When it comes to bettering ourselves, or things we know we ought to do for better health, well-being, or something else, many of us have a habit of putting other things first. Work is a big one. Our immediate wants or feelings are another. Status quo is a third.
We think, I’m just too tired to cook, to workout, to plan ahead… Or, I have too much work to do, there’s not enough time, it’s too late in the day… Or, what’s one more day? I can go tomorrow… insert-excuse-here.
But here’s the thing – or two things. One, your threshold for what’s too tired, not enough time, too late, or too much work probably needs to be higher. If we expect something to take a lot of effort or be unpleasant then we tend to allow our excuses to hold more sway over us than perhaps they should.
Two, if you keep using these reasons not to go, you’ll never go. So the solution? Just go anyway.
Just Go Anyway
That isn’t to say that your reasons are not always valid. It may very well be that you are too tired to go – but when just starting out, you must simply pick a day you’re going to go, and go.
After that first time, it’ll be easier to go the second time, and a little easier the third. Of course, it goes without saying that you’ll want to make a schedule. You can start with once a week, or twice a week, or every day if that works best for you.
To write it out into steps:
- Identify what’s holding you back. What are your reasons for not going?
- Consider the fact that you might be using those things as excuses. And if you legitimately don’t have time, are too tired, etc., then consider what you can do to change that. Can you set an earlier bedtime? Offload some work to another time or get some help?
- Also consider that even if you feel you don’t have time, etc., you probably can make time. Make a schedule and make sure you go no matter what.
Go with Someone or Connect Digitally
If you can, go with someone to help keep you motivated. If that’s not an option, you can text a friend whenever you go, or connect with others via a fitness app with a social feature.
Accountability can vastly improve your motivation to go to the gym (or do some other exercise). And if you and your friend both go, even if separately, you motivate each other in a positive feedback loop. Their motivation and continual habit keeps you going, and vice versa.
Don’t Skip
When you’re just starting out, stick to your chosen schedule no matter what. You can adjust your schedule if needed, but make sure it is planned ahead and deliberate, not a last-minute ditch. And try not to change it too much either. You may have to adjust over time because you won’t come up with the perfect schedule on the first try, or other things may change your schedule. But you also don’t want to be too inconsistent, especially in the beginning.
If you skip a day, your motivation to go the next time, or the time after that, will wane. Consistency is key to keeping up the habit, because it is also key to maintaining your motivation. Once you lose momentum, it’ll be harder to get started again.
However, once you’ve established a really solid habit, and I mean really solid, you can probably afford to skip a day every now and then if you really need to. But you have to be going consistently for long enough that skipping a day doesn’t disrupt your momentum that much. And, you have to truly consider the skip as essential, and not just be making excuses.
Do Something You Like
If you don’t like it, you probably won’t do it. Do something you enjoy, whether that’s strength training, cardio, dance classes, yoga, etc.
You just want to build a habit of going to the gym first; later, you can curate your exercises to accomplish whatever goal you have in mind, like what’s most effective for improving health, losing weight, gaining muscle, improving mobility, or something else. But starting out, just focus on doing what makes you feel good.
If you don’t think you enjoy anything at the gym but haven’t gone many times or tried different gym equipment, see this as an opportunity to discover something new that you might like.
If you’re a more seasoned, previous gym-goer, then think about what you don’t like and ask what you can do to make it more enjoyable. If you don’t like your current gym’s equipment, location, or if it’s too busy, etc., you might consider switching gyms. Sometimes something else like getting sports-friendly earbuds to listen to something while you workout or joining a class can be the answer.
Track Progress
It’s always a good idea to track exercise stats, even if you’re just doing “whatever.” Especially if you’re doing any kind of strength training, it’s important to log the number of sets, reps, and weights. You can use an app, spreadsheet, notepad, whatever.
Over time, if you’re training correctly, you’ll see those numbers increase, showing you how far you’ve come. It gives you a sense of accomplishment and pride, further fueling your motivation to keep going.
You can also track progress by how your body looks and feels when you just start out versus when you’ve been going consistently for several weeks. For example, you might notice more muscle or greater ease when walking up a steep hill.
Logging your weight every so often is a good idea too. Try to always do it at the same time of day to minimize noise from day-to-day fluctuations. To be really accurate, you can wear the same type of clothing each time, too, like jeans or shorts, long- or short-sleeved shirts. Though that granularity probably isn’t necessary for most people.
Start Small
If you really don’t feel ready for the gym yet, alternatively, you can start exercising at home first to get more comfortable with your forms, techniques, and exercising in general.
There’s lots of free resources like apps and videos that you can use to follow along a certain exercise routine or learn how to do new ones.
Once you get the hang of it, you’ll probably feel better about going to the gym, and you’ll probably also want to access the wider array of equipment available there.
Even when you start going to the gym, you can start with the things you’re more familiar with before exploring new things.
Plan Your Workout
Another fundamental aspect of this is planning your workout. It doesn’t have to be set in stone, but you should have a plan of what you’ll do and a backup plan or two in case the equipment or machine you need is occupied. You don’t want to spend a bunch of time standing around waiting for someone to be done using something (plus it’s awkward for them) so go onto the next exercise in your plan that you can do in the meantime and come back to that one when it isn’t being used, or defer it until the next trip.
Summary
Basically, to build a habit of going to the gym:
- Just go anyway – instead of making excuses or justifying why you’re not going.
- Go with someone or connect digitally.
- Do something you like.
- Track your progress.
- Start small, with achievable goals.
- Plan your workout ahead of time.
Follow these steps and you’ll be a gym-goer in no time.
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