How to Motivate Yourself to Workout When You Don’t Want To
My go-to trick to fire up my mind on a lazy day
When was the last time you walked into the gym with the sole purpose of feeling good?
We talk so much about our relationships with food and culture, but not so much about our relationship with exercise. We are all bogged down in practice doctrine — get away from a place of pressure, guilt, and a sense of necessity — what I call a place of hate.
Our mind is more than ever disconnected from our bodies. Most women have little or no love for their bodies and therefore operate with a completely wrong mindset.
I have worked with thousands of trainees and helped them reach their fitness goals for years. I’ve been able to turn most timid, and skeptical trainees into regular members.
The strange thing is I don’t have any special power to make this happen. I listen, observe, and adjust my coaching to serve their versions of a joyful practice.
In my years of hands-on instruction, I’ve learned that people want to be met where they are.
They want to be seen and not judged, they want to trust and know that they are okay, that they will be challenged but not pushed too far out of their comfort zone.
There is a real and acute fear of exercise for many people, and there are many good reasons for this.
Many people, especially those of us who have been socialized as women, have been at war with our bodies for a long time.
We see our bodies as the enemy. Exercising is often punitive and associated with negativity.
It’s often linked to an unhealthy relationship with our mind and body and used as a tool to look a certain way and fit into a normative framework.
Sometimes a well-meaning parent urged us to practice meeting an expectation. Even many years later, it all echoes in our ears, a lingering reminder that it is not enough.
There are many other reasons, but the awareness of fitness is often based on the fear surrounding old stories, shame, physical distrust, or fear of failure.
What if exercising was fun?
What if we could let go of all the hard expectations we have for ourselves and stop worrying about the expectations of others, or at least stop giving them so much precedence in our thoughts and decisions?
This is what I help my trainees with: reshaping their relationship with fitness and rewriting history so that they can make it a joyful part of their long-term life.
Here are some tips to remember when you begin your training that can help you fall in love with your workout.
These are simple yet powerful truths, and, in my experience, anyone who wants to practice but has a hard time following should hear.
Think about how working out makes you feel
We’ve become obsessed with the amount of work we do rather than what it feels like to exercise.
The first thing I did in the morning was look at my body and see the spots. All I wanted was to look different.
Sometimes I exercised 3 times a day and thought that I would love my body — but I was wrong by doing this. I was overworking my body because that energy came from a place of hatred.
Spend more time thinking about how exercise makes you feel good — and if it doesn’t, you may be doing too much.
Until you start loving from the inside, you won’t enjoy doing it I spent years moving my body because I hated it, adjusting where I could, how I could.
When you enter a place of love, you see that everything changes. Move because you love your body enough to make it move.
Turn your routines into a passion
As long as you derive happiness from your appearance, you will remain miserable.
For years it was all about my body. I thought looking good would make me feel good and be happy, but struggling for that made me feel bad.
When you strive to look good, you always feel dissatisfied because you want so much more than looking good.
Change your mindset so that exercise is good for you. You shouldn’t hate going to the gym or exercising, and if you do, find something you love to enjoy on the go.
Think of exercise as empowerment, not a punishment
Whether you need extra motivation to get moving or you can benefit from a reduction in your exercise routine, this point is important.
Exercise should be a source of strength and empowerment. It should not be felt or seen as a punishment. If you’re struggling to find your rhythm with fitness, it can be easy to think of exercise as punishment.
Getting in shape isn’t exactly glamorous, and it can be full of awkward moments.
If you feel uncomfortable in your body, making new movements, and are concerned about your appearance — you must understand that exercise is not about your appearance.
It’s about how you feel and the empowering moments that come with moving and building strength. Once you get to that “ah-ha” moment, working out is so much more rewarding.
Focus your mind on the process, not the progress
Your body will love you every now and then for going at a slow pace. Our lives are fast, on the go, and busier than ever for most of us.
We have become so obsessed with what we think we know that we have completely forgotten to listen to our bodies.
If you hurt yourself all the time, chances are you are over-trained, or something is wrong. Sometimes that intense workout is the last thing your body needs.
If you are not training for a sport, why should you train at high intensity every day? 3/4 times a week, intensive training is sufficient if you are feeling well.
Keep in mind that the slowest workouts are sometimes the most intense and produce the best results.
Learn to build good habits
When you don’t eat well or don’t get enough sleep, fatigue, mental confusion, and irritability predominate.
These decrease motivation and threaten to turn your exercise routine into memory.
Make an effort to maintain your energy levels and avoid mood swings by eating healthy meals full of complex carbohydrates, vegetables, and lean proteins.
Also, make sure you get seven to eight hours of easy eyes at night. Good habits will help you mentally prepare to stay committed to your journey.
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