Working out has so many positive benefits – self-confidence, fitting into new clothing, making your physically attractive, it clears your mind, and obviously helps with your physical health.
You’ve been told this by everyone, so you decide to give it a shot but after a wee or even a month, you can’t be asked to get yourself to the gym!
It's Not You, It's The System
People are built around their habits throughout the day.The reason why we have bad habits is because it’s gives an immediate reward, but good habits reward you much later. For example, junk food immediately satiates you your hunger and destresses you, smoking destresses you and gives you that feeling in the back of your throat that you can’t resist, and finally not going to the gym evades any effort, pain, or discomfort in the short term.
To make going to the gym a habit, it’s a game of consistency. There are 5 keys to unlocking your full potential of going to the gym
1. Find a time that fits your schedule
When forming a new habit, there are 3 things that complete the cycle of a habit:
The Cue, The Routine, The Prize
The first step to having a consistent gym routine is a cue. When I first started going to the gym, I would get home from work, lie in bed for 45 minutes and then go to the gym. For the first week, you really have to push yourself and need to be RELIGIOUS with your schedule. Don’t ever miss it. Don’t be lenient. After 3 weeks of consistently going to the gym at the same time of day, you will have an instinctive urge to go to the gym.
2. The Workout Plan
You’re going to find a lot of crazy, jack of all trades, gym-switcheroo 9000 workout plans. Watch YouTube videos and read about a lot of different workout plans and watch videos of the workouts.
Most workout plans make the plan so complicated that you’d get tired out from just trying to figure out what all those workouts are about! My opinion is to keep it simple and take small steps. Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, Push/Pull/Legs, 5 workouts each gym session hitting the primary muscle groups.
The goal here isn’t to frontload booty-blast you with so many different workouts that you’re just confused and hate it. The point is to ease yourself into it so you can find the beauty in working out.
3. The Reward
Finding your reward in the early stages of the gym tough. I’ve had different techniques to solve this before you see progress.
a) Mint Chocolate Protein Shake after your workout (or your favourite protein shake of your choice)
b) Listen to your favourite music
c) Gaining energy for the day or destressing after work (this reward finds itself quickly if you have a stressful job)
d) Bring a buddy/SO! Having a gym partner is a fantastic way to keep eachother accountable and it’s great quality time
4. Have incremental goals in mind
Having small goals helps you stay commited. Weekly progress of your weight with your workout and meal plan helps a lot to keep at it.
Although, beware of the plateaus that will (and they will) occur. Always have a reward that isn’t just progress. For me, I loved zoning out in the gym and not thinking of any of the stresses in my life. It was me time. My zen.
5. Pre-Game
Having a pre-game routine before you go to the gym is always a great way to get into the mood. I love pounding a pre-workout before the gym and blasting pump up music in the car while I’m on my way to the gym. Others will have a coffee, play a sick rift on their guitar. Any cue that triggers you to say “3,2,1… GO. This is it.” will motivate you to keep consistent and make you consistent in the gym.
6. Keep it simple, stupid
“Keep it simple, stupid”… my favorite saying of all time.
When trying to build a good habit, don’t force yourself to solve a rubrix-cube of workouts and planning and goals for you to even start going to the gym. First start with step 1 stated above. Find a time and stick to it. It’s better to go to the gym for 5 minutes every day than to go once for 2 hours for the month. The whole reason why you’re reading this far is because the hardest part about going to the gym is getting to the gym!
Cody