What keeps you motivated to go work out??

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Replies

  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    • Personal Bests
    • Endorphins (Happy Hormones!)
    • I run and walk, so the sights and sounds of the outdoors and the opportunity to take photos
    • Looking good
    • Bragging rights
  • BurnWithBarn2015
    BurnWithBarn2015 Posts: 1,026 Member
    For me it is the way it makes me feel.

    When i start out its ok. I have to do it...but as soon i get warmed up i get all energetic.

    It makes me feel good. And at the end i can be tired and sweaty...but i feel marvelous. I teach body-robics and sometimes i have to stop myself from going to funny/wild/enthusiastic/fast etc

    Like today i did a half hour class ( to seniors) and when i got home i popped on my treadmill.
    So yes for me it is that it makes me feel good

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  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited November 2015
    It bores me, because I'm limited to gentle stationary biking and walking on the treadmill right now. Music is the only thing that gets me through. (Thankful for Spotify's "Discovery" option.) Also, the knowledge that if I don't do anything, I a) will lose whatever conditioning I have and b) won't fit into my clothes, because I like food and hate deprivation. Lol at 1200 calories, forget that. I do stuff on my phone sometimes.

    If you can do more than that, pick some goals (weight, time, or form, often a neglected goal) and aim to improve every time you go.
  • miaelissa
    miaelissa Posts: 30 Member
    I find watching you tube videos so much more entertaining than just music
  • blackcoffeeandcherrypie
    blackcoffeeandcherrypie Posts: 486 Member
    KaiUneeda wrote: »
    I quite like going to the gym, but on days I can not be arsed I just remember how good I feel on the drive home after I do go. It usually pushes me to go, and I do leave happy I went.

    Yeah, the feeling afterwards. I love running, *after* I've done it, lol.
  • Dariasen
    Dariasen Posts: 145 Member
    I needed some form of "carrot" to get myself to work out.
    I started slowly and made myself deals: Coffee is allowed only after I do a short 7min work out. I can only watch The Daily/Nightly Show if I'm walking. I can only change into real pants (non-workout tights) after I do my strength training/classes.
    After a while it just becomes habit and it feels weird to do things outside of the "rules" I set for myself.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    death, Doritos, Snickers.....but not carrots
  • Misspinklift
    Misspinklift Posts: 384 Member
    If you get bored from working out, you haven't found the right exercise for you. If you go the gym, try changing your playlist music to something more fun. That is if you listen to music while working out. I'm a video junkie. I workout at home. The videos I have make me want to work out. Also if you see results, it can be addicting as well.
  • FitGirl0123
    FitGirl0123 Posts: 1,273 Member
    The gains.
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    The ice cream and diet coke on the drive home.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    When I was losing, I just liked to lift. Then I realized lifting was helping me save lbm and create an interesting physique. At the very moment I'm bulking/eating at a surplus so I cannot skip the gym...or I'll just get fat.
  • MalkinMagic71
    MalkinMagic71 Posts: 1,433 Member
    Because I know even if I don't want to do it, by the time I done I will feel awesome. Sweaty, but awesome. It's the end game I look at. The first 5-10 minutes are the hardest, then once I get going... it just starts to feel really good.
  • kycowgirl73
    kycowgirl73 Posts: 3 Member
    Find a workout buddy someone to help hold you accountable and you them. For you maybe someone who likes to actually workout and you won't want to let them down. The more you go the better it gets and for me when I don't want to go is when I definitely make myself go.
  • Fursian
    Fursian Posts: 543 Member
    What keeps you motivated to go work out??

    Recalling a not so distant past, above all else. Getting up staircases without being out of breath. More calories, that I can eat ^.^
  • Badger6170
    Badger6170 Posts: 17 Member
    strong_curves wrote: »
    How I look naked & food. My body is changing and it's looking good so that's a huge motivator.

    This! This is what keeps me working out, that and the sense of accomplishment when I hop off the stair machine after I kick its butt for 30 minutes. It's getting very personal between the two of us!

  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
    Still chasing a 1000lb total.
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
    Weightlifting changed the way I look and feel. That is motivation enough for me to keep getting into the gym every week.
  • FitGirl0123
    FitGirl0123 Posts: 1,273 Member
    Eileen_S wrote: »
    Weightlifting changed the way I look and feel. That is motivation enough for me to keep getting into the gym every week.

