When you don’t want to work out?

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Replies

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    I remember my goals, and how I won't be able to reach them without working out.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    If it feels more like I am just not motivated, I tell myself "just go and do your warm-up routine. You can call it good after that." 100% of the time, I keep going and am really glad I did. But I also notice that every few months I just get tired - it's like my body is telling me to rest it. If I push through that and work out, I notice that my performance has dropped off - can't load the bar as heavy, can't push through the required reps/sets and keep form, etc. That was happening to me a few weeks ago and I was really wanting to push through and then have the rest break come during my planned vacation. Couldn't do it - actually, I ended up pulling a muscle. So I took a week off. Should have done that before the injury.

  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,594 Member
    Living room laps here too. I often listen to podcasts while walking my tiny laps.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 33,735 Member
    I try really hard to find activities I enjoy so much that I'd do them even if they weren't good for me: That way, I rarely want to skip.

    Not always possible in the real world, especially in Winter, so reasons involving deferred gratification need to kick in (like being independent and able to do for myself for at least another decade or so beyond my current age 63).
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,448 Member
    meganreid163 wrote: »
    Sometimes I’m just not in the mood to work out or have major lack of energy.
    What do you do when you have days like this? I think I need to switch up my workouts. Go on more hikes and spend more time doing active things outside!

    Go for a walk. :)
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,908 Member
    It's okay to take time off occasionally. Sometimes it's an indication that you're training too much or not getting enough rest. Just don't make a HABIT of taking time off just cause you don't feel like it. There are going to be many times you will, but have push through.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
    I needed to read these. The bad part about motivation is that it's fleeting. I havent seen mine in a few months! (If you see it running around, will someone PM me? :lol:) But, what I think I need to do is reassess my goals. I crushed it last year, but it's a different year and what I want to gain out of fitness has changed. Unfortunatly "Look hot in bikini" Is never good enough. I usually default to " Eh, I have a body and I'm on the beach! What more do I need?" I need more solid goals, and I haven't really sat down to decide what those are. I suppose I should do that. Then work on the routine and discipline part.
  • smoofinator
    smoofinator Posts: 635 Member
    Crafty_camper123 wrote: »
    I needed to read these. The bad part about motivation is that it's fleeting. I havent seen mine in a few months! (If you see it running around, will someone PM me? :lol:) But, what I think I need to do is reassess my goals. I crushed it last year, but it's a different year and what I want to gain out of fitness has changed. Unfortunatly "Look hot in bikini" Is never good enough. I usually default to " Eh, I have a body and I'm on the beach! What more do I need?" I need more solid goals, and I haven't really sat down to decide what those are. I suppose I should do that. Then work on the routine and discipline part.

    Me too. I always think of that quote, "Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels," but I know for a fact that tacos do (it's science). I need a better reason than looking pretty.

  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
    smoofinator wrote: »
    Crafty_camper123 wrote: »
    I needed to read these. The bad part about motivation is that it's fleeting. I havent seen mine in a few months! (If you see it running around, will someone PM me? :lol:) But, what I think I need to do is reassess my goals. I crushed it last year, but it's a different year and what I want to gain out of fitness has changed. Unfortunatly "Look hot in bikini" Is never good enough. I usually default to " Eh, I have a body and I'm on the beach! What more do I need?" I need more solid goals, and I haven't really sat down to decide what those are. I suppose I should do that. Then work on the routine and discipline part.

    Me too. I always think of that quote, "Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels," but I know for a fact that tacos do (it's science). I need a better reason than looking pretty.

    I like how you think. Tacos are a healthy and balanced meal. You have carbs, protein, leafy green veggies, fat, and fiber. So yes, tacos do in fact taste better then thin feels. Because science. :lol:
  • littlegreenparrot1
    littlegreenparrot1 Posts: 701 Member
    Crafty_camper123 wrote: »
    I needed to read these. The bad part about motivation is that it's fleeting. I havent seen mine in a few months! (If you see it running around, will someone PM me? :lol:) But, what I think I need to do is reassess my goals. I crushed it last year, but it's a different year and what I want to gain out of fitness has changed. Unfortunatly "Look hot in bikini" Is never good enough. I usually default to " Eh, I have a body and I'm on the beach! What more do I need?" I need more solid goals, and I haven't really sat down to decide what those are. I suppose I should do that. Then work on the routine and discipline part.

