, I want you to take action and workout despite feeling unmotivated. If you don’t want to go to the gym or you have never been to the gym before, a simple solution would be to workout from home.
For some people it’s much easier to motivate yourself to workout at home than it is to go to the gym.
Read: Home Gym Workouts For Beginners
The whole idea of the above exercise is to fight against your excuses so that you won’t make anymore excuses again.
I know this might sound silly but it definitely works. Once you get started and will have completed your workout, you will feel so good about yourself and will be glad you took action.
This is one of the best methods of getting motivated to workout when you don’t feel like it.
Your thoughts control your reality. So if you know what’s good for you, then take action and beat resistance once and for all!
If you liked this article, please click the share buttons below. Thanks!