Stop Dreading the Gym!
A few years ago, I remember watching a woman performing overhead triceps presses with her elbows out and with a weight so low she barely had to use any muscle to lift it! She wasn’t doing herself any favors that day. Without proper form she was increasing her risk of injury. She was neither strengthening nor gaining size in her muscles, and she wasn’t getting the mental benefits of having a challenging, focused workout.
A few years ago, I remember watching a woman performing overhead triceps presses with her elbows out and with a weight so low she barely had to use any muscle to lift it! She wasn’t doing herself any favors that day. Without proper form she was increasing her risk of injury. She was neither strengthening nor gaining size in her muscles, and she wasn’t getting the mental benefits of having a challenging, focused workout.
How are those New Year’s resolutions coming along? Are you allowing yourself to fall back into the comfort of your bad habits? I know: you are dreading the gym. You’re tired after work, you’ve still got a lot of work to do when you get home and, let’s be honest, exercise is not as easy as relaxing on the couch after a long day.
How do we stop dreading and start doing? With the tools I’ve provided below, I’ll make getting to the gym a whole lot easier.
1. Schedule it in.
With our busy lives, it is almost certain we will not make it to the gym unless we schedule it in. Take it as seriously as a doctor’s appointment, making yourself pay a cancellation fee of $5 (or even $50!) whenever you miss your time at the gym.
2. Make it interesting.
Exercise should be enjoyable, not a chore. Find something you love to do. If you don’t know what that is yet, keep experimenting until you find it. Take new classes at the gym, subscribe to fitness newsletters that teach you new exercises, switch up your routine so you have something new to look forward to.
3. Just get there.
Make the process of getting to the gym as effortless as possible. Expect yourself to get to the gym and make sure others expect it as well. Make a standing date with your babysitter to keep the kids for an extra hour on your gym days, have your gym gear packed and ready to go, and make the necessary preparations in the other areas of your life for your hours of designated “me-time.” Once you get to the gym, you’ll be glad you did and those feelings of dread will disappear as you pick up your weights. Don’t forget to congratulate yourself!
4. Don’t quit.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – don’t give up! We are only 30-odd days into the year, not nearly enough time to get settled into a lifetime of health and activity. Making a New Year’s resolution into a lifelong habit is going to take more than 30 days. Keep things in perspective. With 365 days in the year we have lots of time to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and try, try, try again!
Believe in yourself the way I, and those around you, believe in you! I won’t let you quit so easily!
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