Today is the day!
You told yourself that you would go to the gym after work. But work was more hectic than you thought. Now you are exhausted. You drive home, clean up a bit, but then you make the mistake of sitting down. You may feel your energy waning, along with your motivation.
you know yourself should get that workout.
But the thought of dragging yourself to the gym is fast becoming a pipe dream. You feel like you can’t get up. So you decide that you will train tomorrow. But this is also questionable.
This cycle can last days… weeks… even months. And it’s frustrating because part of us wants to exercise and knows we’ll feel so much better once we do, but another part of us would rather just sleep on the couch.
So why are we putting off training?
Let’s look at three culprits:
1. I’m too busy
2. I don’t feel like it
3. I can’t wake up on time
one) I’m too busy
Have you discovered that there are “more important” things to do than go to the gym?
Maybe there’s paperwork to catch up on.
Maybe there are clothes to fold.
Maybe you have to make dinner.
The tricky part is that all of them could be valid. All of that can be important. But those reasons can quickly turn into excuses. Especially if those same reasons stop you day after day.
2) I have no desire.
Some days we’re just not in the mood.
They were tired.
We are stressed.
We don’t feel motivated.
Because we are not in a good mood, we wait until a “better day” or when we are in a “better mood.”
Behind this reason is usually the belief that, “I need to be motivated before acting” – which is FAR from the truth. I’ve met a lot of fit people and some days they’re fired up and super motivated, but sometimes they’re not, but they exercise anyway. Lack of motivation does not stop them.
3) I can’t wake up on time
Mornings can be difficult.
The alarm interrupts our perfect sleep. So we hit the snooze button one…two…a dozen times until finally we have to frantically prepare for the day.
Maybe the bed is too cozy.
Maybe it’s too cold outside
Maybe you are too tired.
It can be hard to wake up, especially if you’re a night owl. Or if you have the habit of putting off your alarm clock. Sure, exercising in the morning has benefits. But if mornings don’t work, find a time that does. For some people, lunchtime or late night works much better.
So it could be any of these or a combination of these. Whatever the reason, let’s look at two ways to prevent this cycle of procrastinating.
Imagine the finish line
As you imagine your next workout, what comes to mind?
Can you imagine how nice and enjoyable that is going to be?
Do you think about how happy you are going to be while doing it?
How much fun are you going to have?
Probably not. When most people imagine exercising, they envision all sorts of unpleasant things. Their attention is focused on the painful exercises…how hard it will be…how tired they will be…how sore they will be…everyone looks at them…
It’s easy to see how they talk themselves out of it.
Focusing on these things will any unmotivated. But just like a photographer, you can adjust and shift your focus to other qualities of a landscape. most beautiful aspects. More inspiring aspects.
In fact, let’s take a lesson from the Navy SEALS on this.
Years ago, the Navy SEALS were in a dilemma, 76% of their top candidates dropping out. So they called in psychologist Eric Potterat to figure out how to increase the mental toughness of recruits. Potterat created four garments (called The Big Four) that worked so well that he increased the graduation rate by 50%!
One habit was known as “Imagine how good it will feel.”
When recruits needed a boost to get through a brutal workout, he taught them to imagine successfully completing a workout. This allowed them to tap into powerful emotions like feeling successful and accomplishing something. And this allowed them power through him.
This is how you can use this:
Visualize a successful workout
Imagine yourself successfully completing the training.
Think about how good you will feel at the end.
Feel that success and that achievement.
Even if it’s just a workout, it’s still an achievement.
Even if he can’t perform as well as before, it’s still an achievement.
Visualize it the best you can.
Bring as many senses as you can.
And you don’t have to focus on completing all the training. You can use this for certain parts of your training; using something Potterat calls “segmentation”.
In an interview with Business InsiderPotterat states:
“If you find yourself in a seemingly overwhelming and stressful situation, the best thing to do is take it one step at a time and focus on what’s controllable.”
Choose certain exercises and how they will feel once you have performed them.
For me, I don’t enjoy doing pull ups. If I imagine myself doing pull-ups, it’s not very motivating. But if I imagine what it’s like after completing the pull ups, it’s very motivating. Use it for certain exercises.
When you break it down this way, it’s like crossing off items on a checklist. You can give yourself a surge of accomplishment as you finish each of those small steps.
Here are some additional things you can focus on:
When you’re done, how much more alert and energized will you feel?
How much more calm will you have after exercise?
How much better will you feel for the rest of your day?
Do you think that feeling of accomplishment will carry you through the rest of the day?
5 minute commitment
Working as a fitness professional, I learned that the most successful clients had certain things in common.
One of which was the number of workouts they did on their own (called “off-day workouts”). In many cases, these would make or break people. You see, when people need to show up for a session with a trainer, they have a responsibility. So it’s not too hard to introduce yourself.
But it’s a different story when they have to perform alone.
So I gave them a challenge.
Even if you are tired.
Even if you don’t feel like it.
Even if you’re not motivated.
Even if you’re not in the mood.
5 minute commitment
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Training for 5 minutes
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If after five minutes you still don’t feel it, then go home.
Well guess what?
In most cases, they will finish the entire training. Instead of waiting for motivation to strike like lightning, they acted to get to the motivation. It is similar to the William Butler Yeats quote: “Do not wait to strike until the iron is hot; make it hot by striking.”
Commit to just five minutes.
At worst, you still get a little training.
At best, you end everything.