To be honest, I am writing this blog post mostly as a reminder to myself 😂.
Having gone through multiple phases where I am either super motivated to go to the gym then only to find myself in a slump for weeks afterword made me feel super guilty toward myself. Figured to give myself – mind and body – the respect she deserves I can write a post to remind myself tips to go to the gym that essentially leave me no choice but to go.
Going to the gym consistently is one of the best investments you can make for your health. Regular exercise not only builds strength and endurance but also improves your mood, reduces stress, and supports long-term health.
Instead of listing out 10 reasons why you should go to the gym – only because I feel like everyone has some level of understanding why its important to go – I am going to list 10 different things you can do in your life to force yourself to go.
Sometimes its not about finding motivation, its settings yourself up so you do not fail and end up going no matter what.
I tend to go to they gym in the morning at 6 AM so some tips might be more relevant to that time.
1. Set your alarm to ring from across the room
This is the worst because it is like dunking yourself in cold water right when you wake up. If your like me, I tend to rush to shut my alarm off in the morning since I hate loud sounds in the quiet, having my alarm across the room where I have to leave the warm cocoon of my bed and immediately into the cold air is the worst.
But it is super effective
Forcing myself out of bed to turn my alarm off, instantly wakes me up. And since I am up already, going back to sleep is a lot harder (although not impossible lol). It jump starts the whole routine of going to the gym and once that routine starts, all the prior reasons to go to the gym should help to keep going.
2. Lay out your workout clothes and pack your bag the night before
People only have a limited amount of willpower to make decisions. The less decisions you have to make the easier it is to be on auto pilot and let your routine flow. Not having the decide what to wear since its already laid out for me is one less decision/thing to worry about in my day. Even if half asleep, I can dress myself easily without stressing about missing something since that decision has already been made.
3. Turn your lights on to the brightest right when you wake up
Another “cold water” dose right when you wake up but this helps your body and mind start to train itself to wake up at this time. You will naturally start to feel more awake since your brain will think its day time with increased alertness and the exposure to blue light will make your body start to naturally wake up at that time.
4. Setup an automatic shutdown of any apps or your laptop to go to bed on time
Forcing yourself to sleep early enough where getting up in the morning doesn’t feel like you’ve risen from the dead is half the battle. Sometimes, being a night owl is the only time of the day where you can do what you want without someone telling you to do something and can essentially just be left alone. Cutting down on that time sucks to be honest but going to the gym is a promise you are making to yourself. Setting time limits on your apps or a forcing a shutdown on your laptop to go to sleep is adding a hinderance to staying up. Since your technology is already turned off, turning them back on takes some time which is annoying – might as well go to just go to sleep 😂.
Will say though if you are extremely tired and have pretty much no sleep – going to the gym can be hazadorus and just not worth it. Getting enough sleep in this scenario is more important.
5. Create and stick to a routine
Plan out your week! Knowing what to expect, for us anxiety ridden people, lets me feel more prepared. I naturally know, on specific days my routine starts earlier and on other days I don’t need to go. It helps me feel like I am not approaching my routine in a haphazard manner but with a plan that I can track and stick with. Plus, it does feel a little like a reward to know which days I don’t have to go.
6. Start slow
A new habit can stick with more success if you start out small. If you do to much in the beginning, the probability of sticking to it won’t be as high. While planning out your routine, create one if your a beginner with just a few times in a week. Maybe spaced out for breaks between or close together to get it out of the way early – totally depends on what your goals are.
7. Go for however long you can tolerate, even if its just 5 minutes
This has happened to me so many times. I wake up, I turn the alarm off, and I am standing in the dark – debating on if I really want to go. Telling myself I will only go for a quick one for like 10 to 15 minutes, is enough to finally get me moving. And once there I go for the full hour.
I know this is going to happen. It happens almost every time I feel the slightest hesitancy toward going the full hour. But once I am there, I stay for an hour or maybe a little less.
And if you end up going for literally 5 minutes – thats still a total win. Doing a little is better then nothing.
8. If you feel like doing something else in the gym, do it
Some days I am not in the mood for what I had originally planned to do. Most of the time, I’m just too tired to push myself to hard some days. Although I do feel guilty – like I took a “pass” that day – it is still better to do a minor workout thats not too strenuous, then to do nothing at all. For me, usually switching it up only happens when I am already too tired from other things in my life going on. So I just skip it lol. Do something else – maybe something new. Just don’t give up entirely.
9. Charge everything to max
This one is a super small one, but I have been to the gym where my phone or my headphones are completely dead. This is the worst! To ensure at least a base line enjoyable experience, always make sure your devices are charged. Maybe even keep a spare headphones in your bag as backup.
10. Create and stick to a mindset
Honestly, its so easy to put yourself last in terms of taking care of yourself. Society and how busy everyones lives are makes it easy to just keep pushing yourself to get all your work done but at the price of ignoring your own health. Knowing this, think of your work out routine the same as other nonnegotiables in your life – taking a shower, brushing your teeth, and going to the gym. Approaching it as something that has to get done versus it being optional is also helpful.
My workout routine ~ if interested
Mon – upper body
Tues – no gym
Wed – running on the treadmill (trying to build endurance)
Thurs – legs and glutes
Sat – legs and glutes
