Let’s Fitness Together
By Blake and Gwen Beckcom
When you walk out of the gym, you feel great. However, walking into the gym doesn’t feel quite as amazing. Especially if you’ve endured a long day at work, you would probably rather park yourself in front of the television or hang out with your significant other than go to the gym.
Motivation is a key factor in letting go of excuses and going to the gym. However, motivation can be hard to come by. Here are some tips to help you get to the gym and stop coming up with reasons to avoid it.
Record your goals
It is important to actually write down your goals and keep the list somewhere that you can see it often. This will serve as a reminder of why you’re going to the gym. So if you want to lose 10 pounds or improve your strength, write it down on a piece of paper and put it in your office.
Make plans
Schedule your workouts ahead of time so you’re likely to skip them. At the beginning of the week, decide exactly when you will go to the gym and plan out your gym routine for each day. Check off what you have done when you leave the gym to increase your sense of accomplishment.
Set reminders
Put your gym schedule in your day planner or set alarms on your phone so you won’t accidently make other plans or become too busy and forget that yesterday was supposed to be a gym day.
Eat healthy foods throughout the day
Starting your day off in a healthy way is an important step to continuing with a gym routine. This means that eating a healthy breakfast is key. This meal will help your body maintain energy throughout the day and help you prepare for your workout. Eat a solid breakfast that includes protein, a fruit or vegetable, and a complex carbohydrate.
Additionally, make sure to pack a pre-exercise snack to eat about an hour before working out. This will give your body enough time to digest most of the snack and use it as energy while you’re at the gym. When you eat a small, easily digestible snack that is rich in healthy carbs and has a little protein, such as an apple with a handful of almonds, you will have more energy to exercise harder once you get to the gym.
Put your exercise clothes on before leaving work
This will keep you committed on your drive away from work and won’t allow you to be tempted to change your mind during your commute. Changing your clothes will signal that it is time to go to the gym.
Find a buddy
Instead of meeting up with friends for happy hour, sign up for a fitness class together to catch up. Even if you can’t really catch up with your friend in the middle of a class or a treadmill interval workout, meeting a friend at the gym will make you more likely to follow through with showing up. You can always go grab a bite to each together after your workout.
Find something you love doing
Find a class that you really enjoy or a machine that you feel challenges and rewards you for your hard work. Once you find something that you enjoy doing, you will be more likely to want to keep with it, especially if you start to see results.
Measure your results
Speaking of results, keep track of them so you can stay motivated to keep going to the gym after work. Once you see all of your hard work pay off, you will be more likely to make even tougher goals for yourself to meet and continue to want to improve your physical fitness.
It can be tough to make it to the gym after work, but hopefully once you use these tips and get into the routine of stopping by the gym on your way home, it will become a habit that you don’t want to break. You will feel better and look better.
—Fitness Together Mission Hills offers personal training with qualified professionals by regular appointment in private suites. Exercise and nutritional programs are custom designed to fit your needs and abilities. Call 619-794-0014 for more information or to schedule a free fitness diagnostic and private training session. See what others are saying about us on Yelp.
