What motivates you to get to the gym after a tough exhausting day at work?

I do my "harder" workouts (deadlifts) before work (around 6am). I do my "easy" workout Mondays after work. I save my other 2 "hard" workouts (squats and bench) for the weekend.

I have zero energy for deadlifts after work, but shoulders are fun.

I'm sorry for your loss.

What gets me to the gym after work is that it's a stress reliever. I get in, get out go home. Most of the time it's zoning out on the treadmill.

I'm really sorry for your loss, I can't even imagine how heartbreaking that must be. Of course your health is important, but please make sure to take care of your mind first - mental health is just as important. In saying that, I suffer with anxiety and depression and it can be very difficult to get into the cycle of keeping up exercise/healthy eating. I'm an emotional eater and depression makes me want to curl up in a ball, not exercise. What I would say is to find what you actually like to do so it is less of a chore. Personally, I hate the gym at this point in time as I feel too unfit to be able to enjoy anything without getting fatigued. I've started taking up swimming instead as I've always been naturally good at it and I really enjoy it. Another thing is to find what time is right for you, personally I can't think of anything worse than exercising after work as all I want to do is get home. I would try going in the mornings, it SUCKS at first but once you're up and there, you'll feel relieved knowing it's out of the way and you can enjoy your evenings.

quiksylver296 wrote: »

I am so sorry for your loss.

I prefer to go to the gym in the morning before work.

But when I have to go after work, I change into my gym clothes at work. That seems to shift my mind into gym-mode, no matter how tired I am.

Like Quiksylver296 said, I also prefer to go before work but lately with my new schedule, I just can't get there so I'm always going after work. It's been helpful that I always have my meals prepped out so I can eat once I'm back from the gym and it's just one less thing I have to do. I also come straight home and change into my clothes and, this is important, I DON'T sit down on the couch. Even if I need a quick snack, I eat it standing in my kitchen and then head out.

If it's an especially hard day, I tell myself that I only have to do one thing then I can come and 99% of the time I end up getting into the groove and doing my full workout but knowing that I have the out to be lazy if I need to usually gets me there.

kali31337 wrote: »

quiksylver296 wrote: »

I am so sorry for your loss.

I prefer to go to the gym in the morning before work.

But when I have to go after work, I change into my gym clothes at work. That seems to shift my mind into gym-mode, no matter how tired I am.

Like Quiksylver296 said, I also prefer to go before work but lately with my new schedule, I just can't get there so I'm always going after work. It's been helpful that I always have my meals prepped out so I can eat once I'm back from the gym and it's just one less thing I have to do. I also come straight home and change into my clothes and, this is important, I DON'T sit down on the couch. Even if I need a quick snack, I eat it standing in my kitchen and then head out.

If it's an especially hard day, I tell myself that I only have to do one thing then I can come and 99% of the time I end up getting into the groove and doing my full workout but knowing that I have the out to be lazy if I need to usually gets me there.

Good point. If you have to go home, do NOT sit down.

I also trick myself by saying "just do 10 minutes. If you want to leave after 10 minutes, you can." I never have.

I'm sorry for your loss: Hugs!

I went through a somewhat similar thing quite a few years back, when my husband died of esophageal cancer at age 45, when I was 42.

Everyone's experience differs, but mine was that the first weeks and months were really quite difficult: I felt numb and kind of rootless . . . detached, in a way.

What helped me was to be very firm with myself that I needed to go through the right motions, and ignore the whole question of "what I felt like doing" (which probably would've been sitting in a dark room staring into space). Emotionally, I felt like it didn't matter what I did, wasn't much enjoying anything, . . . so I might as well do things that would put me on a path forward into a positive future, when considered objectively.

It was a form of self-theater, empty gestures, or "fake it 'til you make it". (In my case, I was fortunate enough to know that that positive future was what my late husband would've wanted, because we'd had an opportunity, when he was ill, to discuss his hopes for my future.) No joking, it was an effort of will, in a context of numbness, for a while. Eventually, the numbness began to clear . . . .

Wishing you the best, and that you can find a path forward!

Are you in a position to alter your schedule such that you go to the gym in the morning? I don't want to go to the gym after a day of work either. Instead, I go in the morning before work and find that it's good way to get me going; I'm more energetic throughout the entire day.

Nothing motivates me faster and more efficiently than music.
If you work out in the morning, let your alarm be something that fuels you to get out and workout.
If you work out after work, have a playlist in your vehicle of choice -already set- that amps you up when you are headed to the gym.

For me, soundtracks (Mad Max, obviously, Two Steps from Hell, One Punch Man, etc) or music heavy on guitar, drums and swagger (70's rock like Led Zeppelin's 'Immigrant Song', or stuff like Rihanna, N.E.R.D., Tech9, ect) are sounds that get my body moving before my mind catches up.

Take a brief walk as part of your lunch break- it'll clear your mind and give you a boost mid-day.

Drink enough water. Keep a full water bottle at your desk. When it reaches below the midpoint get up to refill. Refill at the station farthest away from your desk, so you frequently keep your mind alert and your body mobile.

Reward yourself at least one session a week (or weekend) that is not gym-based. Like rock climbing, playing basketball, baseball, kayaking etc. If you can get together with other guys for this, that's a plus. Training the mind to view exercise as a pleasurable, daily experience can sometimes take awhile (versus merely as a tool to get results). For me, it took awhile to learn how to celebrate by going out and doing something rather than celebrating with food.

Lastly, get enough sleep. With lack of sleep, motivation, focus and work ability is drained. Your cravings for quick fuel will also be on an all-time high. Get enough zzz's and it will be much easier.