There are going to be days when you simply don’t feel like exercising. You know, the days where you look outside and can’t imagine going for that run. The days where you see that gym bag at the front door, but the trek to the gym and back seems way too daunting. Especially in the beginning when you are first starting to exercise, these are the days where you are trying to cross the chasm from: doing something because you feel like you should do it but don't enjoy it, to something you enjoy doing every day and look forward to as much as you might currently enjoy watching television. This is a critical time in your transformation. You need to convert something that is hard work and extra effort, to something that is habit.
So when you don’t feel like doing any exercise, these are the days you need to power through. So how do we do it?
Make It A Quick Workout
You don’t need more than 20 minutes a day to get some sweat out of your body and pushing yourself into an elevated heart rate. For me I found the Turbofire HITT workouts work the best on the days I don’t feel like working out. These are not easy workouts, don’t get me wrong by reading the “quick” part. These workouts will give you a one minute “give it everything you’ve got” workout, and then give you a small break before doing it all over again. Chalene has four different HITT workouts, a 15 minute, 20 minute, 25 minute, and 30 minute HITT. Just pick the one you want to power out and get it done!
The other thing you can do is just go for a quick run, or a quick bike ride, but for some people that might be a little too much effort to put in. Honestly, the easiest thing is to pop in a dvd and hit the play button.
Reward Yourself
The days you don’t feel like working out, you are probably also thinking about eating something not that great for your body. Maybe it’s a donut, maybe it’s a grilled cheese sandwich. Tell yourself “Self, once I finish that twenty minute workout, I will eat that grilled cheese sandwich, but not before.” By telling yourself this one little sentence, your brain will start associating pleasure with working out, instead of pain. This may seem like a simple trick, but it works remarkably well. You have to learn to use your brain to help you get into shape, not hurt you.
Upgrade The Reward to a True Reward
The wonderful thing about once you finish a workout, is your body will start craving good foods. This happens for many reasons. For one, your brain says “Hey, you just worked so hard, don’t ruin it with that junk food.” And secondly, your brain says “Give me some awesome fuel to repair my muscles and recovery quickly.” Donuts and soda do not repair anything, so your body will naturally want to stay away from these processed foods with zero nutritional value.
This might mean that you forget that donut, and start looking at that tasty after workout shake. Maybe you add some milk instead of water, and pack in some ice cubes for an extra treat.
Final Fitness Thoughts
If you want to set yourself up for success and truly want to lose weight, you need to be ready for the days you don't feel like exercising You need to have the DVD ready so you don't waist time. So many times I talk to people that tell me they spend more time thinking about why they should or shouldn't workout, that had they simply just worked out, they would have been done the workout by now.
Stay fit my friends!
