Unlocking the Secret to Staying Motivated and Consistent with Your Gym Routine

Working out can be a daunting and intimidating thing for many people. Especially when you’re at a gym with a bunch of people that you don’t know and who all seem ten, if not a hundred, times fitter than you.

Maintaining good health is intrinsically linked to maintaining a suitable level of physical fitness. It is nearly impossible to achieve optimal health without incorporating some form of physical activity into your routine, whether it’s walking an hour to and from work each day or attending gym sessions several times a week. 

This article aims to shed some light on how you can stay motivated with your workout routine and how you can achieve your goals and hit the gym without feeling insecure or only managing to go once a month!

Set the Correct Goals

The idea of going to the gym to either lose a bunch of weight or to build some huge muscles to impress people with was never the intention of gyms.

Gyms are wellness hubs that empower individuals to achieve fitness goals and engage in fruitful exchanges with like-minded enthusiasts. By fostering camaraderie and collective effort, they motivate individuals to strive towards personal fitness aspirations.

If the idea is to lose weight and you don’t achieve your goal for a few weeks, chances are that you won’t be returning to the gym very soon. When in actual fact, you didn’t realize the importance of also changing your eating lifestyle to support your weight loss goals. Or if the idea is to build massive muscles but your body shape perhaps is not built to hold that capacity from your natural build, you’ll probably also never return to the gym.

However, if the goal is to simply sweat for 30 – 60 minutes every day and you go and do that on a treadmill or at a class, suddenly you will have achieved your goals every day and feel pumped to keep going. This is a great way to stay motivated and consistent at gym, which is so important for your health.

Make The Gym Suit You and Not the Other Way Around

In order to stay consistent with going to gym, you need to make it your own. Here are some ideas:

Visit the gym at time that suit you. If you don’t like the 5pm rush hour at gym because there are too many people, then try to go after dinner instead at 7pm once most people have left. Or go early morning at 5am before going to work.

Wear clothes you feel comfortable in. Be sure to wear outfits that give you the flexibility and movement you need to complete your workout routine.

Bring some great music or podcasts. Zone out of the gym environment if you prefer and bring along some headphones and some of your favorite music. Or download a podcast that really interests or inspires you and listen to that while you workout.

Spend time researching equipment. Most gym equipment has a small instruction board pinned to it that shows you which muscles the equipment targets and how to use it. Take your time to read these so that you feel more confident and less lost at gym.

Go with a friend. Sometimes going to the gym alone can be the most intimidating part. Bring a friend along with you sometimes. Or perhaps a colleague at work who you know works out a lot, perhaps they can teach you some new exercises which will make your gym experience more exciting. 

Do the Exercises That You Like

The gym is not meant to be the place where you feel overly exhausted or disappointed in yourself. A big factor in feeling unmotivated is when you’re doing exercises that you simply don’t enjoy. 

Of course, you can’t only do your one favorite exercise type forever because this won’t strengthen your body correctly. But if you hate doing arms and Thursday is your arm day, then try to do all your arm exercises with a lower weight and more repetitions. That way it won’t hurt as much and could be more fun. Or if you think you need to do 100 squats a day but you hate those, rather join a fun Zumba class that works your legs but where you also listen to fun music and dance around. 

Doing the exercises that make you happy and that you can feel proud of is the best way to ensure you go to the gym consistently because it will actually be a place you look forward to going as it’s filled with your favorite movements and makes you feel proud of yourself.