    +1

    Honestly, find something you love. If you don't enjoy it, you will eventually stop doing it.
  • BillyGoatZombie
    BillyGoatZombie Posts: 9 Member
    I workout at home. I use my iPad to watch Netflix or YouTube videos while I'm on the elliptical. I typically listen to music if I'm gonna lift weights or run. I've thought about getting a gym membership. I can't seem to find the time due to my work schedule.
  • RonnieLodge
    RonnieLodge Posts: 665 Member
    mdoljansky wrote: »
    So I hate exercising, but lately have been trying to get to the gym more. My problem is I get bored. Besides music, what helps you get motivated at the gym?

    I used to go the the gym for 45mins 5 x a week and tried to check out mentally with watching tv/listening to music/reading magazines while on the machines. I don't care for company when working out, but I liked doing classes (although working with the timetable would be annoying).
    I would sleep in my (clean!) gym gear and have my bag packed the night before to save time.

    But a couple of years ago - after 10 years of going to the gym - I chucked the gym entirely and in favour of doing workout videos at home with a set of adjustable free weights.

    No having to wash gym gear (cause I can work out in a bra and pants at home), minimal travel time (walk from the bedroom to my lounge) - I love it and will never go back to gyms.

    What motivates me to work out - feeling good. It is the cheapest, most accessible form of therapy there is - sometimes I have my best ideas when working out. That and wanting to be active & mobile when I am in my 70s.

    A fitbit has helped motivate me and friends recently too (as we have regular challenges).
  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
    For me, simply being at the gym is motivating. Sometimes I enjoy going. Other times I have to drag myself out the door. But once I'm there and see all the other people who are working hard, it gets me going. If I had to workout at home it would never get done.

    Other than that, lifting weights is slowly changing my body and making me stronger. Once I started seeing the difference in myself it got easier to stick with it.

    You do have to find what's enjoyable for you though. There has to be something.
  • x_cinder_x
    x_cinder_x Posts: 118 Member
    Gym Classes. I find I push myself much harder and the time flies faster in a class setting. My gym offers a good mix of instructors and class types. While Zumba is my favorite I make sure to hit up the strength training ones as well. I also have a few friends in the gym, so that helps too. Once I say I am going to be there, I gotta go no matter what =D
  • brownstar2829
    brownstar2829 Posts: 11 Member
    You should definitely read about the blerch, just google the oatmeal blearch. It really helps you relize that there is no motivation only a choice and once you make your choice nothng can stop you.
  • alittlelife14
    alittlelife14 Posts: 339 Member
    gdyment wrote: »
    Do something you don't hate. Pick a goal to accomplish something you don't think is possible. Running race, crossfit event thing, some weight lift goal, a focused dance class, something.

    I run, but I'm never going to say I LOVE it. I'd rather have sex/watch movies/eat cheetos/play video games all day but as an adult I work at a job, pay taxes, go shopping and workout.

    Amen
  • RECowgill
    RECowgill Posts: 881 Member
    Having real goals. Actual progress. Accomplishing PRs or new achievements every single workout. Constantly being a better lifter and athlete than I was 6 months ago. Never ever going backwards.

    I never go because I have to or go just to go. Those are among the worst reasons. I think if a person finds themselves in that situation they should stop and figure out how to really do it. If you do the wrong thing for too long you'll just end up throwing in the towel.
  • FSLSBSmfp
    FSLSBSmfp Posts: 38 Member
    I usually take a pre-workout stimulant. 20 minutes later I'm ready to go even if I didn't feel like it.
  • CMDO34
    CMDO34 Posts: 34 Member
    My music
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    RECowgill wrote: »
    Having real goals. Actual progress. Accomplishing PRs or new achievements every single workout. Constantly being a better lifter and athlete than I was 6 months ago. Never ever going backwards.

    I never go because I have to or go just to go. Those are among the worst reasons. I think if a person finds themselves in that situation they should stop and figure out how to really do it. If you do the wrong thing for too long you'll just end up throwing in the towel.

    Though I agree with your overall sentiment, I must say that going because you have to or going just to go has got many of us to a workout long after motivation and reason have walked out the window or chosen not to make a real appearance for months
  • LadyRN76
    LadyRN76 Posts: 4,275 Member
    I have a sign in my bathroom - it says "remember your why". When you don't feel like going - you're tired, you're sore... (insert whatever excuse you can make) ....Remember why you started in the first place....being overweight didn't happen overnight, getting in shape doesn't happen that way, either - you have to remember your past to keep going in the present to reach your full potential for your future.
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
    I am following this thread out of shared interest.

    I seem to have lost my exercise confidence and I only do a tiny amount these days. It ended up on the back-burner somehow when my career kicked up a notch. I struggle to find the right balance. I used to be super fit and now I am borderline sedentary.

    I am trying to lean into it again. I have an exercise bike and I walk more. I will invest in some free weights this weekend and a yoga mat to add to the mix.

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