Work Out Motivation!

It’s 6pm. You’re hungry, you’re tired, and you are just leaving work now to experience a lengthy commute home. The LAST thing you want to do is go the gym – like, ummmmmm you’re tired. And you can’t go to the gym hungry! But the dilemma at hand is that you can’t go to the gym after you eat either…. And your stomach was bothering you earlier. And you hurt your back this weekend. And you have blisters covering your feet. Oh, and it’s RAINING. No, no – wait… it’s way too hot!

Okay, please stop complaining! The more you complain, the least likely you will be to go. The excuses you have been brewing up in your head are not only completely mental, but will ruin your work out schedule for the week and beyond! In fact, you could definitely go to the gym. Maybe you really are tired… but guess what? Working out wakes you up! Blister pain goes away – run through it. Hunger ALSO passes, but you can definitely plan an eating schedule to hold yourself over until after the gym. OR you could digest your dinner, and go to the gym later that night. Excuses, excuses = no good.

However, if you start to feel a pain in the back of your ankle while running, stop. If you don’t, you will get achilles tendonitis and you will not be able to run for 4-6 weeks. It happened to me. And I can’t run or do anything that involves intensely using my left foot (except stretching it). So I pity those of you who will not go to the gym for the wrong reasons! Put your membership to good use – because, uh, you PAY for it – and get your butt to the gym! Not getting the right motivation from your peers? Well here you go…

You might run into our ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriend walking down the street, at the gym, at a restaurant, or on the train. You really never know who you are going to see… And you should always look good, as you are a 20 something and you are better than everyone else.

You are depressed. Working out always makes you happy. Even if you are already happy, working out will put you in a much better mood. Don’t use “depression” and “sadness” or the fact you had a “bad day” as an excuse not to work out – you will feel much better when you do. And I guarantee that you will be HAPPY after the fact (unless you hurt your Achilles).

It’s summer – and you have to be in a bathing suit this weekend. Duh, you need to work out. You have to look as good as possible, as quick as possible – and that doesn’t mean starving yourself. It means getting toned and looking healthy. And there’s no better way to do that than working out at the gym.

You can eat and drink more if you work out more. Okay, maybe you don’t pay attention to your calorie intake or what you’re eating… but if you work out, you can actually eat more food without gaining weight. You might even lose weight. Everyone enjoys at least some kinds of food – and most people certainly enjoy binge drinking… so why not work out so you can eat and drink more?

Taking a day off can lead to another day off… and another day off… and then another day off. Even if you say it won’t and you’ll be back tomorrow – you will BREAK your routine if you don’t go! And yeah, you won’t find it as big of a deal to take the next day off (or the day after that). So if you aren’t on your death bed and you don’t have an injury – no excuses.

Breaking your routine can bring you back to where you started. No one wants to start back at square one after you’ve worked so hard to get so far! Don’t lose your shape – you need to continue getting more in shape. Even taking a weekend off running can hurt you.

The girl next to you on the treadmill ran further and faster than you yesterday. You have to show her up! If you break your routine, before you know it you won’t be able to run as much as you used to! And you will look like an idiot who is in horrible shape (no, no one will actually think of you that way – except super judgemental people such as myself – but if you think they do, then you will have more motivation).