When you just don't want to workout...

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  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
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    No matter what obstacle is in your path; if you truly want to find the way around it, you will.
  • curvygirl512
    curvygirl512 Posts: 423 Member
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    House work and especially yard work are great exercises for me. And when I can't find the motivation, I try on clothes that are from my skinny wardrobe that I want to wear but can't, . . . yet. Best motivation ever for me.

    Like my momma used to say, you can do anything you put your mind to. Love ya, Mom!
  • KayteeBear
    KayteeBear Posts: 1,040 Member
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    Which makes you feel worse then? Getting through a workout after doing what you feel like is only half the effort you would normally have, or skipping workouts altogether because you just don't feel like it?

    Sounds to me like you just have to change the way you think about your workouts. You can tell yourself to feel guilty for not putting as much into your workouts, or you can tell yourself "good job" for getting it done.

    I feel horrible. And I mean when I do the workout video when I don't want to I will skip through exercises, take more breaks, etc. I just feel bad. I would feel better not doing any workout in that case....one day like that I'm fine with but sometimes I end up doing nothing for more than one day.

    And just in case anybody cares I DID find something. At least something that helped me for today. I downloaded some of the Walk Away the Pounds videos but did jogging the whole time. So yes I really do want it and obviously I did find a way to do it.
  • KHaverstick
    KHaverstick Posts: 308 Member
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    Glad you found a solution!

    Sounds like the only other option is to just skip working out on those days. As long as it is not every single day, it shouldn't be a problem. Sometimes changing up your workout schedule (i.e. working out less/more, changing the exercises, taking a short break from working out, etc.) can be a good thing, anyway.

    Fitness is a personal thing--who says you have to do whatever everyone else dose (i.e. push yourself to workout when you really don't want to)? If you truly do not want to work out, don't. If you truly do want to work out, you'll find a way (like you have).
  • Inlet
    Inlet Posts: 135
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    Grab some sweet music and take a walk in the early evening.... Stretch after. I have found that aching, tired muscles usually mean I'm about to injure something and need a gentle, active recovery day. :) I try and make sure to get high quality carbs and a lot of lean protein into my body that day to rebuild. And check to see if I've been sleeping enough. Best wishes!
  • Inlet
    Inlet Posts: 135
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    Oops! Missed the part where you said you don't like walking around town. :p
  • CarlaDye
    CarlaDye Posts: 17
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    I know what you mean. There are those days where there is just no motivation of anykind. There are times when your body just needs to rest. Sometimes I can do a partial workout by reviewing my goals but that doesnt always work. Then I try to do something totally different but a least moving like working in the yard. For example: 30 mins raking leaves in the fall or planting flowers in the spring, weeding the flower beds. Just a short period of time moving. I almost always end up doing the activity for longer. If that doesn't work, then I give myself permission to take the day off and not feel guilty. Guilt is very destructive for me, I end up binging or taking days to get back into my exercise routine which is worse than just taking the day off.
  • CharlieBarleyMom
    CharlieBarleyMom Posts: 727 Member
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    I get dressed into my workout clothes first thing. Even though I have to have my coffee before I start my work out, I am READY to work out from the get go. While I feed the cats and dog and get the coffee going I am already prepared to work out.

    Today I just didn't feel like to doing it... I was ticked because last night while driving home from work (11:30pm) I was all raring to go, dancing in the car, high energy and I thought I might work out before I go to bed... but I didn't because I'd never get to sleep then... so when I didn't want to work out this morning I was even more ticked at myself than usual when I don't want to do it.

    So, I told myself that I'd better do it because I have plans for this weekend that will take me over my calorie count (for at least Saturday) and I don't want to gain weight, or not lose, just because I couldn't get my lazy butt in gear for 35 minutes one morning this week.

    Also, Thursdays I'm always unable to workout due to time constraints so I knew that I wouldn't be able to hit it until Friday if I didn't do it now.

    Yes, I was lazy during the first 5 minutes... but then I was IN IT!

    So Just Do It is the only answer. I read on someone's signature this morning "If it is important to you, you will do it, if it's not imporant you will make excuses"

    It's important to me.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I know what you mean. There are those days where there is just no motivation of anykind. There are times when your body just needs to rest. Sometimes I can do a partial workout by reviewing my goals but that doesnt always work. Then I try to do something totally different but a least moving like working in the yard. For example: 30 mins raking leaves in the fall or planting flowers in the spring, weeding the flower beds. Just a short period of time moving. I almost always end up doing the activity for longer. If that doesn't work, then I give myself permission to take the day off and not feel guilty. Guilt is very destructive for me, I end up binging or taking days to get back into my exercise routine which is worse than just taking the day off.

