Droop-Dead Gorgeous
I lost a bunch of weight after a horrible breakup. I'm eating healthful food now -- yay. But I'm very aware that I'm one of those flabby skinny people. I used to go to the gym regularly, but I stopped, and now it's been two years. How can I motivate myself?
--Stick Figure
There is an unorthodox but excuse-proof way to get yourself back to the gym: Hire a psychopath to chase you there with an ax.
If, however, the psychopaths in your area are busy servicing their regular clients, you might try rethinking the power you give your feelings over your behavior. The fact that you have a feeling -- "Waah...I don't wanna go to the gym" -- is not reason to listen to it and obey it as if you were its feudal serf.
Consider that unless there's a national disaster or a wizard turns you into a decorative porch owl, you are physically capable of getting to the gym. Make a pledge to yourself that no matter how unmotivated you are to go there, you will just go. This "just do it" method, giving yourself no choice in the matter, is important, because according to studies by psychologist Phillippa Lally and others, repetition leads to habit acquisition. To unpack what this means, behaviors you repeat become automatic -- meaning you eventually just do them mindlessly; deciding whether to do them is no longer part of the process.
To kick off the campaign for the new gym-going you, do this robo-gymgoing thing every day for two weeks, and then you can pull back to whatever your normal gym schedule would be. Give yourself a sense of accomplishment by monitoring your behavior. Check off days you go work out on a goal attainment app, or just color them in on a calendar. Giving yourself visual evidence of your progress should help you stay motivated during that time period before the physical results start to show. Kind of a bummer when you tell people you've been going to the gym and their response is, "And doing 20 sets of I'm not getting out of this car?"
What helped me get in the habit of working out (I do martial arts, not the gym, but motivation was and is still an issue for me) was to pick a gym that was exactly on my way home from work. I keep my gym bag packed and in my trunk so that I just pull over into the gym, train, and then go home after. If I got home first, or tried to train on weekends, I’d never leave my house.
Showing up is the hardest part. Once you’re there, well, might as well train.
sofar at December 12, 2018 8:28 AM
Are there any sports or exercise things you do for the sheer pleasure of it? I find I more easily do exercise if it is fun in and of itself. Cross-country skiing and swimming are both good cardio and fun to do and would still be fun if they didn't burn a single calorie or build a single cell of muscle. Rock climbing helps develop upper body strength. Tap dancing? Trampoline jumping? Hiking?
Or... get a dog. As sofar says, showing up is the hardest part and if you have a dog you HAVE to show up... the hardest part is motivating yourself to get outside. Once you're there, it's easy to keep walking/biking/running with your pup because you are already out there anyhow. Also... you have to go out when the weather sucks too so no excuse.
Or if not a dog, a trainer or workout partner or someone else you are accountable to.
NicoleK at December 12, 2018 12:30 PM
DO NOT GET A DOG to try and force yourself to exercise, it won't work and the dog will suffer for it. That is not what dogs are for, It is not the dog's job to get your fat ass to the gym because you don't want to go. Find some sort of activity you actually like to do and just do it. I hate the gym, but I like money, so I got a part time job cleaning hotel rooms. I walk over 12 kms per shift and making beds and scrubbing showers is a great workout.
Stormy at December 12, 2018 4:26 PM
It helps me to schedule fitness classes so that I’m going to work out at a specific time. I definitely have to do something I like. I know weight training is the gold standard but I can’t make my brain not hate it.
JT at December 12, 2018 5:12 PM
"DO NOT GET A DOG to try and force yourself to exercise"
Exactly.
A pack of hamsters on leashes is a better beginner's workout anyway.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at December 15, 2018 2:47 PM
The issue here is not WILLPOWER.
She has already shown the character by losing the weight to begin with. But she did this with the understanding she would look like a Tiffany.
Instead, her arms still look like a basset hound's jowls. She did the work but was cheated of the reward she wanted. That is a soul killer.
Now she needs to redirect her efforts to being a'healthy flying squirrel'. The juice is not worth the squeeze.
I would suggest she focus on making money and getting the necessary surgery. THAT will give her the gym motivation.
Whether this is a healthy attitude or not, it is hers and good for her at losing the weight!
Give her a light at the end of the tunnel re surgery and she will RUN to her goal.
FIDO at December 18, 2018 5:59 AM
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