Gym

bg789602

I have no gym buddies.. how do you kick your own *kitten* to go alone?

MikePTY

Does your gym offer any classes? I am very much a class based person, which is why I picked up martial arts. Easy for me to stay motivated. And now that I have built a routine through it, it is easy for me to self motivate to the gym when I have to go myself.

prettygirlstorm1

I have no gym buddies either or i have those people who say they are coming and then cancel at the last minute. I would find friends at the gym. I went to the same gym for 20 years and we developed a community so we kept each other accountable!! Now I am in a new gym since that one closed and I don't know a sole. So I keep myself motivated by thinking how badly I want to keep this 45 pounds off!!!

cathipa

I see the gym as therapy and medication. Without it my health could be compromised since I am mostly sedentary at work. That is my motivation to get up at 430-5am and get to the gym.

momm90112

This is something I struggle with on the daily. I think for me, what works is that I treat myself as if I am my own gym buddy. There are days when the very last thing I want to do is add another thing to my "to do" list and going to the gym is one of the seemingly easy things to take off the list to make life easier. But then I say to myself "yeah and how's that been working for you up until now?" Not exercising much, if at all, has brought me to an unhealthy and unhappy place in my life. Exercising - be it at the gym or taking a walk or going on a bike ride - is helping me get to the place I really want to be.

The fact is, getting exercise is important for everyone but more so for myself while I'm on this journey to make over my lifestyle and get fitter along the way. I'm trying to lose over 100lbs and that's not going to happen, at least not easily, by not exercising. So I have a brief but very honest "conversation" in my mind with myself on the days when ditching the gym seems very tempting. And I give myself the pep talk I would give anyone else I care about who asked me for help deciding whether to go or not. And then I go. Going sucks, being there - while hard, is always rewarding and worthwhile. And there's just no comparison to the feeling of accomplishment I have afterward. So I just remind myself of all of these things the way a good gym buddy would and then I go.

I used to persuade/cajole/beg one of my teenagers come with me to the gym at first, a kind of way to get used to the routine of going and using the weight machines etc with someone familiar as a type of security blanket. But honestly it was worse having them there. I very quickly started just going alone and I don't miss having someone to work out with, I actually prefer to work out alone because I don't have the distraction of feeling like I have to talk with or somehow entertain someone else. I can work out much more efficiently just worrying about myself and not what someone else is doing or not doing while they wait for me to finish what I want to get done. Plus, I look forward to that little bit of "me time" each day.

Lastly, I have found that if I don't look at it as a chore or just one more thing on my "to do" list and look at it in a positive way, "this is really helping me" or "this is going to really help me" that helps too. Seeing the progress, celebrating the tiny victories along the way and reminding myself that this is a necessary and extremely helpful tool to get me to my goal has helped tremendously so far. And on those VERY challenging days, you can always come here and all the gym buddies here will remind you why you should go!

Good luck, you can do this and we're all here to help you. You are not alone.


SW: 295
CW: 261
GW: 200 (then I'll set a new goal)

JustinAnimal

It's a mindset thing, at least personally. It's just like getting up in the morning. If I didn't, I'd lose my job (among other things).

If I don't work out, and to echo other posters, I know I'd feel like crap and be in a worse mood for my kids and students and I'd start to deteriorate physically and when I don't look decent I feel even worse about myself.

It's about being adult enough (I don't mean that condescendingly) to recognize that the things that are good for you are tough and you need to do them, anyway. I truly don't mean that to sound patronizing. It took me a long, LONG time to figure this out (and I don't have it figured out every day, just more days than not).

quiksylver296

bg789602 wrote: »

I have no gym buddies.. how do you kick your own *kitten* to go alone?

I prefer going alone. It's my "me time." Whenever I go with someone else, it just throws off my workout.

One thing that helped a lot when I first started was having a set workout plan. I wasn't just going in and doing whatever. I had a set workout plan and goal. I'd go in, do my thing, and get out. My thing happened to be Stronglifts 5x5 and it worked great, but there are tons of plans.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

Yivs_87

I actually prefer going to the gym alone. It's my ME time - I concentrate on my workout, on my performance, I clear my mind and follow my program while listening to some music or podcast or audiobook.

So I definitely agree that it's mainly a mindset.

And trust me my drive from work to my gym is about 30min (close to my home) and I very often spend those 30 minutes thinking about skipping, switching to rest today&workout tomorrow, etc. So I know what kind of a struggle it could be to make it all the way to the gym.

But I think I'm getting used to it, or I'm catching the gym bug, because the past couple of weeks I've really REALLY couldn't wait to go to the gym. Maybe it's because I started seeing and feeling some positive results.

