They say the toughest step of a run is the first one out of bed. And Jesus Christ is that true. The hardest part of your workout is the first step out the door. Going to the gym before work or college is the a mental challenge harder than the cube. You say, that's it I'm setting my alarm for 6am and I'll go to the gym and then your alarm goes off and...your bed is just too enticing.
So when you're struggling to leave the bed and even see a point to going to work out, try these tips. This one takes a lot of motivation to even stick to, but wash your hair only on days you workout. So if you don't work out for 3 days, you won't be washing your hair for 3 days. Clever idea. If you can't be arsed to get active why not just put your workout clothes on. You'll feel like shit if, by the end of the day, you're taking off your gear and you haven't done anything remotely active. Another way to motivate yourself with clothes is to buy some new ones. Then you'll just want to flaunt them to everyone in the gym and all the drivers on your run. And if you don't wear them you'll just be a materialistic dickhead. Take your pick.
Remember the last time you went to the gym or out on your run and how fucking amazing you felt afterwards? You felt like Rocky running up those steps. Like you're the first person to complete a marathon. You feel proud of yourself and pumped up with loads of adrenalin. Why not write down how you feel after every workout? Just on your phone - it doesn't have to be long. So it's there when it's 6 o'clock in the morning and you're starting at the ceiling having a mental gladiator battle, you grab your phone and read how great you felt after your last workout.
No one ever finishes a workout and thinks, "God, I wish I never did that workout!" No one regrets working out. It's better to be in an hour of agony than be unfit for the rest of your life. Once you're finished your workout, the only thing you regret is stopping a little sooner than planned.
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Start going to weekly classes. If you go on a run or go to the gym yourself, you can decide when to stop but when you do classes, you can't be the person that walks out of the class early or leaves half-way through, you pussy. You pay per class and you get your 45 minutes or hours worth of an intense workout. And there's no giving up. Group workouts are key to get you up and at it. You get a small group of friends, or even just one that you meet every morning in the gym, and you can't let them down by not showing up. Work off the intense guilt you'd feel if you left them hanging and use it to your advantage.
Become a fucking addict to the post-workout endorphin rush. There's worse things you could be addicted to. Have you ever felt so pumped up after working out that you could take over North Korea? Why wouldn't you want to feel that all the time?
Set tiny challenges and set big challenges. When you know you've only 3 minutes left of your workout, push it for the last 3. Or if you're out running, say, 'I'll run until that tree.' and then you run until the next one, and the next one. Nike Training app is free and you can chose different goals, 5k, 10k, marathons.
Choose your playlist wisely and always change it up. You'll start to get sick of the same songs playing over and over. The key to working out is being distracted. Audiobooks and podcasts are an UH-MAZ-ING way to distract yourself from what you're doing. And then you'll start to want to workout because you want to listen to your book or next podcast.
Basically, do it for the likes. Take Instagrams, post your workout on Facebook, Tweet your before and after photos, if it motivates you to get compliments then do it. You may come off as a vain bitch but if it works, there's nothing wrong with that. And who knows? You may end up motivating someone else!