    I run (slowly) and enter races to help motivation. This means I have spent money and told people, so I have to go, and also don't want to humiliate myself or do myself a mischief during the race, so have to train. I choose them carefully, they have to be hard enough to work for, but not so hard I have a panic and freak out.

    I simply do not care enough about my appearance. I have always thought that if someone else's biggest problem is the size of my bum, good for them!

    The race though, after finishing I feel like I can take over the world.....
  • merekins
    merekins Posts: 228 Member
    I don’t give myself the option, like brushing my teeth. I go. It’s one thing if there is a real reason I can’t make it work but I don’t feel like isn’t a reason for me. I don’t have to go to the gym but I have to get something in whether that’s a run or just a walk.
  • stephierue
    stephierue Posts: 110 Member
    Don’t think about it, just go -immediately-before you think about it & talk yourself out of it. Just follow the routine without thought. That being said, if I really really don’t want to go to a class that day, I’ll do some serious yard work & I’m always sore the next day. Saying I’ll go “later” or I’ll work out at home never works though.
  • Lazy_Bones_85
    Lazy_Bones_85 Posts: 132 Member
    It depends. If I don't want to because I simply don't want to, then I go anyway. If my body is in need of an extra rest day because of a race I ran, I tell myself to go but to take it easy or only do half the time or distance. You will learn when you're body is telling you "Hey, I need an extra rest day" or "I'm sick, I want to rest" versus your mind telling you not to go because you don't feel up to it.
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
    First let me say that I'm not advocating this approach. Just noting that this is the approach that works for me. For my temperament, my mindset and my personality.

    If I don't want to 'workout' doing a specific activity I'll see if I instead feel like doing something else. If I was planning on going for a ride on my bike and just don't feel like it I'll think about it and see if there's something else I'd rather be doing and do that instead. Would I rather, run, throw the barbell around a bit, go to the beach and swim, jump behind the drum kit and go crazy. If so then I do that instead since any activity I'll have fun doing is better than forcing myself to do something that I won't enjoy.

    If I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing then I'll just not workout. I know from experience that nothing in this world will make me stop doing something as quick as the feeling of being forced to do it. Skipping a workout session (or two) is better for me in the long term as I'm far more likely to continue long term when working out is a choice and not a requirement.

    Again. This is purely a personal approach that suits me best.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    Sometimes I pretend I’m not going to work out. Meanwhile I eat my pre-run snack, get my water bottle filled, put my run bag in the car, get my running clothes on, get in the car, drive to the park... by the time I arrive, I might as well run, so I do. And I have never regretted it.

    Some good tips in this thread! Switch it up until you find something you enjoy. I learned Bollywood dance for a while because I was sick of stationary bike. Set goals for yourself, such as lifting a certain percentage of your bodyweight, holding a handstand for ten seconds, or running a certain distance at a certain pace.

    I like to remind myself, your body doesn’t care whether you’re “feeling it” when you work out. Just so long as you do it, you can be completely uninspired and it will still benefit you. When your brain whines, “But I don’t feel like it today!” Answer, “So?”

    One more thing, make sure you are letting yourself recover. If you are losing reps when lifting, or if the routine which used to be easy now feels harder instead of easier, maybe take a rest day. Take a low impact day at least once a week regardless. Muscles grow during rest.
  • missh1967
    missh1967 Posts: 661 Member
    In my 20s and 30s, man did I beat myself up for missing a day of working out. Now that I'm older and more in tune with my body, there are days I am legit wiped out or exhausted (working night shift 5 nights a week will do that), and I just take the day off and don't flagellate myself over it. I enjoy the rest usually.

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