What is your motivation to get to the gym?

I havent been to the gym in a few months and my weight has caught up to me.  I am almost at 120 and I am 5'1.  At the beginning of the summer I was able to run a 5k no problem, now I get tired just from walking up the stairs.  Plus I have got into baking every night.. really fattening stuff. 

I want to go to the gym.  I miss the feeling but I cant get myself to go.  I charge my ipod, get my shoes out, even get dressed for it sometimes.  But then I just sit and say oh I will do it in a few hours after I do this and that.  Or say I cant go because my calorie counter isn't charged or I dont have any gas in my car...

I feel like a failure!!!

For me the hardest part is getting there.  Once you're there...what else are you gonna do?  lol.  It's really a snowball effect either way.  As long as I keep going and see results, I'll keep going.  Like over this labor day, I knew it was going to be hard for me to go do some stuff today.  But I know if I don't, then I'll put it off the next day and so on. 

Maybe you just need someone to remind you, so I'll go ahead and tell you to get your ass in there today...haha.

well what i do is go at an exact time every day, regardless of how i feel, whether exhausted or its miserable outside just go.

it helps if you're packed the night before, cause you can be kinda groggy in the morning.

also i normally read a book for a half hour before the gym with a cup of coffee, helps me get goin something to look forward to and wakes me up a bit

also never overdo it in the gym otherwise you'll hate the place, just do enough so that your happy to go again the next day.

and maybe get an ipod to make things more enjoyable, anyways hope that helps!

Original Post by healthystriver:

Making room for more beer.

 ^This.

And...

I hate the guilty feeling I get following not going, so this usually serves as pretty good motivation on it's own. I usually concentrate on how good I am going to feel afterwards vs. the workout itself.

Don't want to be weak or fat. Both my parents are obese, so I have a perfect example of what can happen if I let myself go. Taking a pre- workout supp helps too, cause then you feel guilty about wasting a dose.

Two things get me out the door and running:

1) My boyfriend and I have a monthly mileage competition. Prizes range from taking each others' dishwashing weeks, making each other lunch, cleaning the other's car, contributing cash to our vacation fund, getting the good parking spot - none of them particularly onerous or expensive, but enough motivation to get me going.

2) I regularly sign up and pay for races. If I've paid for it, I'm going, and as long as I'm going, I might as well train :P

I need concrete, close-at-hand motivation (sure, I want to be healthy when I retire, but that's too far away), and these two things do a pretty good job of getting me off my butt. If a little friendly competition works for you, find a partner and set reasonable prizes. The gloating rights alone are worth it for me!

My girlfriend and I did a weight- loss competition. The only rules were that you could not get sick due to the competition. And due to the difference in our BF%, she had to lose 1.2 lbs for each lb I lost. The prize was a weekend getaway. That got me to do cardio and eat clean for 3 months.

Original Post by olakala:

I havent been to the gym in a few months and my weight has caught up to me.  I am almost at 120 and I am 5'1.  At the beginning of the summer I was able to run a 5k no problem, now I get tired just from walking up the stairs.  Plus I have got into baking every night.. really fattening stuff. 

I want to go to the gym.  I miss the feeling but I cant get myself to go.  I charge my ipod, get my shoes out, even get dressed for it sometimes.  But then I just sit and say oh I will do it in a few hours after I do this and that.  Or say I cant go because my calorie counter isn't charged or I dont have any gas in my car...

I feel like a failure!!!

Hi Olakala! 

Don't feel like a failure please! Be nice to yourself! You have to like yourself enough to say 'I am going to the gym because I am good to myself' and not the other way round! 

Oh and btw: getting the gym bag ready the night before is definately good! Also - I am getting up at 6.15 am now and go to the gym before work. At that time of day I don't think about getting up - I just do it! No thinking, no questioning, just getting up and once I am up there is no reason why I shouldnt go to the gym!

Try to break the magic seal! Once you have been to the gym you will ask yourself why the hell you haven't been there earlier!!!

Enjoy it!! 

When I look in the mirror and see fat, that motivates me to go to the gym!

i havn't been to the gym, or even working out in a good couple of months. since i am back at school and have a free gym, i'm feeling motivated :D,   i just go there and see the machines and i want to work out. i'm in the building anyways, i just need to bring my clothes!  wensdays there is NOTHING standing in my way of working out, no work (in class till 5pm), its the first week of school so i wont have an essay due..   and its a great stress reliever! i've been so stressed the last couple of weeks i'm looking forward to it cause it'll make me feel better :D.
with all this opertunity I will feel bad for not going  out of my own lazyness lol. 

I like working out.  It's honestly enjoyable to me to work hard and see results. 

And  yes, I like being able to eat a bit more (since I prefer to eat my calories vs. drinking them.)

I dont' have any motivation to go to the gym, I hate gyms and that is why I walk.   It may not be muscle specific but I have still lost 50 pounds with walking to work each day and its been free and means I haven't had to step one foot inside a gym.

Also once you start walking to work you are committed so it doesn't take the same mental commmitment as getting dressed and going to the gym lol.

i love the gym i feel at such a loss if i miss a day. To me it is very important to find yourself a partner who is just as committed as yourself or close to it. Even though i haven't shed any more pounds from my 180 i can't complain because i am still dropping the body fat. Adding more challenges or goals for yourself can help. For example i am doing alot more core workouts for my six pack (so brutal!) i want the horseshoe (diamond-pushups i can do about 6 sooo hard!) (tricep) and i want a strong lower body so ive started to do alot more leg workouts. Oh and if you are not sure about how to use one of the machines or a certain exercise ask someone around you. The motivation has reached its highest for me....you see the results, you feel great, and you learn to help others that want to make a positive change for themselves. You can do it...start slow and build up your activity over time....just stay active.

Is there anyone you can go to the gym with?? It's good to have another person that forces you to go with them when you're having one of those days :)

1. Falling off the workout wagon does not make you a failure! Beating yourself up about it will only leave you feeling low (and probably craving comfort food).

2. I have two motivations - fat loss, and food enjoyment. I definitely lose more fat when I work out than when I don't. And if I go to the gym and burn 500 calories, I've earned myself a piece of a baked good (or a brownie, cookie, ice cream scoop, etc).

Try to make yourself go once - when you've done that, it should be easier to make it a routine. Think about how much better you felt back when you were working out regularly!

Ah thank you for all the advice.  I definitely have fallen off the workout wagon!  But I have made a commitment to go jogging today.  I am trying to make running in a morning a habit.. and I am happy to report that I only hit snooze twice before hopping out of bed.  I will report back about how it goes :)

having cute gym clothes motivates me to go, for some reason.

The cable in my dorm room sucks, but my schools gym has personal TVs on the machienes that seem to get every channel.

So I go there to watch my shows and end up burning some calories whilst I'm at it.

My motivation is pretty simple... stand in front of a mirror, lift your shirt and look at your stomach... if that doesn't get you going well I don't know what else would .