The HARDEST thing is getting out the door (guest post).

by

rsz_screen_shot_2014-05-06_at_50341_am

SPRING has SPRUNG in Oakland.

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere the days are starting to get longer and warmer but at an infuriatingly slow rate.  

The rush of New Year’s resolutioners has subsided and the vast majority have now fallen by the wayside.

There is more space in the gym, but you might be finding that motivation is dwindling.  The necessity to train in the morning in order to relax in the afternoon just compounds this dilemma…we have all been there; snuggled up under a perfectly warm blanket as you repeatedly snooze a very irritating alarm.

Not all is lost though!  

As per the title the hardest thing is getting out the door but there are some other tips that I have found useful in this strange limbo time between a sometimes cold Spring and the Summer.

It is coming so all you need to do is hang on..

Don’t Hesitate

I personally find that snoozing your alarm, or having a little sit down on a sofa before going to the gym is the equivalent of spending too long on the edge of a cliff (or diving board) contemplating whether to take the plunge.

Hesitate for too long and it will just not happen.

I find it beneficial to not give yourself the chance to hesitate.  Admittedly this is much harder in the morning!  If you train after work I would advise getting into the practice of arriving home, dumping your bags, getting changed and out the door.  Preferably within 10 minutes.  After all, the more you hesitate the later you will get back and the less ‘free time’ you will have after your workout.

Trust me it is a tried and proven method, especially if your workout involves running outdoors in the rain.  No hesitation allowed.

Enjoy Yourself

My personal number one rule.

Life is too short.

Sport is there to be enjoyed, so have fun.

If you aren’t enjoying it, but still want to be active, then reassess what you are doing and make a change.  I got tired of going to the gym and waiting for people to finish sets in order to use whatever machine or weights I was scheduled to use….so I decided to give yoga a go.  Okay, so I am probably the worst yogi in Europe but I find it challenging and I enjoy it.  So I do it.  I also found that I wasn’t particularly enjoying swimming in a crowded 25m pool so I did some research, bought a wetsuit and now swim outdoors in a 50m pool.  Much less crowded….much more enjoyable.  Although the no hesitation rule is that much more important when jumping into cold water!

Get a Buddy

Some people like to train alone.  That is their prerogative.  However, getting a buddy to train with you will help to make those more monotonous sessions more interesting.

We are social creatures so why not incorporate that into your training sessions?  Joining a masters swimming class, yoga class or spin class can also aid with motivation (especially if you have paid for it!).
Finally, and this really harks back to the point about enjoying yourself.

Remember that it is your choice to keep fit.

Sessions can sometimes be tough and inevitably there will be moments when you are in quite a bit of discomfort.  This is to be expected.  The endorphins coursing through your veins at the end of a session far outweigh the pain.  Sport is fun and enjoyable.  So don’t let it get on top of you.  Know that you will feel substantially better after a tough session than if you spent the hour sitting in your work clothes feeling sorry for yourself on the sofa.

 

  • How have you found motivation when you’ve struggled to get yourself out the door?

 

 

A little extract from the mind of Dan Millington, an amateur triathlete, wannabe pro surfer and personal trainer at Be A Better You.

 

 

 

POSTS BY EMAIL

Never miss a post. Enter your email to get my latest posts delivered to your inbox.

Comments

  3. I definitely have to get out the door before I think about it. I try to have everything packed and ready to go!

  4. I put my running bra on when I get up. It acts as a constant reminder that I need to get out there… (And I know once I run, I can shower and put on a regular bra LOL)

  7. I think it helps to really have something you love waiting for you when you get out that door, whatever it might be! (running here)

  8. Welp, sadly my problems run deeper today. I’m struggling to get my butt up off this chair so I can get me a drink of water. Surely I will become hydrated today through the fault of pure laziness.

  9. If it is cold and wintery that is when I have to have everything packed the night before and ready. Then in the morning it is get up, get dressed and get out as fast a possible. I am often sorting myself out on the front porch as a result. I also often end up brushing my hair and teeth at the gym as well.

  10. Even though I love running, the only way I’m going to get it done is if I get up and go. Right away, no time to think twice about. Which is why the afternoon strength training, yoga, etc. are pretty haphazard.

  12. The days are getting longer and the kids will be out of school for the summer in just a few weeks. This means that if I’m going to get me workouts in, they will need to occurs first thing in the morning. Most think I’m crazy that my alarm goes off at 3:30 am, but it works for me. And I love the body and energy that my lifestyle has given me.

  13. On days when I just don’t want to go run, I tell myself that it is okay to only go for 5 minutes and turn around, but that it’s not okay to skip. If I go for 5 minutes and turn around, I have 10 minutes done, which is better than nothing. Most of the time, by 5 minutes in I’m having fun, but if not, I really mean it — I can quit. It’s happened a couple of times, especially in crummy weather. Having the option to bail early makes it easier to get out the door.

  15. I find the best motivation is to have a workout buddy and to schedule when you’ll exercise together. I don’t want to let down my bud, so it makes me stick to the plan much better.

  16. Motivation is also the reason why people are going to gym and join a group of exercisers.

    Being honest who doesn’t know that being physically active is crucial to our health? Everybody knows it. Why than we don’t do it? It’s because we lack discipline and motivation.

    A fittness trainer will yell at you if he sees that you are giving up. That’s what people need. A kick in the but to keep going.

  17. Why are you listening what other people say? Enjoy yourself and do whatever you want and get outside. I like your story.

  18. (Sorry, I’m delinquent with my blog reading…)
    I usually don’t have motivation troubles and I think it’s because I do exactly this! My alarm goes off and I get up and moving before my body and brain have the chance to figure out what’s going on. 😉
    There have been a few very frigid winter mornings when I fully awoke in the midst of donning my 57 layers of running clothes and I thought to myself: this is too much work. I’d like to go back to bed. But then thought: I’m already half dressed, might as well just go. 🙂

Trackbacks

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This