5 Ways to Make Sure You Lose Your Gym Motivation
We all have those days when we just have nothing more to give– we’ve spent all of our energy and nothing sounds more glorious than a nap, followed by bedtime. Netflix and games on our phones are used for hours on end. Yet, we somehow never made it to the gym after wasting hours doing…. literally nothing. Play your cards right, and ‘those days’ becomes your life in general. Disinterest becomes a regular way of life.
Follow these simple steps and you can do your best to ensure that you never make it to a single day of the gym. Break these rules and you might just get some motivation.
Ways to Avoid Gym Motivation
Remember to take notes on each of these to fully get the most out of your avoidance of motivation.
- Over caffeinate. I have my two cups of coffee every morning. Should I miss these miraculous cups, my students are sure to note the supposed difference in my demeanor and beg me to grab one. I also have Amino energy in the afternoon as a pick me up. It’s all about timing and amount. Two cups of coffee is the max you should be drinking on a regular day. I wait until I get to work to have my first cup, because it can make me more exhausted if it’s the first thing on my stomach. I also avoid having anymore cups of coffee from lunch on, as it can make that afternoon crash a 13-car pile up. A boost in the morning is fine but constantly having a caffeine to fix the crash from the last caffeine creates a cycle that only ends when you go to bed.
- Give yourself an out. “If I don’t go to the gym today, I can always go for twice as long tomorrow.” As soon as you walk yourself to that option, you begin to check out. This is the same scenario we play in the morning when we try to mentally calculate how much longer we can stay in bed. Those calculations are never accurate and the same is true of the outs we give ourselves for the gym. Let’s be real…. you will never go for twice as long the next gym day. But you presented yourself with an option for not having to go. Give yourself the option, and you’ll end up in pajamas every time.
- Prepare for vegetation. Be unprepared for the gym, and you will end up missing the gym. Prepare for the gym, and you’re more likely to go. Pack your gym bag and bring it with you. Have gym clothes with you, including shoes, socks, hair ties…. anything you might need. Plan on drinking the pre-workout as soon as you get in the car, so you can go directly to the gym. I bring a snack to eat on my way along with the pre-workout so I’m not too hungry during the workout. Prepare to go to the gym and not to go home.
- Prepare your meals for an afternoon nap. I try to eat the majority of my carbs during the first half of the day. There are no hard and heavy rules, but be intentional about your carb-protein ratio. What this looks like is whether you are maintaining your weight, adding muscle or losing fat. You also have to know your body– there are certain foods that make me bloated (dairy, but only some– yogurt but not cottage cheese). If I’m feeling bloated, I’m going to go down for a nap. There are also foods that increase metabolism and energy by acting as natural thermogenics (I’ll save the PowerPoint lecture for later, but just know that those equal fat burning qualities). Red bell pepper, red pepper and other delicious spicy foods are going to be stronger in thermogenics.
- Eliminate any goals that require motivation. When I really don’t want to hit the gym hard, I lower my expectations. Small goals are much easier to accomplish. If you want to hit those bigger goals, you would have no option but to rise to the challenge.
Follow my directions and you can make sure you never hit up the gym and you stay in the funk. Or, you can be quite the little rebel and get your act together. How do YOU avoid motivation? Let me know!
