Motivation for working out

If I have to go to the gym after work (I prefer going in the mornings before work), I change into my gym clothes at work and go straight to the gym. For some reason, that helps a lot. I cannot go home from work and then try to go to the gym, I just won't leave the house again.

It is much easier for me to go to the gym in the morning, before I'm tired and stressed from a long day at work.

Another vote for first thing in the morning. Regardless of how good it's looked on paper to workout in the evenings something would invariably interfere more often than not.

I have not been going to the gym due to the quarantine. I have some favorite workout videos on You Tube that I do. I motivate myself by choosing an activity that I want to do and saying I can do it after I workout. Sometimes if I am really unmotivated I will choose a short video and at least do that- generally I will add another short one in when I finish but if I don't I have at least done something. I also remind myself of my whys and for me it is to lower my blood sugar and just be healthier. Good luck!

My standard advice lately has been that if you struggle with motivation/compliance/whatever to initially treat the formation of an exercise habit more important than the actual exercise.

First you need to decide on a time and place for exercise and make it firm. Choose both with the idea that an outside interference would be a rare situation. This is why many of us exercise at early o'clock in the morning. Only taking someone to an early flight would normally interfere and that is even less likely in a covid world.

Second would be to reduce the total number of steps to start exercising. This might include laying out your workout clothes, prepacking a gym bag, filling the water bottle, etc. Do this before your scheduled time. The more steps you have the more likely it is you might talk yourself out of it. Also, when you invest your time into an activity in advance you are making a nonverbal contract with yourself that will make you feel more compelled to do it. Lastly, you place things like your clothes in your path it is like visually nagging yourself to do it.

Third would be to set limits on how much you do for the first week or so. You mentioned 30 minutes of an activity. If that felt like you were really pushing yourself then only allow yourself to do 20 minutes or 15. If it feels too easy or almost irritating that you could do more then good. You can push yourself all you want a little later. Get into the habit first. Your brain is associating how all this feels with the activity. If you make it really hard then you will be more internally resistant to doing it more. If you make it easy then that is the association that will form.

Fourth is to make sure you are fueling yourself enough. The amount I love to exercise is regulated by how good I feel when I do it. I have made the mistake of not eating enough a few times and the exercise I normally love is the exercise I absolutely hated.