There is something about doing an activity on a daily basis that is just repulsive. Waking up early, commuting on the bus, dealing with those customers, and in this case, working out in the gym.
Believe me, I’ve reached multiple points in my experience where I was just going through the motions of the exercise and really not taking it seriously as I should be. As if I just wanted to go through my routine and get out. But I was always found a way to get back on track.
Here are methods I used to reignite the burning passion of lifting things up and putting them down:
- Goal Setting – This is probably the most universally useful method in staying focused in the gym. Always create both long-term and short-term goals so that you can always find yourself achieving a target. When creating a goal, make sure you have a “due date” for that particular goal. It will force you to track your progress and will create a definite end for that goal so that you can create a new goal. Ensure that your goals are very specific in order for you to evaluate on your progress and to realize if you can attain your goal within the target due date.
- Work Out With a Friend – Having a friend with you in the gym can go a long way in motivating you to go to the gym. Both or a group of you can help each other out in exercises, encourage each other, and lastly it is just a more relaxing environment when you are in a intimidating place like the gym when you have someone familiar by your side.
- Music – Music can do amazing things for you in the gym. Keeps you focused to the task at hand, ignore all the foolish banter that you unfortunately hear while in the gym, you get to listen to your music as opposed to the gym’s radio (on one occasion, Arms of An Angel by Sarah McLachlan was playing while I was lifting weights, it seriously killed the mood), and personally, it feels as if I am all alone and that everything I do in the gym is for my own health and not for anyone’s acceptance.
- Watch video clips – there is something amazing when you watch an inspiring video. It just makes you feel like you can run a hundred miles or lift a tree over your head (neither of which I am encouraging unless it is a hundred miles within a span of 1 year or a tree 2 weeks old). One of the best videos in the internet is a scene from the movie “Rocky Balboa” where Rocky gives his son an inspirational speech about how you have got to keep fighting even if people already counted you out. For those of you who know what I’m talking about, you can relate on how it gave you shivers listening to it. For those who have not watched it, you got some homework to do on YouTube. The reason I will not be embedding it into this post is that once you search for that video, a slew of amazing motivational videos will show up as well.
This concludes the post for today. Hopefully, you found ways in enjoying the gym as I have when using these methods. In my future posts, I will be writing about some of these topics but in a more detailed and personal matter (I listen to Taylor Swift while deadlifting 365 pounds?!). Until then, use what you have learned today and apply it in the gym. It truly helps!
“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. That surrender, even the smallest act of giving up, stays with me. So when I feel like quitting, I ask myself, which would I rather live with?”
― Lance Armstrong, It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life
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