“The man who says he can, and the man who says he can not… Are both correct”. Your thoughts influence your motivation and it can be easy to let them paralyze you and stop you from moving forwards. Learn to control your negative thoughts and you will learn to control your gym motivation.
If you’re new to working out, or if it’s been a while, going to the gym can feel overwhelming. Negative thoughts might start creeping into your head “I don’t have enough time”, “I don’t know how”, “people will judge me”, “I don’t like to work out”. But these are just fabricated internal thoughts and insecurities keeping you from going forward. Don’t let them stop you – regain your motivation.
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“I Don’t Have Enough Time”
We all have the same amount of time everyone else has, even those who hit the gym a few times per week. The difference is priority. For those hitting the gym regularly, working out becomes more important than watching the latest episode of The Walking Dead. If you really want to get in shape you need to make exercising a priority and get your ass to the gym!
Keep track of how you spend your time for a few days and write down everything you do. Do you spend hours in front of the computer? Do you sleep in and get up at the last minute? You need a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes to fit in a workout. Can you find that much time by giving up something that is less important to you? It’s up to you to make the time, so do it!
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“I Don’t Know How”
Everyone was a beginner at some point so don’t be embarrassed if you feel that you don’t know what you’re doing. There’s a reason gyms have staff on hand – don’t be afraid to ask for help! They’re there to help you and teach you how to use the equipment. Watching videos on YouTube is also a great way to learn how to perform exercises correctly and get new ideas for your workouts. This is especially useful if you work out at home!
Practice, practice, practice. If you are new to weight training, make sure you learn the basic compound lifts as these will be invaluable to your progress and development. Repetition of movements performed correctly creates muscle memory, and muscle memory creates know how.
Check out a great beginner program HERE.
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“People Will Judge Me”
There’s one reason people go to the gym – to work out. They’re not there to judge you, the’re there to get in shape like everybody else! Go. Workout. Leave. Repeat. Just do it. Start going and go regularly. After a few months, you’ll be one of the regulars that the newbies think are judging them! There’s no getting around the fact that it might feel a little awkward at first but stick with it and it will become awesome!
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“I Don’t Like to Work Out”
So you don’t like running or lifting weights. You might not like the gym environment at all, but don’t use that as an excuse – there are hundreds of ways to be more active! Think past the gym, go mountain biking or swim, play basketball, go golfing. Consider trying yoga or Pilates, stretching every morning or walking around the neighborhood. Try different things. Some won’t work for you, but others will.
Read about ways to improve your fitness outside of the gym HERE.
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Conclusion
Nine times out of ten, the negative thoughts that creep into your head have no real significance in the real world. Learn to shut off the voices telling you that you can’t and start pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone!