Staying motivated while lifting alone?

Squamation

I know I just have to put my big girl panties on and dig deep- but does anyone have any advice on how to stay focused and motivated while lifting alone?

I used to go to the gym and had no problem staying on point and moving at a good speed from one lift to another. Now I lift at home and find myself seriously struggling with things.

At home I take longer breaks between sets, and even longer moving from one muscle group to the next. I'm going to try setting a timer to go off every minute to remind myself that it's not an all day event and to keep moving.

Any ideas out there on how to keep moving and not slack off? I never realized how much I was using other people working out around me as motivation.

rileyhall00

Hey,

Perhaps try inviting a friend over to work out as well. Or your husband or kids? Whoever, grab your neighbour.!
Keep a exercise diary and plan ahead but write in it everyday. I find this helps when I bulk. Same as keeping the food dairy with helping with eating issues / eating motivation.
Maybe start a blog? gather followers that will whip your butt into gear.

I tossed up doing weights at home, but me paying for a gym membership is my biggest motivation to keep at it since I'm a bit of a tight a##.! Lol.

Keep at it and take one day at a time. And make every session fun.

Cheers
Riley

Rak0ribz

I used the Jefit app to log my weight workouts; it includes a timer that tells you when to start your next set. If you are listening to music on the same device, it beeps at you to tell you to start up again. Same idea as setting a timer, but might be easier to keep up with.

HaibaneReki

The mirror doors on the closet help me. Just keep staring where my abs are supposed to be when I hit the kettle bells. Every rep I promise myself they'll stare back at me one day!

trogalicious

you answered yourself in the first line of your original post.

put on your big girl panties and dig deep.

you'll only have yourself to thank later when you're stronger, leaner, and kicking *kitten* all over the place.

GorillaNJ

What at the gym was pushing your pace?

Do you have the TV or some other distraction at home making you not focus?

Start your workout with a plan... set amount of lifts to be done and give yourself a time to be finished and something to do once your done.

Or just rejoin the gym!

Charisma_Black

I lift alone too! it's tough going sometimes but I know once I do it, it'll give me such a rush. I feel productive lifting by myself. I think if anyone else went with me to the gym I'd get easily distracted.

I attend the gym and lift there and also have the choice to use machines. I spend about 40 minutes 5 times a week in the gym lifting. Then the other two days I'm not at the gym - I have my own weights at home. I don't have a wide range. Although I know what you mean about the breaks. I keep myself going through determination. I just keep pushing myself both at the gym and at home.

BlueBombers

For me.....good music does the trick. Keeps me in my zone.

tedrickp

Do you have personal goals with your weight lifting? I don't mean general ones like "I want to be more healthy" but specific goals that you can work towards (i.e. to bench press X amount of weight).

This is actually why I like lifting weights - because I feel like these goals motivate me - and I don't have to rely on competition or moral support from others.

Motivation is one area that is very personal, but for me personally - working towards a specific goal is a great help.

caseythirteen

A timer helps me. I start the stopwatch on a regular old Timex so I make sure I take an appropriate amount of time between sets (whether that's 30 secs or 2 minutes depending on what I'm doing). I realized long ago that I have a very bad sense of time so this absolutely helps to keep me on track.

TheArchyBunker

I lift alone at the gym and after 2 years holy batcrap it's getting more and more challenging to keep doing it. Was about ready to take an ad out in Craiglist. .. "Like to lift? Me too! Spot me and I'll spot you!" lol

Galatea_Stone

Get an App and track your progress. Jefit or Gym Buddy. I have both and am trying to determine which I like better. There's something motivating about seeing progress with an actual numeric value. That helps me focus when I'm lifting alone.

likitisplit

I struggled with the same thing, so I just went to the gym. Now I have two kids, so if I don't get it done NOW, it doesn't get done. Don't know what my advice would be though...work your sets in during dinner preparation?

ItsCasey

I train at home in my garage. Definitely time your rest periods. You don't realize how much time you're wasting until you do that. Also, don't allow yourself any other distractions. No TV or Internet access nearby. No phone. Nothing that gives you something to do during rest periods other than actual rest. Maintaining your focus is important.

Fit_Fox88

Good music. I can usually estimate my rest times pretty well with that. Also, I usually incorporate 30-50 jumping jacks or jump rope or some other stationary cardio btwn my sets... that way I know when I'm done with that small bit of cardio, I move onto my next set.. I do this at the gym too when I don't want to do long periods of cardio on a machine

jeschauvin

If you use your phone for music when you work out, there's a really cool CT fletcher app. There's a few free downloads of him just talking smack which I've listened to a couple of times while doing some things. Other than that I find just changing up my jams helps a lot. Depending on my workouts I'll have a different genre. For squats I usually listen to Mystikal or something of that nature. Shoulders it's more Led Zeppelin. I don't know why but it works for me.

ValGogo

I train at home in my garage. Definitely time your rest periods. You don't realize how much time you're wasting until you do that. Also, don't allow yourself any other distractions. No TV or Internet access nearby. No phone. Nothing that gives you something to do during rest periods other than actual rest. Maintaining your focus is important.

I agree with Casey. When I'm in the work out zone, I time the seconds in my head in between the sets, kinda like Tabata style (10-15 seconds).

Focus is paramount while you are doing it.

mereditheve

Couple bits of advice here from someone who lifts at the gym with someone else, lifts at gym by herself and lifts at home by herself.

I think there's value in each of these, but no matter what venue I work out in, I make sure to track my workouts and I use a timer.

At home, set aside a place to work out and avoid distractions. Follow a video to start if you are having trouble with timing and staying motivated. I use a timer on my iPhone to pace myself (I have the opposite problem -- I tend not to rest long enough unless I have a timer). Another thing I do that is really motivating is taking a picture during or after every workout -- it's great when you can visibly see progress in photos. Also be sure to set goals -- e.g., track toward a certain weight to lift in various exercises -- so you can measure your progress.

JoRocka

you answered yourself in the first line of your original post.

put on your big girl panties and dig deep.

you'll only have yourself to thank later when you're stronger, leaner, and kicking *kitten* all over the place.

This.

I personally will not do that at home- which is one reason I pay for a gym and I don't mind paying for a gym. I do not work out at home unless I REALLY need to because I know I won't make it to the gym- so I'll squeeze in a HIIT workout.

But I just cannot be bothered- I have to many other things to do and I'll just keep making excuses- so I won't.

as for helpful advice- my two thoughts are Timers and music.
I might try setting a timer- make a plan and say from 7-830 is workout time- when the timer goes off- I get up and I got work out. Once I get started I have no issues- but getting started is very difficult. timers keep me on track.

Music helps get my brain going- so I set the music- go change and then get started.

Squamation

What at the gym was pushing your pace?

Do you have the TV or some other distraction at home making you not focus?

Start your workout with a plan... set amount of lifts to be done and give yourself a time to be finished and something to do once your done.

Or just rejoin the gym!

It may have just been paranoia but having the guys in the weight room watching me kept me moving. I wanted to prove I wasn't a weak little girl.

When I lift I have no distractions- no tv, music, and I do it when the kids are asleep.

I wrote out a workout plan. It wasn't enough.

Unfortunately I can't rejoin a gym at this time.

Thank you all for your advice- I'll look up the apps mentioned and throw a mirror down there as well. I don't have any set lifting goals so I'll make up a list to try and keep me focused.

I was in a crummy mood this morning when I posted- I appreciate all the great feedback.

aarondnguyen

Here are some quotes that have stuck with me for quite some time and still drive me today. I hope you find these useful:

"I believe that we are who we choose to be. Nobody is going to come and save you. You've got to save yourself. Nobody is going to give you anything. You've got to go out and fight for it. Nobody knows what you want except you, and nobody will be as sorry as you if you don't get it. So don't give up on your dreams."

"No one has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without seeing the strength and beauty of which his body is capable."

"Attract what you expect, reflect what you desire, become what you respect, mirror what you admire."

"Strength is the product of struggle."

These are just a few.. there are more on my page.
If you're really having trouble staying motivated, perhaps it is time to take a short break from it all. It'll do you some good.