“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” —Jim Rohn
You are in the middle of an intense workout. And you’re sweating profusely and all you want to do is stop.
Then you realize what motivated you to work out no longer matters because you’re tired. Your body is tired. Your legs are shaking. You’re struggling to get that one last rep above your head.
You want to go home, shower, put some pajamas on, grab a glass of wine, and work out your fingers…doing 15 reps of Netflixin’.
I totally get you. I’ve been there.
Last night, my friends and I met several new faces at the gym and after our sweat session, we all got to talking.
They asked how long my best friend and I have been going to the gym and we said, “This October will be two years.” What caught me off guard was their reactions. “That’s a long time!” and “Wow, that’s a long time to be going to the gym consistently.”
What I realized during that moment was two things: 1) What may seem insignificant to me was a big deal to others and 2) whether you’ve been going for two years, two weeks or even two days in a row, consistency is still consistency! Go us!
If you’ve been struggling with staying consistent at the gym or anything for that matter, I want you to keep reading. However, I want you to read with an open mind and an open heart if you want to succeed in improving your health.
Since I’m someone who’s really honest with those around me, I want to be honest with you too. I’m not here to beat around the bush nor am I here to sugarcoat things for you.
When it comes to working out consistently, the truths of the matter is:
IT’S NOT EASY. PERIOD.
I think it’s hilarious when people ask fit people how they got into shape. Dude, it’s eating right and working out. When it comes to your health, there are no short cuts. There is NO. OTHER. WAY! Again, getting healthy is NOT easy. Time is going to pass anyway so you might as well start somewhere. And remember, if you take the easy road now, your life will be harder. If you take the harder road now, your life will be easier later. I do it things I don’t like now because I definitely don’t want the older me to resent the younger me.
WORKING OUT AT HOME MIGHT NOT WORK FOR YOU.
I’ll be honest. I am terrible at working out at home. Living by myself? I can totally do it. Living with roommates? Not a chance! If you’re asking me how I stay motivated to work out at home, I don’t. For some, it works. For me, it doesn’t. And I’m okay with that.
DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU.
Seriously, pick a lane and just start. I don’t care what a trainer tells you. You are up. And you are moving! If you want to start your health journey by walking, great! Do it. If you want to box away your fat, go for it! And if you want to practice yoga or pilates, more power to you. You know your body and what you like so who cares?! At least you are moving, right?!
WORKING OUT WITH PEOPLE KEEPS YOU IN CHECK.
If you find yourself falling off the wagon often and you’re on this health journey alone, it might be time to work out with someone. To me, falling off the wagon a lot may be an indication you’re not working on your goal(s) with someone else.
If you know you can’t keep yourself accountable, get a buddy or make a lot of friends. You’d be surprised at how many people care that you are progressing! My trainers usually ask (not tell) me if I’m coming the next day. And my friends I work out with usually ask me if I’m coming the next day too.
If I tell them no, they won’t come. By just attending class, you’re helping those around you stay on track as well!
YOU MUST VIBE WITH YOUR GYM/TRAINER.
Do not ever let a trainer talk you into buying their programs or class packages if you do not vibe with them! Listen, if you love words of encouragement and have someone who is a drill sergeant type of a trainer, would you want to work with that person? No. Why would you do that to yourself? And your wallet?
Don’t be afraid to say no. Saying no saves you and the trainer time and money. Shop around and see who fits you best!
NO ONE CAN MAKE YOU WORK OUT EXCEPT FOR YOU.
Seriously. Don’t be lying to yourself. Let me be real with you. When it comes to fitness, no one is making you get on the path to better health. You either care about yourself enough to take care of yourself or you don’t.
For me, I work out because the healthier I am, the more energy I have to work on my dreams. #facts
The truth is your self-worth is tied to how you take care of yourself.
And your mind has to get there first before your body will follow.
IT’S NOT ALL SALADS AND GAMES.
Some people might think that in order to get healthy, you have to work out all the time and eat salads all the live long day. And that couldn’t be further from the truth!
What? Are you serious, Huong? Uh, yeah. Dead serious.
To lose weight, you have to eat in a calorie deficit in addition to working out.
Follow the 80/20 rule. Let’s just say you have ten meals planned. Of those ten, you can have two meals of anything your heart desires. Why? Because it’s called living a little. It’s important to eat healthy the majority of times so you can still enjoy the foods you love in moderation.
Don’t eat all you want now because you may not have that privilege later on in life.
TAKE SMALL STEPS.
When I say small steps, I mean small, like teeny tiny! When I started on my journey, I knew I couldn’t handle both food and fitness at the same time. I did a self-audit to see which one was easier for me to stick with consistently. After much deliberation, I picked fitness to begin with first.
Why pick one thing first?
My overall goal was to learn to stay consistent in ONE area then move on to the next.
Same goes for nutrition. Leaving food out of the equation, it’s best to take vitamins for six months before you start any lifestyle change in terms of food. You have to give you body the vitamins and minerals it needs first or the results from eating cleaner/detoxing won’t show when you do it. My friend, Leland, did it and the results showed!
YOU CAN BREAK A HABIT…IF YOU WANT.
You may or may not know this, but every thing you do, is a pattern. And those patterns are called habits. If you can create habits and you can break them.
If you’re interested, I highly recommend you read Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. Once you understand how habits and patterns work, your life will start to change. I can say that this book is easily in my top 5 in my library of knowledge.
When you figure out what your habits are, you can break that viscous cycle!
COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS IS STUPID
This one of the top workout motivation tips you’ll see from everyone. Focus on you and only you. Don’t be looking around. You’ll only be wasting your time. And don’t you dare even shame yourself on where you’re at. The point and goal is that you’re progressing and moving forward.
As we get older, staying fit and healthy will only get harder. The question is, do you want to start now while you can or do you want to wait because you’ll have to get healthy?
I get it. It’s hard to stay motivated in the gym. But remember what I’ve said in past articles. When you’re on your health journey, take it one day, one workout, one rep at a time.
And if you get sick or are very tired, taking a break from the gym is not a bad move. Listen to your body because healing is part of the process of health.
If you don’t take time to heal, you won’t commit to working out much less stay consistent.
Take it from someone who already hit their one year gym anniversary. Your health journey will always be easier when you’re aware of these truths. Who knows? You could fall in love with exercising!
Do you guys work out? If you do, why do you do it? If you don’t? What’s stopping you? Let me know in the comments!
Please note that this content should not be used for diagnosis or treatment of a health problem or disease and serves as informational purposes only. Always consult your professional healthcare provider before beginning any new program with any questions you may have.
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Juliana Grace
August 15, 2019Love this post and agree with all of it girl! I never push myself as hard when I’m working out from home versus at a gym with a trainer and a friend or group. Such a difference! Great post!
xoxo,
Juliana Grace | http://www.julianagraceblogspace.com
Huong
September 4, 2019Thanks, Juliana! I read somewhere today that if you work out with a trainer, you’d get a better workout because they’d push you past your limit than when you’re working out yourself. I definitely hadn’t thought about that! Thanks for your input and for stopping by! x