I’ve contemplated writing about this topic for quite a while now as something I regularly get asked is, “how do I get motivated to go to the gym?”.

And the truth is, I actually HATE this question. I hate this word. I hate this concept.

Why?

In my opinion, motivation is complete BS!!! (at least in terms of working out)

I can’t say that I’ve EVER EVER EVER been motivated to go to the gym.

“Yay I’m so happy to go destroy my muscles and be in physical distress for an hour!”

-Said me, never. (does my face look happy here👇?)

It’s never been about motivation for me and here’s why I believe it shouldn’t be for you either.

If you have a goal you want to accomplish, let’s say losing 15 lbs of fat and gaining 5 lbs of muscle, THAT IS THE MOTIVATION?!?!

This is the literal reason WHY you are going to the gym in the first place (and I’m not saying you need a gym to accomplish your goals, but this is the question I get asked so we are focusing on it).

The why is your motivation. Your why has to be strong enough to give you that initial push to get started.

From there, discipline will have to take over at some point.

How the heck else are you going to achieve your goal without taking the necessary steps to do so?

You’re not.

So you need to –

1. Establish a workout routine and nutrition schedule that aligns with your goal
2. Schedule regular times to do these things
3. Do these things

It really is quite simple in concept.

The problem is not that you’re not motivated, it’s that you don’t prioritize the gym likely because your “why” isn’t strong enough.

(oh my god, did she just say that?)

I’m not saying you don’t care about your goal at all, I’m just saying its not towards the top of your priority list.

If there’s no fire or desire to get it done, you’re not going to get it done.

You can’t force anyone (including yourself) to do something they don’t want to.

For example your “why” might just be that you want to feel better for yourself.

Totally valid.

For someone else, it might be because they suffer from bad family history, their parents died young and they are unable to play/keep up with their children currently.

For them, their “why” goes a lot deeper. It’s a lot stronger.

They are much more likely to get into the gym than the first person and stick with it. Again, the gym is not needed but the question I get asked revolves specifically about getting to the gym.

How to get it done

The goal you set for yourself has to be something that you 100% deep down want to accomplish so badly that it leaves you with no option but to go out and do the things you need to do to get it done.

That is how you gain “motivation”.

By setting a goal that you desire SO deeply that you don’t think twice about doing what you need to do.

For many people, they set goals for themselves that are very casual or sound good in theory.

Of course most women, in theory, would love to look amazing, have a flat stomach, thick thighs and a nice booty.

In practice though, probably about 10% of women are willing to prioritize time to get it done or have a “why” that’s strong enough (and no this isn’t a dig at women, just the example was more geared to women as I don’t think many men are looking to build a booty lol).

It all depends on what you place value (or high priority) on as everybody has a different life.

Most people would rather go out with friends, eat super high calorie meals and drink opposed to spending 1 hour at the gym.

Most people would rather sit in the house and watch Netflix or scroll through Tik Tok for 1 hour opposed to spending 1 hour at the gym.

Most people would rather go through a drive thru and get something quick (and generally not healthy or great on calories & macros) opposed to meal prepping or cooking throughout the day.

Are you getting the trend?

It’s lack of priority.

AND that’s okay if you don’t want to prioritize it or if you feel you can’t prioritize it right now.

For some, they may have family lives that don’t allow time to go to the gym. For example, not being able to find or afford a sitter for their kids.

This is a case where the gym just may not be for you at this time, which again, is totally fine.

Home workouts are the way to go! You simply cannot tell me you cant find a pair of dumbbells (or even use bodyweight) and spare just 30 minutes a few times a week to get in/stay in shape.

If you’re not liking my advice thus far, I’m just giving you my perspective on it as you asked in the first place.

I understand life is busy, some people work endless hours, have bills to pay, families to take care of and you may be thinking “why should I take advice from this 26 year old single girl who has nothing to care for”.

That’s valid. I wouldn’t be offended if you thought that way.

All I’m saying is that I run multiple businesses, have side gigs, take care of 2 dogs (I know they aren’t children but they can be a handful for sure), and pay a mortgage and all of my own bills. Yes, I do have a flexible schedule to go to the gym because I’m self employed but that doesn’t mean I’m not busy or it’s easy for me to get in there.

I know for an absolute fact that if I worked 100 hours a week at a 9-5 type job, had 4 kids, a husband, and whatever the heck else was going on, I would still make time to go to the gym (or at least workout even if it’s at home) because it ranks so high on my priority list.

Some may call that selfish. I would agree. To me personally, I come first. My health is most important. Without my health, I wouldn’t (hypothetically) be able to be the best version of myself for my job, my husband, my kids, etc.

And there are plenty of people who actually live lives like this such entrepreneurs, business owners, CEO’s of large companies, small companies, etc.

