Motivation...it escapes me

brandi712

Hi, I was wondering how you all get motivated to get up and workout. I've been saying to myself that I will wake up early and hit my treadmill or when I get home from work. While I do wake up early enough to get it done, I choose to stay in bed with the covers up to my neck....it's just so comfy lol. When I get home, I'm tired from the day. I know these are just excuses I am using to justify my lack of motivation.

What are your motivational strategies for getting up off your butt and doing?

wittersby

Hey there!
As a newbie morning workout person, I know it sucks to get out of those warm covers!
I've started putting my alarm in another room so I can't just hit the snooze. I also set out all of my gym stuff the night before. It's easier for me to think of everything I need the night before.
My motivation- the gym is WAY less crowded in the morning. I have more energy throughout the day. And, I have the satisfaction of knowing my workout is already done!
It gets easier, I promise!

DeltaZero

You don't want it bad enough. Yet.

BreeJaxon

Just do it. I hate waking up at 3:45, but I know what I want......so I DO it!

jjennyb4

Try to not even think about it... I get out of bed use the bathroom and workout. I can't go to work then work out because I dread it.

Torgrills

The first two weeks are absolutely the hardest, but after those first two weeks you'll find that you're not exhausted, you're actually ENERGIZED. It feels really good, and it's a wonderful stress relief. I'm just getting back on the wagon after having a baby, so I understand the wanting to stay in bed. You just have to force yourself to push through it, and pretty soon it won't be as tough to get up.

JONZ64

Hey there!
As a newbie morning workout person, I know it sucks to get out of those warm covers!
I've started putting my alarm in another room so I can't just hit the snooze. I also set out all of my gym stuff the night before. It's easier for me to think of everything I need the night before.
My motivation- the gym is WAY less crowded in the morning. I have more energy throughout the day. And, I have the satisfaction of knowing my workout is already done!
It gets easier, I promise!

All of THIS!!!!

LishieFruit89

You just have to do it.
Eventually it gets easier.

If you really want to work out, you'll make time for it at some point in the day - 5am, noon, 10pm, whatever.

tapirfrog

Look, "I need motivation" usually means "I need to *want* to do this." No you don't. There are lots of things you don't want to do, but you do them anyway. Add "Getting up and exercising" to that list.

If it were easy to want to do it, you'd be doing it already and you wouldn't need to be here.

Don't wait to want to do it. Grit through it and get on with your day. Feeling an overpowering urge to do it seems to be reserved for the people who gritted through it the first fifty times. Then some switch flips. THEN they want to do it.

beachlover317

You don't want it bad enough. Yet.

As harsh as this sounds - it is true. Change is hard. Building new habits takes time. For the first few weeks, you just have to get up and do it. No one else can make you - you have to want it BAD.

tallieterp

when I get home from work I don't sit down... I immediately put on my work out clothes and keep moving even whether that be jupming right into the work out or doing chores... but once I have those clothes on I know that I'll get done what I need to... I am not a morning work out person on week days at all and since working out actually tends to make me really tired it is good that I like doing it at night because it actually helps me wind down for the evening...

skullshank

You don't want it bad enough. Yet.

this is the most concise answer.

want it more.

jlcrph

Once you force yourself to start, you'll want to continue to get results MORE than you want to sleep in, relax after work, etc.
It's all about what you want the most!

sigsby

Structure! I create a schedule and I stick to it about 90%. When it is time to exercise, you exercise.

Capt_Apollo

Hey there!
As a newbie morning workout person, I know it sucks to get out of those warm covers!
I've started putting my alarm in another room so I can't just hit the snooze. I also set out all of my gym stuff the night before. It's easier for me to think of everything I need the night before.
My motivation- the gym is WAY less crowded in the morning. I have more energy throughout the day. And, I have the satisfaction of knowing my workout is already done!
It gets easier, I promise!

pretty much all of this.

also, setting your alarm ringtone to a motivating song, like 'eye of the tiger' or "can't hold us" is a lot better to wake up to than a buzzer.

caramelgyrlk

If it is important to YOU, YOU will find a way, if not, YOU will find an excuse.

I do prefer morning workouts much more than evening, however, my circumstances have changed and I have to work out at night. I pack my gym bag and put in the car and 15 minutes before I end the day, I change over and go to the gym. I do not allow myself any excuses.

Look in the mirror and tell yourself YOU are worth it. Getting started is the hardest.

AlongCame_Molly

Are you somehow under the delusion that we all LOVE to go to the gym/run/workout every day, no matter what, with nothing better we'd rather be doing? :huh:

Some days I'd rather do ANYTHING other than going to the gym, but I force myself because I know it's what I need to do. We all do. And when I'm done, I take an emotion photograph of how I feel, and use that to remind myself of how awesome I feel AFTER I'm done, to help me out of bed the next time I'm feeling worthless and lazy.

MinnieInMaine

Why do you want to work out? Having a good reason and keeping it in mind, or even posting it up somewhere so you can't just ignore it, may help you get going.

Maybe set a goal? For instance, a friend of mine set a goal to take so many steps by the end of 2013 and she did it! When I first started walking, I'd signed up for a 10k event for that coming fall (giving me 4 or 5 months, can't remember for sure) and that helped keep me motivated to keep up with my training so that I could walk that distance at a good clip without much trouble. Sounds odd but when I first started out I could barely walk for 20 minutes at a slow pace, I was so out of shape so walking 6 miles at 3.5-4 mph was quite an accomplishment!

To be honest, a little dose of perspective helped me a lot too. I had the added motivation that a friend of mine, who was just getting back to a normal life after going through treatments for breast cancer, was signing up for triathalons and bike races. I figured if she could do all that, what the hell was my excuse?!

BikerGirlElaine

You don't need motivation, you need commitment. Commit to doing it and follow through. Don't waffle around. Once you commit to showing up to work each day, you just go do it even if you don't feel motivated. Same with working out.

Take some time and find out when your best time of the day is to work out. For me it's the afternoon, so I go to the gym after work, before I go home. That also gives me a nice buffer between work life and home life, so that I don't bring home the work stress as much.

If you're set on going in the morning, then instead of thinking about how it's comfy in bed, think about how proud you will feel when you've finished your workout, how the day will just seem brighter and go better, about how you will feel like a strong, successful person for having conquered the lazy bug and gotten that workout in.

After a while the routine gets so set that you won't dream of skipping.

Mia_RagazzaTosta

Is it possible that you don't like the workouts you're doing? When I was doing crap I hated I found it hard to do it at all (no matter what time of day) and could always talk myself out of it. Now that I do things I like, it's effortless.

Personally, I'll never be an early morning exerciser so I have no advice for you there, but I always get my workout in during the evening. I have a full time job and kids, just to give you some perspective.

Broderick50

If you can't get yourself motivated then you shouldn't be here cause you're not ready.