10 Tips to Stay Motivated When It Comes to Working Out

We all know the feeling. The feeling of knowing we need to go to the gym but would rather stay at home in our pjs, watching Netflix and eating endless amounts of ice cream. No? Just me? If the feeling does apply to you, then I’m here to hopefully help you find that motivation you need to go burn off those ice cream calories!

Find What You Love to Do

This is a hugeeee one. For me, it’s weight lifting. Try to get me to do cardio and I’ll just laugh and walk away. There’s no way in hell I would be doing any sort of running. And for the longest time that’s what I thought the gym was only good for. I thought girls were supposed to go there and run on the treadmill while the guys picked up the heavy things and set them back down. But I was wrong. Once I found weightlifting (which is a whole other story for another post sometime) I knew that’s what I was supposed to do at the gym. So whether it’s weightlifting, or boxing, or it really is running on the treadmill, find what you love to do and what inspires you to get off your ass and get to the gym and go do it!

Put Your Workout Clothes On

This one also helps me a lot. Okay, I’ll admit, I also wear gym clothes as normal clothes, but when I put them on with the thought in my head that I’m wearing them to the gym, it helps. I get annoyed with myself if I put my gym clothes on and then just sit around in them. A. I just dirtied clothes for literally no reason. B. I get uncomfortable sitting around in tight leggings. So if I put them on, I know I need to get to the gym because otherwise, I wasted energy getting dressed again. I also know a lot of people who like to workout in the morning so sometimes they will sleep in their gym clothes. If morning workouts are your thing, try sleeping in your gym clothes! You never know, it might be that little extra push you needed!

Take That Pre-Workout

I know not everyone takes pre-workout, but if you do, this tip is a great one! Taking the pre-workout will put you in that mindset of okay, now I have to go to the gym. Otherwise, you’re just sitting there all jittery and shit with no place to burn off that extra energy you just gave yourself. And fam, pre-workout is too damn expensive to be wasting on just sitting around eating donuts. Although, a donut for a pre-workout carb snack is okay, amirite?

Actually Get in Your Car and Drive to the Gym

This one is pretty straight-forward and simple. If you’re already dressed, have the pre in your system, and you’re sitting in the parking lot of the gym, you have legit NO REASON NOT TO GO IN.

Remember That Results Don’t Come After One Workout

Hell, they don’t come after 10 workouts. I mean, that’s hella progress and you’ll be feeling yourself by then I’m sure, but your goals won’t be achieved in the short term. You have to keep going to get to your goals. Realizing that if you want to achieve the goals that you have set for yourself means you have to get off your booty and actually work towards them can be a huge motivator when it comes to getting to the gym!

Get on Instagram

This is a controversial one I’m sure because getting on Instagram and looking at all of the people you wish you looked like can also be a huge downer. But for me, it’s a huge motivator. Seeing all these other girls going to the gym and striving to be their best self while I sit in my bum clothes, eating donuts, and endlessly scrolling through their pictures is like a kick in the face. Instead of scrolling through their pictures at home, go to the gym and scroll through them in between sets! Their progress should help motivate you to go after your own progress!

Take Progress Photos

No one likes their before photos. But take them anyway. Keep them as a reminder of what you DON’T want to look like. And look at them every time you find yourself not wanting to go to the gym. And then once a week, or every two weeks, take another photo of yourself. Sometimes we don’t see the change we are accomplishing by just looking in the mirror and that can be discouraging. But if we take progress photos and put them side-by-side, we can see all of the results we have accomplished!

Make a Checkmark List

I talked about this in my Failed Resolutions post, but it is a huge help for me. Seeing only a few check marks on the list I made for every time I go to the gym is super not cool. But, seeing a bunch of checkmarks on there is super encouraging. In order to get those checkmarks though, I have to actually get off my ass and go to the gym. But once I get home, you can bet that I’m going straight to that list to check off another. It’s kind of like when we got stars or smiley faces for being good little children in school. But with better results like a hot body.

Think of the After Selfie

Ahhhh, the coveted after selfie. The one you see people posting and everyone commenting “OMG you look so good” or “Wow! How’d you do that?” or “DAMMMMNNNNNN” or whatever people comment on others after selfies. Yeah, that one. Do it for that. Taking that after selfie can be one of the proudest moments of your journey because it shows you that all of your hard work has paid off. But don’t stop at that after selfie! Keep going! Strive for another after selfie. And even better after selfie. And now I’m done saying after selfie because it’s starting to look funny to me.

Write Down A List of Pros to Working Out

I could write a list for you. And hey, maybe I’ll do that in another post. But each list of pros to working out should be individual to the person writing it. Once you’ve written that list, keep it with you. Write it on a piece of paper, or type it in the notes section of your phone, but always have it somewhere that you can look at it. This way, when you’re feeling like you don’t want to go to the gym, you can whip it out and realize all of the pros to actually going to the gym instead of sitting in front of the TV eating junk food.
With all of that being said, there is sometimes where you need a break. Always listen to your body when it comes to pushing yourself to be better. Sometimes our bodies need breaks even though our minds don’t want to take them. It’s okay. You’re not going to lose all of your progress by one or two missed days. Or one or two consumed donuts.