We’ve all heard of ‘yo-yo dieters’ but the ‘yo-yo gym-goer’ is no different.
There are plenty of people out there who have lost all motivation, purpose and desire to bother working out and the reason, or reasons, for this lack of ‘get up and go’ are a lot more common than you think.
Well, I hate to break it to you, but when it comes to achieving the best results possible, consistency is key – so you really do need to keep going if you want to see a real transformation.
So why does this happen? Why does your burst of motivation for working out end before you’ve even started? Being in good shape is not just about your physical appearance but it’s a natural way to keep you healthy, so why isn’t this enough to keep you going?
Before you go and beat yourself up about your failed attempts to not only jump on the fitness bandwagon but to stay on it, here are five reasons why you may not be bursting with joy when you arrive at the gym.
1. Not Seeing The Results
There is nothing more soul destroying than plucking up the courage and the energy to get yourself back into the gym but then after weeks, months or even years of sticking to it, the only thing you seem to have lost is your time.
If you’re not seeing the results that made you start working out in the first place, it will soon be very difficult to have a reason to keep going – and that’s completely normal. Progression is vital when it comes to motivation, after all, why else would you do it?
If you’re not noticing any fat loss, muscle gains or even just ‘feeling’ better you will most likely not want to bother.
It’s important to take note of any progression you make. By tracking your workouts, you can see how you’re progressing in the gym and rather than standing on the scales, try taking photos.
That doesn’t mean you have to put them anywhere – just keep them for yourself so you can look back and literally see your progress in the gym. And if you don’t notice any changes, whether it’s your strength or your physical appearance…maybe what you’re doing isn’t right for you and it’s worth asking for help.
2. Getting Bored
There are many of you out there who find the gym quite simply ‘boring’, and I can guarantee that the majority of you will say it’s the type of training that bores you (been there).
Now it could be that you’ll only ever be happy jumping off cliffs, riding camels or rollerblading on the Alps, but it could be that it isn’t the exercises that bore you, but the fact that you’re not seeing the results from said exercises.
The point I’m trying to make is that once you have a plan that works for you, exercises that are suitable for your goals and a programme that you’re actually getting results from…that will be when you’ll start to enjoy it.
Let’s think about it; no-one likes lifting dumbbells because they enjoy the motion – they do it for the buzz they get after smashing their personal bests or noticing muscle appearing in places they didn’t know they even had muscle. It’s the buzz of achieving something that you go for – it’s the progression.
3. Not Knowing What To Do
You’ve decided it’s time to get back into the gym. You’ve got your gym kit ready to train after work; you’re psyched, and you’re feeling good at your new-found motivation…then you get to the gym, and you have no idea whatsoever what to do now you’re there.
So you do what you think is ‘the norm’ and try out the treadmill, maybe do some rowing and, if you’re really feeling it, the cross trainer.
Now before you think I’m about to knock your effort, that’s not the case. However, there will come a time where that routine will not only bore you after some time, but you could be over-doing it with the cardio, you could also pick up a few niggles, and the likelihood is that you’ll not notice any real benefits from all of your efforts.
Where will this leave you? Back on the sofa.
4. Not Knowing Why You’re Doing It
To put it very bluntly, a goal of ‘wanting to lose some weight’ will never be enough of a reason not only to keep going but to keep going consistently.
Don’t get me wrong; there will be days when you find yourself ‘buzzing’ to get to the gym and workout – which is just great.
But then there’s the ‘other days’, what I’d like to call ‘the dark days’ – these dark days will be when you’ve had a stressful day at work, the days when the last thing you want to do is cook a healthy meal or when your alternative to going to the gym is to watch your favourite episode on Netflix.
Those are the days when your goal of going to the gym because you feel you have to, won’t be enough of a reason.
Setting the right goal will give you more motivation than you can ever imagine.
5. Being Too Busy
One of the most common excuses (yes, it is just an excuse) for not working out is not having the time.
And yes. If you’re not seeing the results, if you don’t enjoy it, if you don’t know what you’re doing or why you’re doing it; there’s certainly plenty of things you could be doing that are worth much more of your time – let’s all agree on that one.
The great thing is, no one is asking you to give up your whole life to the gym. Despite what you may think, those incredible results we show you are usually done with an average of three personal training sessions a week. That’s three hours out of 168, which you can definitely live without; especially when you will be reaping in every benefit under the sun.
You might be ‘too busy’ for the gym but are you too busy to be able to physically keep up with your kids? Are you too busy to stop feeling down about the way you look and feel? Are you too busy to go on holiday and feel good about it?
The gym isn’t just the gym and the sooner you realise that, the sooner you’ll know why you’re going. A personal trainer from Ultimate Performance can tell you what to do, they can tell you why you’re doing it, they can also tell you awesome you’re doing and they can show you the results.
Now are you ready to start working out?
