What do u tell urself during a workout??

Hello all ! Today was my second day working out after stpping for years due to knee injury and lack of motivation...I felt horrible so out of breath and it was just a 20 min routine! To be honest I don't like to work out at all...but i got to a point where my body really needs it , how do you keep urself motivated to finish ur daily workouts ? What do u tell urself during a workout? I need a push really bad -tips welcome-

Stats
5'1
Sw185lbs
Cw144lbs
Gw135lbs
30y/o
Female

Stuck at 140's forever now :(
Take metformin 850mg 2xday for pcos and insulin resistance
«134

Replies

  • Kst76
    Kst76 Posts: 935 Member
    At the gym I listen to music while I run, and watching Greys Anatomy while on the stair climber.
  • gymprincess1234
    gymprincess1234 Posts: 493 Member
    My personal pep talks:
    You will thank yourself later
    5 more minutes ( I split my cardio in 5min intervals of different resistances and inclines )

    But otherwise I have a very motivating playlist and I enjoy my workouts, especially spinning and body weight exercises.

  • Nathanmmx
    Nathanmmx Posts: 43 Member
    Find something you enjoy and it will almost be like fun. Then set yourself little challenges along the way.

    I use the elliptical trainer most and give myself little challenges each time I use it, eg calorie goal, time goal or even to beat my best workout.

    Sure, it can be boring at times, especially when you do a long session but I promise you will always be glad you did it when you finish :)
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    Honestly I don't have to tell myself anything because I've learned to choose things that I actually enjoy. I hike. I compete in powerlifting. I like ice skating. I enjoy swimming and Pole Fitness. I love yoga. Basically just do things like get you moving that don't make you dread doing them. If you do something that you find fun, it will never seem like a chore.

    I enjoy the things I do too. You never have an internal monologue though?
  • Untilproud11
    Untilproud11 Posts: 297 Member
    Thank you all ur very inspiring:)
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,592 Member
    edited February 2018
    I usually think about what I've got to next ... what I've got to do on my university homework project, or a work project, or a personal home project.

    In other words, I go for a walk or run or get on the bicycle, and one of the first things is a mental freeflow where I think about whatever happens to pop in my mind. And once that is complete, I settle into thinking through and planning whatever project I happen to be working on.

    That's one of the reasons I love walking and cycling ... and don't mind running.

    About the only exercise I can think of where I'm more "in the moment" is spinning class. It's hard to think about other things in a good spinning class.
    .
  • h1udd
    h1udd Posts: 623 Member
    On days that I lift .. its against the clock so to speak, my kid gets up at 6:30am ... I have to be finished by that time, its motivation enough to bust out the reps and the sets, it stops me from picking up the phone, it pushes me onwards as I know I have to work to get the lifts in on time !

    Cardio days ... they are a lot easier .. thanks to gamification of online cycling, its all the motivation you need, you are either in a race and pushing to not get dropped, OR you are in a group workout and stopping would let the other 40 people know you quit. .... or even individual workouts thanks to the ERG producing automatic resistance and countdowns to the next section the only thing I say to myself is the constant narration of how much time I have left, my heartrate, cadence .. etc

  • Golferdrone
    Golferdrone Posts: 68 Member
    Conditioning your body takes time. Be careful you are not comparing to before your injury. As others indicated, find something you enjoy. Look around at others, the majority f the population don’t enjoy being active. The time will move on regardless, be big and out of shape, or be fit. Only you can decide that you want this.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    I keep telling myself its just another 5...10 mins...etc and just keep pushing through/keep going. Mostly I keep my workouts to around 30 mins so I don't get bored.
  • tirowow12385
    tirowow12385 Posts: 697 Member
    edited February 2018
    I just stick to light weights so I'm able to finish my workouts and enjoy it, after 2 months, I'm toning nicely all over.

    As far as cardio, I started with walking, I couldn't do more than 2000 per day, now I can regularly do 10k easily, I've moved on from that and am jogging, again, started at no jog and now I'm doing the couch to 5k.

    I mostly avoid bodyweight exercises for now but I can see myself dabbling with it doing pull ups and all that a couple months from now when I'm out of the obesity weight range.

    I don't talk or motivate myself during a workout.
  • Lean59man
    Lean59man Posts: 714 Member
    I usually time my sets with a stopwatch.

    I read a book or magazine between sets.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    Many times I have told myself to go at my pace and it is okay to do less to begin with. If something is too hard right now it does not mean it always will be. It is okay to do a 10 minute workout instead of 20-30 minutes today. It is okay to walk .5 miles or 5000 steps a day this week and a little more next week. I will get there gradually. "Rome wasn't built in a day."

    Telling myself I am almost done. I'm doing great. I did a thing I couldn't do before.

    Listening to music or a podcast helps distract me.
    Having a workout partner can be motivating sometimes. Other times it is annoying.

  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Honestly I don't have to tell myself anything because I've learned to choose things that I actually enjoy. I hike. I compete in powerlifting. I like ice skating. I enjoy swimming and Pole Fitness. I love yoga. Basically just do things like get you moving that don't make you dread doing them. If you do something that you find fun, it will never seem like a chore.

    I enjoy the things I do too. You never have an internal monologue though?

    Nah, I don't personally. For me, it's just a habit that supports my goals. I just do it. During a set I'm thinking about good form and getting the most out of the lift. But overall, I listen to music or a podcast and just kind of cruise. Nothing more going on for an internal monologue than that for me. YMMV (and does. It's all good)
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Cardio:

    "Just one more *kitten* minute, that's nothing you've got this! Move!!! 1 more minute! One *kitten* minute, just keep going, don't you dare slow down! Keep moving, faster, faster. You've got this!! GO ON! COMMON YOU *kitten* YOU CAN *kitten* DO THIS... YOU'RE MADE FOR THIS *kitten*"

    And I just survive 1 minute at a time... just 1 minute.. And my cardio is in total 60 min 3x per week... But I brake it up into 1 min at a time.. I don't usually need to do that cause these days my mind goes blank and I just feel the music and keep at it while loving it (I used to hate it)

    And then there's lifting:

    "Lift that *kitten*! You've got this! It's *kitten* easy! Just 1 more rep!!! You can do one more rep! JUST 1 MORE REP!"

    And now you think I'm crazy but that's ok lol.

    For machine cardio my internal monologue is "am I done yet, am I done yet, am I done yet, am I done yet. Lol! I hate the winter when I have to do it indoors. My outdoor cardio is usually a circuit of a specific distance so I just kind of listen to music or a podcast and cruise through it.

    And I don't think your crazy. I do think it kind of funny though.
  • Livgetfit
    Livgetfit Posts: 352 Member
    Sometimes I break it down into songs.... like I want to do 30mins and 3mins is a very rough average of a song so I say to myself 'I'm going to just run/lift/powerwalk for 10 songs"

    Other times I'll focus on how I'll spend 4 times this 30mins on the sofa watching tv tonight so hard can this little input of time be?

    I also picture myself in an outfit I'd love to wear or remind myself mentally of what I've achieved before ("you ran this last week! you CAN do it today. You're even better equipped than you were last week!")