Gisel2015

bg789602 wrote: »

I have no gym buddies.. how do you kick your own *kitten* to go alone?

I like to work by myself and do my own workouts.

girlwithcurls2

quiksylver296 wrote: »

bg789602 wrote: »

I have no gym buddies.. how do you kick your own *kitten* to go alone?

I prefer going alone. It's my "me time." Whenever I go with someone else, it just throws off my workout.

One thing that helped a lot when I first started was having a set workout plan. I wasn't just going in and doing whatever. I had a set workout plan and goal. I'd go in, do my thing, and get out. My thing happened to be Stronglifts 5x5 and it worked great, but there are tons of plans.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

^This. I hired a trainer so that I had a plan written down, and I knew how to do the lifts properly. This also helped me mentally since I wasn't intimidated. I see a lot of women in particular at the gym who wander around and sit down at any empty machine, never changing settings, not really sure what they're doing. Having a plan also allows you to track progress.

dsboohead

Please do not depend on anyone to motivate! You should be able to do this alone.
Maybe a trainer if need be to get acclomated but a dependency on anyone
could be an excuse to not work out if they do not show up!
Please learn to be your own motivator!

bobsburgersfan

I'm another person who does well in classes. In my case, rather than starting out with gym buddies, the people I work out with regularly in those classes have become my gym buddies. It did take a while, though.

Does the time of day you are working out work well for you? For a lot of my life I tried to make early morning exercise my habit, and I hate getting up early so the accountability of having a buddy was literally the only thing that got me out of bed. If my buddy would bail on me, it was the easiest thing in the world to stay in bed. I started working out after work a few years ago, and it changed everything for me!

fordster99

It is hard sometimes to get motivated to go to the gym alone. I used to only go when my hubby would go. If he skipped I skipped. I found an aquazumba class and now I go on my own those two days and the other two days I go, I do weights and some biking. I turn on some good music and change it up. I don't mind going alone now. I would say just make sure you go. That is the most important thing. I have noticed that when I have depended on other people, their excuses become my excuses. I am responsible for me. I would also recommend getting into some classes. Finding some good music or listen to a podcast. Take the time to reflect.

anl90

Honestly? I do better being alone, and doing my own thing. My husband goes around the same time I do, and it's comforting to know he is there (I'm weird I know lol), but we do our separate things. If your gym offers classes, maybe try gaining a workout buddy that way? Or simply ask friends/coworkers/whomever if they would like to join you? You might just have to bite the bullet and go alone until you get used to it.

jean133mjg

I used to feel awkward working out alone, mostly because I wasn't sure what to do. I started taking different classes and hired a personal trainer for a short time too. I now feel more comfortable with what and how to do a good workout. I also listen to a book or something motivational while working out. I don't miss having a work out buddy per se because I now know more of the people at the gym who are my gym buddies. We are each there for our own selves but for each other too. The more you go, the less you'll feel alone. All the best to you.

Kupla71

I used to have trouble getting to the gym by myself and now I’m in a routine. I have gotten into a good mindset. I noticed that when I focused on how exercise makes me feel, how it’s good for my mental and physical health, I felt much more motivated to go and the better I felt the more I wanted to make it a habit, something I do for myself that is good for me. If I focused on losing weight it just didn’t work for me.

IremiaRe

Over many years, I learned that, if I get home from work and get out of my office clothes, I am NOT going to get into workout clothes and hit the gym...

So, every day, I pack my lunch and I pack it into my gym bag. When I am done with my day the office, I go into the ladies room, and put on my gym clothes. I drive directly to my gym, do my thing, and THEN go home and eat dinner. There is so much less temptation to slack off... the only trick is to pack the gym bag and have it ready.

Another trick, I have a tablet loaded with eBooks... I read trashy novels while I do my cardio... It's the only time I really have to read, so I combine a guilty pleasure with working out. Like the others above have said, it's "me" time.

pierinifitness

I’m a one man band and my own gym buddy. “We” get along well and motivate each other, are quiet and focused on chasing our fitness, health and wellness goals. When I need something more, I hang at fitness discussion forums like MFP.

I hope you find your dream gym buddy like I’ve found mine. Wishing you the best.

Commander_Keen

bg789602 wrote: »

I have no gym buddies.. how do you kick your own *kitten* to go alone?

Successful Before and after photo's
Eye candy
Wanting my self to be a successful after photo

hesn92

Well I don't want a gym buddy, I like working out by myself. Working out with a buddy would just be weird to me. But I have a coworker that just "can't" work out by herself, so she does classes only. Do you have classes that you could go to?