Lacking motivation

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Looking for some people that go to the gym after work in the evening. Since I started 6 months ago, I was working 2nd shift (3pm - 11pm). I would get up at 8 or 9am motivated and energized and head straight to the gym, workout a couple hours, come home, shower and relax a little before work. Then disaster struck, I got switched to first shift, working 8am - 5pm. I cant workout before work and when I get home in the evening I am am just tired from work, going to the gym is the last thing on my mind. How do you motivate yourself to go to the gym after a 9 hour shift?

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  • Andrealorren
    Andrealorren Posts: 17 Member
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    A 30 minute at-home workout early in the am before work maybe? You'd also reap the benefits of extra energy during your day. I do T25, doesn't take long but great work out.
  • AnneGenevieveS
    AnneGenevieveS Posts: 441 Member
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    all I can say is... It's HARD! If I go home and change clothes, I'm done for. I have to keep moving.
  • jabarrios
    jabarrios Posts: 11 Member
    edited June 2016
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    Haha Im laughing because I'm on the same boat!
    I completely understand where you're coming from. I'm always too tired after work, I have zero energy. And in the morning I barely have enough time to get ready because I feel like I haven't slept. So my thoughts were 3 plans for me and I'm actually planning to use 1 on Monday. Work out on my lunch break. My job is close to my gym so I can take a hour or 30 mins just going to the gym and I can eat after in the lunch room or at my desk. 2nd is power walking during both my breaks which calculates to 30 mins, which is great especially if it's every day. Or just simply change at work into your workout clothes when you're about to go home or right when you get home put on your clothes and get to your workout.

    I hope that helps :smiley:
  • imjustagirlwithagoal
    imjustagirlwithagoal Posts: 31 Member
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    I'm lacking motivation today too.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
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    As a teacher, I typically am looking at 6:30am-5:30pm days due to my commute. I always go after work because I can't bring myself to wake up any earlier. I treat gym time as scheduled time. As in, I treat it like another job or appointment. You wouldn't skip out on these in a normal situation, so why should the gym be different? It helps switch that mindset from running on pure motivation to the dedication needed to get things done.
  • JennieMaeK
    JennieMaeK Posts: 474 Member
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    vespiquenn wrote: »
    As a teacher, I typically am looking at 6:30am-5:30pm days due to my commute. I always go after work because I can't bring myself to wake up any earlier. I treat gym time as scheduled time. As in, I treat it like another job or appointment. You wouldn't skip out on these in a normal situation, so why should the gym be different? It helps switch that mindset from running on pure motivation to the dedication needed to get things done.

    This is similar to myself. I schedule my runs in my calendar. It's an appointment to keep. In the winter, when I run on the treadmill, I bring my workout bag to work, so that I don't have to go home first and the gym I go to is on the way home. Now my running shoes are right by the door.
  • mjennifer1990
    mjennifer1990 Posts: 11 Member
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    I work out at home for the very reason that it cancels out all excuses. I no longer can say I don't feel like driving to the gym because my gym is at home home. I work 8 plus hours a day and run my own home business. I make work I g out a priority and schedule it. I actually have it posted in my closet so it's in my face first thing in the morning.
  • Carnhot
    Carnhot Posts: 367 Member
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    I go on the way home from work; I know that once I got in I wouldn't be able to prize myself out again. I don't overthink it, I just do it and that is habit forming.
  • happyauntie2015
    happyauntie2015 Posts: 282 Member
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    I don't work full time infact I work part-time from home.....but wait! Lol....my husband works 12 hour days in a factory 6 days a week he loves the OT. He comes home and eats dinner changes and we go to the gym 3 to 4 days a week. He does this because it's an outlet for him and he enjoys seeing the changes in himself. He has lost weight and says it's easier now than it was 2 months ago to work the OT. He has also found his "why" and I have as well. Before it was welllllll excuse after excuse but now it's omg it's so easier to chase after our 3 yo niece and we can be more active with her and take zoo trips and play ball and bubbles....yep she is our why and it helps keep us going! Good luck you can do this!!! You can add me if you'd like. :)
  • RobertCotton
    RobertCotton Posts: 28 Member
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    I have found a routine that has worked for me the past couple days, it seems like a good solution. Thank you all for the suggestions, I think what is going to work for me (as a couple people here suggested). I am going to treat the gym as just an extension or overtime at work. I take a gym bag with me to work in the morning, then instead of going home at all, I head straight to the gym after work, It just seems like part of my normal work day that way, and I dont go home and get settled in.
  • evilokc
    evilokc Posts: 262 Member
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    I have a rolling schedule thats all over the place. 3 days a week i get up at 5am to gonto the gym before work. I hate it hut i also hate the gym at 6pm. So many people and they are all right where im trying to work out. Easier to force myself up before the sun.
  • cnavarro002
    cnavarro002 Posts: 235 Member
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    I come home, have dinner with my family, then go to the gym. I have to make it part of my routine. No excuses. Yes, I am exhausted. Yes, I'd rather sit on the couch and watch TV while I rest after a long day, but that won't help me reach my goals. You just have to do it.
  • xmichaelyx
    xmichaelyx Posts: 883 Member
    edited June 2016
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    How do you motivate yourself to go to the gym after a 9 hour shift?

    Getting myself to the gym just wasn't happening, so I built a home gym. My day goes like this:
    1. Work
    2. Get home
    3. Put on workout shorts and sneakers
    4. Eat something and decide I'm not going to lift
    5. Lift anyway
    6. Have a beer


  • exact0ninja
    exact0ninja Posts: 33 Member
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    I feel you on this one! I basically forced myself to wake up at 5 to make it to the gym for 6 so I can be at work for 8. That means going to bed around 9, which means I sacrifice some pretty precious time during the weekdays. It's hard! Sometimes I miss out in the mornings, and force myself to get dressed for the gym directly after work and just pump it out before I crash ahah.
  • tapwaters
    tapwaters Posts: 428 Member
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    I'm lucky in that my apartment has a gym, so I go there. After I get home if I had an early day, I change out of my class/work clothes, put on my workout clothes and shoes, and go. My brain is going "No. No. No. No. No." but you just have to go anyway.
  • brigg9
    brigg9 Posts: 104 Member
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    I'm not a morning person, and I tend to be a night owl. I work an 8-5 shift as well, and the evening is pretty much the only time I'll get to the gym. Echoing another post above - keep moving after you get out of work. If you're hungry, then plan on factoring in a late afternoon snack into your calorie budget before you go to the gym. Lastly - Shut your brain off. Go through the motion of just getting to the gym, that's your only focus. Once you're there it will be much easier.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    edited June 2016
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    I have found a routine that has worked for me the past couple days, it seems like a good solution. Thank you all for the suggestions, I think what is going to work for me (as a couple people here suggested). I am going to treat the gym as just an extension or overtime at work. I take a gym bag with me to work in the morning, then instead of going home at all, I head straight to the gym after work, It just seems like part of my normal work day that way, and I dont go home and get settled in.

    That was pretty much what I was going to suggest. Glad it's working for you!