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How To Stay Motivated To Exercise

Writer's picture: Ryan BradleyRyan Bradley

Two people sparring with boxing gloves in a gym. Posters line the walls. A punching bag hangs; a computer screen shows a video.
Understanding Discipline Is The First Step To Consistency

One thing I get asked a lot, as a personal trainer and avid gym-goer, is “how do you stay motivated to go to the gym when you don’t want to?” It’s a fair question, and one I used to ask myself all the time. Asking myself this question helped me to determine an important distinction; understanding the difference between motivation and discipline


Motivation is a feeling. Feelings, or moods, tend to come and go. Sometimes you wake up sad, and no matter what you do, you remain sad the whole day. Other days you may wake up inexplicably happy, and yet by the end of the day, the feeling has faded. The point here is that motivation is very much a mood, and just like any other mood, it is fleeting. It comes, and then it goes as fast as it came. Therefore, you have to reframe the concept of motivation in your head. Most people ask the question “how do you stay motivated to go to the gym?” or “how do you go to the gym when you don’t feel motivated?” because they RELY on this fleeting feeling to fuel their workout, and can’t conceptualize doing their workout without having that strong feeling of drive.


So, we must be disciplined. Discipline is a habit, a set of actions which you undertake, no matter your feelings. Do you truly want to pay your taxes? Make your bed? Fold your clothes after you take them out of the wash? No, of course not, but you do those things anyway, and that is because you have developed the discipline to look after the necessities in your life. You must find a way to apply this concept to your fitness, and to do so, I can offer two pieces of advice; first, you must find your ‘why.’ What is the reason you want to be fit? This can vary greatly between individuals, but you must have conviction in your reasoning, and this conviction must drive you to commit to your goal. Second, reframe your thinking. You should not be relying on “feeling” like going to the gym, in the same way you should not rely on “feeling” like paying your taxes. You must reassert to yourself the notion that, if you want to achieve your fitness goal, it is necessary to remain consistent in the gym, no matter how you feel. Now, this isn’t to say that you have to go every single day, or be exhausted after every workout, or eat absolutely perfectly all the time; it does, however, mean that you must be trying constantly, whether you are happy about it or not. There are certain things in this life which require your discipline, and the gym is one of them.


I think that there is a lot to love and enjoy about exercise. I think that, as long as you find something you enjoy doing, you should be able to look forward to it and enjoy it, and this should make it easier for you to stick to it with consistency. It’s important, as part of your reframing, to find something to truly love about your form of exercise, or to find a form of exercise which you resonate with deeply. The best routine is one that you can stick to, so don’t be afraid to try, fail, and try again. It’s all part of the process. Just don't wait for the “feeling” of motivation to do so! Go get after it!


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