Stay Motivated About The Gym

Don't feel like going to the gym… would you rather sleep in or hit happy hour after work? We have all been there and I'm sure more likely than not, after skipping the gym you said to yourself, "Oh man, I wish I hit the gym yesterday and didn't skip my workout.” It’s not every day that you are going to wake up and feel super motivated to lace up, hit the weights and get your cardio in, but here are a few tips to stay motivated about the gym and make skipping it harder to do.

Meetings: Think of your workouts as important meetings with yourself. If you had a planned business meeting with your company, would you show up late or just not go at all? Chances are the answer is no, you would suck it up and go. Sure you might not be in the mood to go or actually just dread going all together, but you always feel so much better once it’s done and you have it out of the way. Get those daily "meetings" in with yourself and you will be happy you did later.

Indulge: So it’s your best friends birthday this weekend. Cake? Yes please. You hit the gym every day this week and didn't find any excuses to miss a workout. Trained hard and stuck to your diet. Treat yourself to a nice cheat meal, as you deserve it every once in a while. The best part is you won’t feel any guilt knowing you kicked your own butt in the gym this past week, so you can literally have your cake and eat it too.

Partner: Establish a gym buddy. Somebody who will help motivate you as you will help motivate them. If you made plans to meet a friend at Starbucks at noon, would you skip out on your caffeine fix? Never! So set times that work best for the two of you. Knowing that somebody else is relying on you to meet them at the gym to work out together will hold you accountable. You wouldn't want to let them down and have them miss a workout because you didn't want to go. Text your gym buddy, grab your sneakers and get your workout in together.

Mood: Happy, sad, angry, anxious? Whatever mood you happen to be in at any given moment, the gym always turns that around. The gym is an awesome stress reliever. Had a bad fight with your significant other? Take it out on the weights and don't bring the negative energy home. Just landed a new job and you are exploding with excitement?  What better time to crush those 3 miles than when you are beaming with excitement. Put your headphones in, turn on an awesome playlist and hit the gym. There’s no way you will be leaving in a bad mood.

Sleep: Can’t seem to fall asleep, or always tossing and turning in your sleep? The gym will for sure fix that. Exhausted from running 5 miles or just killed your arm workout? Your body will be so ready to recover and refuel as you get some sleep.

Whatever your excuse might be for the day not to go workout, ignore those thoughts. Get up, drink your pre-workout (Beast Mode Pink Lemonade is my favorite) and go kick some butt in the gym. You won’t regret it, just stay motivated about the gym and make it count.