If you are a not a sports type of person who naturally enjoys this type of activity, then hitting the gym in the first place might be a problem for you. If you have resolved that problem and found the motivation to start working out, your job is still far from over. In order to actually achieve any results, you need to be disciplined and consistent. And if these are not exactly your fortes, well, you’ll just have to develop them.
The best tool for their development is a healthy and strong motivation. So before and during your workout program, you need to ask yourself why you are doing it and what you want to achieve. If it is difficult for you to pinpoint that purpose in your mind, here a few auxiliary methods that might come in handy in the moments your bed’s hug becomes too strong and the gravity becomes too powerful.
Make It a Habit
If you really want to show you are serious about staying fit, designate the time for the gym in your schedule. Decide when it’s most convenient for you and put it in your calendar accordingly. Once you have dedicated the time slots and defined the frequency, make it a ritual. Start building all your other activities around it and making the schedule in accordance with your gym dynamics. Let the workout appointment be the last one you’ll reschedule in case of some unpredictable circumstance. In other words, make it a priority.
Also, introduce the activities before and after the gym, especially the ones you enjoy. By doing this, you’ll create a positive reinforcement and some kind of reflex. Like giving a treat to your pets when they’re good. The point is your mind and body should get used to a certain pattern of rituals and follow them naturally, without much resistance. If will certainly make the things easier if those rituals are something you enjoy.
Keep It Up for 30 Days – It Becomes Easier
You may have already read somewhere that creating a stable habit takes anywhere between 21 and 30 days. That’s why those first 30 days are crucial for your further progress and commitment. So define your schedule and set it as a goal, for instance, I want to go to the gym three times a week, for 1 hour, and make sure you stick to it for a month.
Tell yourself that after this month, if you don’t feel like that schedule and type of exercise are good for you, you can go back to your old ways, or find something new. Make this a kind of trial period. No matter how difficult it may seem at the beginning, knowing that it has a limited duration will help you endure it. However, after those 30 days, chances are you’ll want to stick to the schedule as your body will get used to it, you will feel better, look better and have more energy. Also, it will become a habit and it won’t feel like an effort.
Baby Steps First
If you’ve decided to start working out, it may happen that you want it all and want it now. Unfortunately, that is not how it all works. If you set a goal of hitting the gym five times a week for three hours after years of idleness, chances are it will have a detrimental effect. It is too demanding, plus you will feel exhausted and sore, which isn’t exactly the best motivation to go back unless you are masochistic.
So it is definitely better to start small and set realistic goals. Decide how much you really can commit without it affecting your life too much, and stick to it. Once following this schedule and performing those exercises becomes a piece of cake, you can increase the frequency, duration, and intensity. But start slowly, with baby steps, as a sudden and exaggerated beginning may lead to a quick and abrupt end, and that’s exactly what you want to avoid.
No Excuses
Get this straight in your head from the very beginning – no excuses. Otherwise, the smallest thing may divert you from your goal, and it that way you won’t get anywhere. As we’ve already mentioned, make this a priority, and organize all your other activities around your workout schedule. Also, be ready for some unexpected situations, so you can keep your spare workout clothes at the gym in case you forget to take it, have an umbrella with you, some kind of snack in case you didn’t have time to eat anything and things like that.
Get your logistics right, and most importantly, your mind straight. Visualize that goal you want to achieve and keep it clear in your mind, so you can clutch to it any time a distraction pops up. That will keep you steady on your path.
Even though the workout is a matter of body, your mind is the one you need to put into discipline, so in order to exercise your body, you need to drill your mind first, everything else will go easy from there.
