What motivates you to work out, when you'd rather not?

Ke22yB

Long story short I AM STILL FAT lost alot of weight but still have almost 50 pounds to go
was going to do a 5 miler wednesday had to stop after 2.5 miles and drink another 20 ozs bottle of water and cool of for 10 minutes then went out and did another 2.5 mile lap yesterday and today over 90 easy to stay home but I went out the door did a walk jog each day why I lose on average 1 pound a week or a little less and this week since last friday weight has been dropping off so I had to go out

CalJur

vanity

kelsully

sometimes the only motivation is knowing that you will be done...and that I can eat more

darrensurrey

Knowing that
1) I'll regret having wasted the time.
2) I'll take longer to achieve my goal.
3) Knowing that saying I didn't train inspires nobody. (I know various people who need encouragement to train/get fit/lose weight so if I start slacking off, they have a reason to not bother.)

ThatzRight

People often believe they should rest on days when they are sore but that is not true. I mean you need a day or two of rest per week in general but not just because you are "sore."

The muscles need oxygen pumped to them, so minimal - do cardio. This helps with reducing the soreness. I promise on days after a hard workout, waking up barely able to move....if you commit to at least 30 minutes of cardio it will make the body feel much better.

I also agree with another poster that some motivation comes from "if I miss today, then it might slip into missing tomorrow, then another, etc...." I find that when I do workout on days that I would have rather not; that it doesn't take long to feel great that I made the choice to do so. Sometimes it is motivating enough....."I know I will feel good as soon as I start the workout"

cindyhoney2

I just have to look in th mirror and remind myself why I started the journey in the first place. I want to be healthy. I know I will feel better after working out so there's that too. Yesterday was a little tough because I was sore from too much exercise and walking around a carnival for 4 hours but I got on the elliptical for 30 mins anyway. I felt better after but that was all I was up for.

darrensurrey

And having that sore feeling makes me know I've got one step closer to my goal.

jamiem1102

My dog and the scale.

Moniqua1

FOOOOOOOD! I know if I go to the gym, I don't feel guilty eating what I want. I REALLY love food! Oh, and beer. Lol.

lornaheron

The thing that motivates me is, the fact that i'm paying a bloody fortune each month to be a member of the gym. lol I always go even if i'm tired or just finished work, because i know when iv'e finished i feel way better. Plus i'm a bit addicted now. I just whack the i pod full blast, and forget there's lots of ther people in the room with me. I always end up singing to myself, while going hell for leather on the step up machine like some crazy woman.

tdcibilly

i just look i the mirror.
and think whaat is it i want

Runs4CupCakes

knowing that my husband works out every morning at 4 am before i am even up, and he does it to be heathy for me...
so even though it sucks and i have worked all day and wanna go home and see him and the kids spending a hour working out before i get there isnt to much for me to sacrfice....i dont want to cut my time short later on with them because i didnt keep my weight under control

SuperCork

Remembering how good I always feel after, but if that doesn't work, I try to really remind myself of all the hard work I have done and not wanting let that be for even a little bit of waste. If I'm sick, though, I rest and always, at least, one day of rest a week to prevent burnout and strain.

Captain_Tightpants

I've never had a problem with motorboats... wait, did you say motivates or motorboats?

PedmomJill

Babes, when I feel unmotivated, I promise myself that if after 10 minutes I am hating the workout I can quit. 99% of the time I feel mentally and physically better at that 10 minute mark and I just do it! And I always always always feel great afterwards.

That said, rest days are important. So your body could be telling you to relax today if you haven't had a day off in awhile.

darrensurrey

I've never had a problem with motorboats... wait, did you say motivates or motorboats?

:laugh:

jkestens63

Knowing how much lousier I'd feel if I skipped the workout.

This ... I've never felt bad about choosing working out... I have about skipping.

I tell myself I 'm going to the gym,,, I don't are if I touch the front door and then go home. But I'm going there regardless. Of course once I'm there, I go in. Then I'll say, I'm going to take it easy today. After 10 min of "easy" on the treadmill or elliptical, I'm bored and up the intensity to give myself a challenge.

