Motivation...it escapes me

First of all, I never ever tell myself I am going to get up and exercise. It wont happen. However, when I do get up, the first thing I put on is workout clothes (unless I am going to work). If I am going to work, I set out my workout clothes so they are ready when I get home. Actually getting the clothes on is my biggest battle. Once I am in the workout clothes, then I make myself go work out. Then I barter with myself. "Run to the tree, then you can stop" "Lift for 10 more minutes and you can have peanut butter". Even if you only exercise for 15 minutes, it is better than nothing at all. Lastly, if you can get in 10,000 steps a day, that alone will cause a big change.

I love to exercise but I also love to eat which is why I maintain and not lose. I have two classes at the Y that I belong to that are wonderful: Spinning and Pilates. These classes run four days a week so I am motivated to go to them. The other two days are not so fun so I take my workout clothes with me to work so that I can go straight there. I know if I go home first it's a wrap I am in for the evening. I think finding something that you like to do always makes working out easier. I also have a cousin and my daughter who motivate me. I want to lose a lot of weight and my daughter is that ideal weight so she and I support each other! Working out with someone helps as well. Good luck to you

Whenever I have to keep at something I don't want/like, I have to fixate on a powerful emotion I've associated with my goal.

The next time you are hit with a wave of emotion, either good or bad, concerning your goal (such as: a comment from an esteemed family member about how different you look, or the latest (or even imagined -- predicting the future) cautionary report from the doctor telling you you need to change your lifestyle), sit down and mull it over for a few moments to let it really sink in. You want to remember what it (the agony of defeat, the exhilaration of success, or the fear of consequence) feels like.

Then, the next time you think of not doing something to meet that goal's end, try to recall that memory and (especially) emotion. If it's powerful enough (and it may take some time to find a memory/emotion that is powerful enough -- like someone else said earlier: you have to want your goal *enough*), there won't be much of a struggle; you won't think twice about it.

Of course, you'll try to get out of it again in the future, but you just have to keep beating it down...

Well for one thing, I'm honest with myself. I'm not, nor will I ever be, a morning person so I don't schedule workouts for myself in the AM. Because it just won't happen.

I do go after work because, well, I just do. It's become a habit. I admit, it was drudgery at first, but part of the reason you're so tired after work is because you don't work out. Once you get stronger you will have more energy to do these things.

I never feel motivated to work out - there is no form of exercise I enjoy so I have accepted that I will NEVER feel motivated to work out. I'll always dread working out, there is never going to be a day that arrives where I think 'oh I cant wait to go for a run today'. Instead I write my exercise into my diary like its an 'appointment' - just like you have meetings at work, this is my meeting between my trainers and the pavement.

I'm not a morning person, personally I prefer the extra 45 mins in bed (I do the same as you if I set my alarm to workout in the morning - alarm goes off and I press snooze and lay there for 45 mins with the duvet up to my ears debating whether to run or not!). So if you really cant face mornings then you HAVE to work out after work, regardless of how tired you are. Its your choice, you either get the extra time in bed all comfy and warm BUT you have to come home and work out, or you drag yourself out of that comfy bed in the knowledge you can collapse in a heap when you get home.

There are plenty of things we do on a daily or weekly basis that we dont want to do - we go to work, we do the washing, the ironing, washing up, tidying the house.....the list goes on. Working out is just another of those things you dont want to do but have to get done. Treat it like an appointment/meeting that you cant get out of, set a time and put it in your diary. Have your workout clothes ready to go, trainers waiting at the top of the stairs and try not to think about it - the more you think about exercise the more you can talk yourself out of it. So dont allow yourself to think about whether or not you are going to do it when you get home, no thinking allowed! Just get home and get it over and done with!

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!

This is great advice! Also, next time you do work out, when you are done, focus some on how good you feel right after and for the next couple of hours. It really helps me crawl out of bed if I think about how much better I'll feel when I'm done. Once I'm on the elliptical, it's all good. One trick that worked for me when I was single was to set the thermostat so that it got a lot hotter about ten minutes before my alarm went off. When I was too hot in bed, it was easier to get up.

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?

I find once I start I have to do it and feel guilty if I dont , dont make excuses and just think of all the benefits it has. I'm motivated by the energy it gives me and how good I feel afterwards. good luck!!! and think POSITIVE because its a life style change not a diet and once its started its the best!!

It's true, if you just get out of bed and do it, its done. The more you think about the less likely you are to do it.
As an added bonus you'll feel better, have more energy and it gets easier.

I also lack motivation. Easier said then done. I still prefer sleeping in ... for now :yawn:

I struggle with this a lot too. I've gotten into a groove for a while from time to time, but I just don't stick to it. I'm no expert, but what I'm going to try for myself is using a pedometer every day. I did this for a company contest last spring and I did really like it, but after the contest I set the pedometer aside. I am recommiting to it on my own terms and setting goals...there is something very satisfying about watching your steps go up...almost like getting a high score on a video game or something. :-)

My goal is 10,000 a day. This is reachable with deication to it. The gym just doest work for me and I need to be more active.

I think I set my goals too steep when I try to lose weight, so this is one of the ways I hope to meet my goals in a slow and steady wins the race kind of way. 1 lb a week, 70,000 steps and 1,330 calories a day. I'll be at my goal by summer if I can stick to it. It's a few more calories a day and a slower pace weight loss than I usually have aimed for (and failed at or only seen partial and temporary sucess).

I read a great thing on a health blog (used to be weight loss but she met her goals)..."everything in moderation, including moderation" :-) I just loved it. Yup, sometimes you are gonna eat way more cookies than you should...just do what you should do MOST of the time

"No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everyone on the couch."

i dislike this quote, because it basically boils down to "i'm amazing as long as i set the bar really low."

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?

Motivation is about true desire not good intentions. You have intentions and not desire. Till you really want it, you'll just keep wishing it.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

i love to work out after work. sure im tired. but at this point its become habit and i look forward to it. i cant wait to get out of work. go home, make and eat dinner. then go to the gym. you just need to want it bad enough.

You don't want it bad enough. Yet.

I don't let it be a question. I don't entertain thoughts of whether I'm going to work out, I just assume that I am. And it helps to have a schedule. I know that on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6 a.m. I'll be leaving the house to run. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, at 9:30 a.m. I'll be lifting weights.

You have to realize that you're worth the effort/hassle. Eventually it gets easier.