    "Guilt is very destructive" this is so true. You have to cut yourself some slack. So what if every workout is not PERFECT. This is the same thing as people (myself included) who binge at one meal and then write off the entire day. You don't need to write off everything. Just tell yourself - "I burned fewer calories" - it's not the end of the world.

    Find new videos on exerciseTV.com or Hulu.com - just to shake things up a bit. Yoga is a great stress reliever. No - it does not typically burn a lot of calories - but working on your flexibility and balance is never a bad thing.
  • meadows654
    meadows654 Posts: 164
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    Since the thought of a treadmill is appealing to you, look on CraigsList and see if there's one in your area that someone's trying to get rid of. That way you have a go-to piece of fitness equipment for the days you don't want to use the videos.
  • mckant
    mckant Posts: 217 Member
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    I picture the numbers on my scale slowly going up instead of down. I also think about trying on the new clothes I worked so hard to fit into and having them not fit. For me personally, these things are motivation.
  • KayteeBear
    KayteeBear Posts: 1,040 Member
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    Since the thought of a treadmill is appealing to you, look on CraigsList and see if there's one in your area that someone's trying to get rid of. That way you have a go-to piece of fitness equipment for the days you don't want to use the videos.

    I could get a treadmill for free from my grandma...but I have literally no room for it. I'm living in a very small house with my boyfriend and this house is packed full to the max already.
  • ardeornellis
    ardeornellis Posts: 198 Member
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    We all have days that our workouts are not at the best intensity but there is satisfaction in completing them. I had to finally get to the end of my excuses to see real life change. There is always a reason not to. I remember sitting on the couch one eveni g and in tears decided that I would stop making excuses. That night I made the decision as to what my eating plan would look like as well as my exercise regimen. Now, when the alarm goes off at 5:30 to go for my run or when its time for my Jillian DVD I don't decide whether to do it or not. That decision has already been made....on the couch that night. It helps me to look at it that way. There is no choice...it has already been made.

    I do understand where you are coming from....been there. You just have to push through and not be guided by emotion or what you feel like doing.....
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,714 Member
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    One of the biggest reasons I find that someone wouldn't want to work out is because they may have diligently done it for weeks, but aren't seeing the results from the effort. Hard pill to swallow. At that point intervention is needed to find out why it ain't happening.
  • trini14
    trini14 Posts: 110 Member
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    For me if I don't feel like doing it right then I don't. However, I will do it later in the day. Happened to me this morning got ready to go but I was so tired from work. So I stayed in after I got off at 9pm I went to the gym had a killer workout :)
  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
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    sorry to say it but I just do it! However if you don't want to do anything don't but what I'd do is do a double workout the next day.
  • brandiuntz
    brandiuntz Posts: 2,717 Member
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    One of the ways I force myself is to get angry (at myself, at something that happened during the day). Then, since I'm angry, I have this negative energy I want to "burn" off. I always feel much better after the workout. And I tend to workout hard because of the anger.
  • megantolstoy
    megantolstoy Posts: 2
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    Find an exercize friend, or make a new one! Even the days I dont WANT to work out I feel bad letting THEM and MYSELF down so I go. If one of us REALLY doesnt feel up to working out we walk at a somewhat quick pace and catch up. That way we are at least moving. :)
  • Juliane1986
    Juliane1986 Posts: 138 Member
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    There are definitely days when I do NOT have any desire to work out. I'm not the biggest excerise fanatic but one thing that's been key for me is making sure I am doing something I enjoy (zumba and aeroboxing) and making sure the instructors are behind me in my goals. Having them support me, and also having the guilt factor of not showing up to their classes when they are so proud of my progress, is definitely motivating.

    On the days when I particularly struggle with wanting to work out, while I'm walking to class I tell myself over and over that while I may not have as much energy as I would like to do this today, getting up and going is what is setting me apart from those who make the decision to stay on their butts, when one day turns into 2, and 3 and 4 and 5 etc of not working out. I am making a life change here and i just have to suck it up and go, the results are worth it.

    I am still however a fan of my days off, but I try and plan these, and when I don't...I make up for them.

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