With a new year upon us I’m sure many have experienced the problem of not being able to stick with one’s fitness goals. It’s a common problem. You decide I’m going to go to the gym a few days a week, you stick with it for a week or two, then get lazy. I’ve dealt with this and have found a way to “trick” myself into sticking with my goals.
The So-Called Trick
For me, I have had plenty of days where I had to drag myself to the gym. The trick I use is I’ll go to the gym (nowadays my basement) and I’ll do my first exercise. If I do all my sets of that and still don’t feel like doing any more, then I’ll give myself the OK to pack up and go home. More often than not, by the time I finish the first lift, I’ll be in a better mood and will want to finish my workout in its entirety. There are of course still times here and there where I am just done after that first lift. But even then, at least I did something and won’t regret being lazy and skipping the workout.
If lifting isn’t your thing, you can still apply this tactic elsewhere. With running for example, you could run around your block once and end early if you’re just not feeling it. You could also just commit to a short distance and increase if things get better.
The Journey Matters More than the Individual Day
At the end of the day, the important thing is being able to stick to your goals. We all have our bad days, but they will be forgotten soon enough. Quitting the journey, or losing the momentum takes a bit more to come back from.
Top comments (4)
'The journey matters more than the individual day' is such an important statement to hold on to. Thank you Keith, your article reminds me (and perhaps all of us) that it's ok and 'good enough' to take some short cuts on bad days, but to still hold on to that journey.
Love this approach Keith, it's always good to almost fool yourself into exercise and once you get warmed up, you either connect to that flow or you can drop the session, I bet in most instances you keep going though, it is amazing how the body can come alive once it is stimulated.
Love this Keith. There is too much out there in social media that gives the impression that people that work out, just find it effortless to start and that isn't always the case, some of the most athletic people have to find a way to warm up to it.
I love this idea. I always get the feeling that when I am in there, things will start to flow. When they don’t though, at least for me it is usually something to do with this.
Why are my emotions hijacking my workout?
Jayne ・ Jan 6 ・ 4 min read