Its all a mind game, just have to play it smartly.

aweigh2go

I am doing INSANITY. I go to youtube and watch videos of those that started at my weight or heavier and had success. Then I get up and get started.

sundaywishes

When I first started working out again, I got a large clear mason jar and labeled it...unoriginally..."workout jar" lol. Every time I did a workout, I'd put a dollar in the jar. Seeing the money add up really helped me to get and stay motivated. Looking at a pathetic, empty jar made me determined to fill it (and thinking about what I'd spend the money on helped, too :laugh: )

I also went to the dollar store and got a pack of 180 motivational stickers. I printed out a calendar and every day I worked out, I put a sticker corresponding with how I did. "Good" was for an average workout, "perfect," "whale of a job," and "great" were for an awesome ones, "best job yet" was for ones where I upped the amount of weights I was lifted or the intensity I ran during my HIIT cardio, and "you did it!" was for the days that I REALLY didn't feel like working out, but I went anyway. Slowly the "you did it!" stickers made fewer appearances and the "perfect," "whale of a job," and "great" ones appeared more, as well as the "best job yet" ones. It may sound silly, but I think the stickers motivated me more than the jar. I loved being able to come home (I workout in the evenings), look at the calendar, and think about which sticker I was going to add to my calendar. Saving the calendars and actually seeing the past ones being so full was also motivation. Hope this helps!

PS--I've also seen people with 2 clear mason jars, one labeled "pounds lost" and one "pounds to go". They use marbles to represent either a pound, half pound, quarter pound, etc. based upon how much they want to lose. Every time they lose weight, they take the adequate amount of marbles out of the "pounds to go" jar and put them in the "pounds lost" jar. So if someone has 20lbs to lose, they'd have the marbles represent a quarter pound so the jars are more filled, and if someone has 100lbs to lose the marbles would represent a full pound.

sho3girl

^^^ makes a whole new meaning regarding "losing your marbles" :laugh:

optimumchill

What motivates me?

Reading these types of posts.

I just got home from my crossfit class..didn't want to go, but I'm glad I did!

holly1283

Didn't want to swim today. Only went because the ladies in the carpool went. I just did it. Not sure there was any motivation involved. It is just somethng I do.

wftiger

Knowing that taking the day off usually turns into another day off, and before I know it I've been absent from the gym for months.

^^ This

It has happened too many times in the past when I start skipping and then just stop going. I never stop my gym membership though. I guess I consider it my fat tax and keep it going. Not happening this time. One day off a week, that is it unless it is a special occasion (or the gym is closed for a holiday like this week). I also look at the 105+ I have lost and realize that I am not yet to where I want to be and won't if I don't get up and move.

jadedzen

ultimately doing an exercise i like, such as dance or martial arts.... but other than actually being like 'f@#k it' and getting off the couch nothing really does it for me, and i been searching hard for a way to exercise without exercising. If i figure it out i will make a million dollars i'm sure.

I have had to figure out my 'currency' that i would be able to motivate myself with. Mine is music but everyone is different. When talking to my mother about this very thing i asked her what her currency is.... she paused and said 'canadian dollars?' and i told her to put a 50 on the treadmill and if she wussed out of the workout she'd have to leave it there.

but in the end you just gotta get going.

onyxgirl17

1) I don't want to be unhealthy. By that, I mean my uncle was overweight and died of a heart attack at 39 years old . My mother was overweight and died this year of complications from diabetes at 49 years old. A bit of a shock.
2) I want to feel good from day to day, working out is one of those things (after the workout) that makes me feel good.
3) I want to have children soon in the next few years, and would like to be as healthy as possible for them.

tamtamzz

Because I do not want to die or have a diminished quality of life over something I could have controlled.

saraann4

I call it "Operation: Get off your as*" I just do it. Even if I am really tired which I am 99% of the time, I still just do it. I always keep in the back of my mind that if I do it, I'll feel better and look better. I hate working out with a passion too, but I still do it.

When I'm having a really hard time getting the motivation, I find some new music to put on my Ipod and go for a walk. It makes me go faster and longer.

graelwyn

Seeing my calorie goal rise significantly.
Makes me feel more alert for a time.
Gets me out of my home, which I hate being in.
I enjoy the elliptical.
Feeling productive.
Makes it less serious if I have a binge, if I am working out most days.

myfitnessnmhoy

Exercise calories.

sundaywishes

Bumping to see if we can get more responses