I joined the gym. How do I stay motivated?
Last time we talked about choosing the gym that is right for you. However, even if you were able to find a place that you really like, how do you stay motivated to go to the gym regularly? If working out is not yet a part of your routine, it's very easy to slip off your exercise schedule. You have this nice plan in your head on a Sunday night, and then comes Friday and you realize you haven't showed up at your gym yet. Here are a few motivational tips that have worked well for me.
1. Select a gym close to your home or work
Unless you are super motivated, you won't regularly go to the gym that is out of your way.
2. Get a gym buddy
If you go to a gym close to work, maybe you can find a colleague who goes to the same gym. Or see if any of your friends want to join the same gym to keep each other motivated.
3. Get yourself nice exercise outfits
If you like to look nice when going to work, meeting with friends, going out, why not looking nice when going to the gym? Get some gym clothes that you are looking forward to wearing. That will definitely boost your motivation.
4. Start with exercises you enjoy and get into harder exercises gradually
For example, in my early exercising years I only liked sculpting classes and yoga. I really stayed away from cardio classes and was dreading the idea of a spinning class. At that time my university gym was offering 15- , 30- , 45- , and 60-minute spinning classes. So I started with a 15-min class and gradually progressed to a full length class, which is now a part of my regular weekly exercising routine.
5. Have a list of 'hard' and 'easy' classes in your back pocket
If you take classes, make a list of high intensity and low intensity classes offered by your gym. Having a few 'easy' or low intensity options is a good way to not skip the gym on the days when you really don't feel like exercising. For example, Pilates and barre classes keep me from skipping the gym when I'm not in a mood for any high intensity cardio or interval training.
6. Create a weekly plan for exercising
You are more likely to exercise if you have a planned routine that you write down on paper or mark in your calendar. Even in absence of a weekly plan, if today you are thinking of a class for tomorrow, put it in your calendar in the evening. Some gyms offer phone apps where you can put a class in your app calendar.
7. Think about how you are going to feel after working out, not during
I take 2 classes on Sunday mornings - a 60-min tabata followed by a 30-min abs class. These classes are really intense and make you work hard. But more importantly, that workout makes me feel like I can accomplish anything when I have such a great start of the day. I enjoy that feeling so much that I already anticipate it the night before when I schedule those classes in my phone app.
8. Consider getting an overnight locker in the gym
If you always keep a pair of exercising shoes and an extra gym outfit there, you can go to the gym anytime without worrying about not bringing your gym clothes to work in the morning. In addition, it will save you from carrying huge gym bags everywhere as you can permanently keep some things there, like a deodorant, shower gel, extra clothes, etc.
9. If you want to skip your workout, say it out loud to someone and see what happens
If you don't feel like going to the gym, say it out loud to your good friend or a partner. Most likely they would say that you should still go because you'll feel better after. That external pressure might motivate you better than anything else. When I have those days, I always text my husband. And just by doing so, I already expect him saying that I should go, and I right away know that I will.
Not that long ago I was feeling under the weather and was already going to skip my favorite gym class. And just as always, I used my 'husband peer pressure' and went to a class. As I was leaving the gym, feeling amazing and proud of myself, I thought that I have never ever regretted going to the gym, but I have regretted every time I skipped it. Since then, this has always been my motto.