Again, it’s all about what you prioritize as a person.

Some people rank their kids, husband and work over their own health and that is TOTALLY FINE!

Not everybody needs to be the same.

Everything you want to accomplish in life has to become high priority and there are only so many things you can make high priority at a time.

Even if you’re extremely busy, if you want it bad enough, you make time to exercise, meal prep or buy prep, etc.

I used to go to college full time, work an internship, and a part time job on the weekends and still made time to go to the gym. This was actually when I was first starting my journey so you can’t tell me I was “already in the rhythm”.

I just wanted it really bad and that meant waking up earlier than I wanted or going to bed later than I wanted to fit in exercise. It was high priority.

I am also by no means suggesting a super hardcore workout or nutrition routine or sacrificing your mental health as if your life is already stressful, making time for the gym can also add to the stress (but in a lot of cases it can also be a great stress relief tool).

You know your limits and your schedule. Do what you can within those limits.

If the gym doesn’t fit in your schedule, please don’t just shun exercise completely from your life.

Find ways to exercise that are outside of the gym whether its home workouts, walks, etc.

A personal story

I’ll be the first to say that I used to be the LAZIEST person to exist through my middle/high school years.

I was truly known as the “lazy” girl. Except, I played a lot of sports so…

I’m sure you can conclude that it didn’t work out well for me. Coaches didn’t love me lol.

And why was I lazy?

Because I didn’t want to be there.

I didn’t like it enough.

It wasn’t worth my energy. It wasn’t a priority.

In theory, I liked sports a lot. I was always athletic. I was always reasonably good at most sports I played. I had raw talent.

I didn’t care to nurture it though.

I didn’t like playing at a high level.

I didn’t (and still don’t) have a super competitive nature within me.

It wasn’t fun for me.

Fast forward (lord knows how many years) and I’m back to playing sports.

This time, at a much less competitive level.

I play coed softball 2-3x a week.

I LOVE IT.

It’s fun. I enjoy it.

It’s way more of a priority for me now than it was in my early years.

Why?

Because I truly want to show up and be there. My “why” is strong. I enjoy it, it’s fun.

And sure, I’m still “lazy” or don’t prioritize a lot of things to this day.

Generally, things I don’t like to do or care to do which is pretty normal.

EX: folding laundry. I’ll literally leave the clothes in the dryer for 4 days or until I’m forced to fold them to put a new load in there. I’d rather sit on the couch and do absolutely nothing than fold laundry.

It’s part of life. There will always be things you’re not willing to prioritize.

You get to choose what you want to prioritize or not though.

As I said, one thing I’ll always prioritize is exercising.

I make sure I schedule my gym days and show up (even if I don’t want to).

I make sure I’m active throughout the day or go for walks (even if I don’t want to).

I’m definitely still lazy about some things in my exercise routine itself and that may never change.

For example, I never do high intensity exercises or high intensity cardio.

Why?

I dread the crap out of it. It makes me miserable. I don’t find I particularly have to do it for any reason (at least at this time in my life).

I’m also lazy about my food choices sometimes too. It’s just not a super high priority for me personally to be eating 100% extremely clean all the time.

Meaning I find prepackaged things, eat out or eat things that are “quick” or on the go.

I still make sure to track everything though, eat enough protein and come close to my calorie goal.

And i’ve been doing this for YEARS.

MyFitnessPal kindly reminded me the other day that it’s the 1000th consecutive day I’ve logged in.

These are things I will always prioritize in my life because I know I need to keep it in line or I will 100% go wild with my diet which is something I quite fear to be honest and have motivation to never get to that point.

I’m by no means suggesting that you have to do all of this as well, but it’s just to give you some personal examples.

I hope you take away something from these stories of mine (or side rants you can call them) and relate them directly to your fitness goal.

You want something? Go get it.

If you’re struggling to “go get it”, set a different goal or take a different path.

You subconsciously don’t want it enough if you’re not able to find a way to get it done.

Sure, you might be “motivated” for a day, a week or maybe even a month.

But this is only temporary.

NOBODY is ever always motivated.

Discipline always wins this battle.

So again, how to “stay motivated” aka how to gain discipline –

1. Establish a workout routine and nutrition schedule that aligns with your goal
2. Schedule regular times to do these things
3. Do these things

I don’t want to hear no if, ands or but(t)s!

If you’re someone that has a goal that you want to accomplish at a deep level, but you’re just unsure of the necessary steps you need to take:

1. Check out my post on how to make your own workouts
2. Check out my post on how to calculate your calories and macros
3. Seek additional help if necessary

I have 2 spots remaining in the month of March to work with you 1:1.

You can apply here.

Until next time,

Coach Emily