How to Get Motivated to Go to the Gym

Buying a membership to a gym is a great way to get access to workout equipment, take classes, and meet high-quality fitness trainers. However, many people buy membership cards but rarely use them. To keep yourself motivated to go to the gym more often, you can employ a number of strategies, such as rewarding yourself, connecting with people at the gym, and keeping your gym bag handy.

Table of Contents

Stay motivated through material incentives

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Buy audiobooks and just listen to them at the gym. Studies have shown that committing to only listening to audiobooks at the gym will motivate people to go to the gym more often. Choose an audiobook that you love so that you can really motivate yourself to practice. ^{[1] X Research Source}

If you don’t like listening to audiobooks, you can make a list of movies you want to watch and only allow yourself to watch them while you’re working out, such as while walking on the treadmill or using the treadmill.
You might also consider creating a playlist of songs you only listen to at the gym. Collect songs that you love and commit to listening only during practice.
Or you can replace the audiobook with a radio program to listen to at the gym. Choose fun programs to make your workouts more enjoyable.

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Plan to reward yourself. Knowing that if you work hard, you will be rewarded will also help motivate you to go to the gym. Take the time to design rewards for yourself when you get to the gym a certain number of times a week and a month. ^{[2] X Research Source}

For example, you could reward yourself with a new bottle of lip balm or rent a movie if you go to the gym 5 times a week, or reward yourself with getting a manicure or going to the cinema if you go to the gym 20 times a month.
Choose rewards that can motivate you to strive and commit to receiving them only if you achieve your goal of going to the gym.

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Calculate the cost of not going to the gym. Membership cards of gyms are not cheap, so if you don’t use them, you will waste a good amount of money. If you’ll be more motivated when you’re low on money, spend some time figuring out how much money you’ll lose if you don’t go to the gym or don’t go to the gym regularly. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

For example, your membership card costs 200,000 VND a month, if you don’t go to the gym for a week, you will waste 50,000 VND; if you only go to practice 2 times a month, that means you have to pay 100,000 VND for each exercise.

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Commit to going to the gym or having to give money to charity. If losing an amount greater than the cost of going to the gym will make you go to the gym more actively, try pledging to donate 2,000,000 VND or more to charity if you do not go to the gym enough times. out in a month. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

For example, you could commit to going to the gym 20 times a month or donate VND 2,000,000 to your local animal shelter.
Or, if you think you’ll be more motivated if you’re forced to spend money on something you don’t deserve, you can commit to paying for it if you don’t meet your fitness goals.

Create a positive workout experience

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Think of your biggest motivation to go to the gym. Maybe you want to lose weight to wear better clothes, to be more confident or to be healthier, but these reasons are not specific enough to motivate you. Instead of focusing on those general reasons, find a specific, personal reason that motivates you to go to the gym. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

For example, if you have kids, your motivation might be, “I need to go to the gym regularly to set an example for my son,” or you could think further and tell yourself, “I have to be cool when I hold his hand. The girl went to the ceremony on her wedding day, so I have to go to the gym today.”
You can also use upcoming events to motivate yourself. For example, you could say to yourself, “I wanted to look pretty on the day of my high school reunion for my tenth anniversary, so today I’ll go to the gym.”

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Set goals for yourself. Having realistic fitness goals is a great way to stay motivated to hit the gym regularly. Try setting a gym goal according to the SMART method. SMART stands for 5 qualities: specific, measurable, achievable, result-focused, and time-specific. based). ^{[6] X Research Sources}

For example, your goal might be by the end of next month to reduce your 5km run time to 2 minutes. This is a specific, measurable and achievable goal. You also know clearly when to see results (results-focused) and when to be deadline-based.
You can work towards this goal by running 5km on a treadmill at the gym 3 times a week.

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Do the exercises and join the workout classes you love. Exercising isn’t much fun if you force yourself to do activities you don’t enjoy. Instead, engage in activities you enjoy to make yourself more eager to go to the gym.

Try different classes at the gym, such as cycling, step aerobics, boxing, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT). If you don’t like this class, move on to another class. Alternatively, you can arrive a little early before class starts to interact with everyone and feel like you’ve worked harder.
Use a variety of machines, such as treadmills, step platforms, exercise bikes, and aerial treadmills.
If the gym has a rotational training model, you can try it out and see if that works for you.

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Get to know the trainers and active members at the gym. Spending time talking to coaches and members who go to the gym regularly will make your workouts more enjoyable. This also helps you practice more responsibly because everyone will know if you’re absent. Say “hello” to your trainer and other buddies every time you meet them at the gym, after a few times you can talk and introduce them more about yourself. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

For example, if you run into another member or gym coach on your way to the gym, you might say, “Hi! I’m Nam. Even though I’m a bit lazy today, I still try to practice here. Are you OK?”
You should also find a companion to go with, maybe someone you meet at the gym, or a friend who also needs help getting to the gym more regularly. You can text each other every time you go to the gym during the week or meet up at the gym a few times a week.

Getting ready to go to the gym

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Wear comfortable workout clothes. Confidence in your appearance may seem like the ultimate goal you can aim for by hitting the gym regularly, so wearing your favorite workout clothes from now on will help you stay fit. more motivation to strive. If you’re wearing old clothes and aren’t comfortable going to the gym, you should buy yourself some new workout clothes.

For example, you might buy yourself a new pair of leggings or shorts, a workout shirt or tank top, and a pair of comfortable running shoes.

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Go to bed early to have enough energy for exercise. Feeling tired is the main reason why people quit exercising. To avoid not being able to go to the gym because you are too tired, try to go to bed a little earlier than usual. ^{[8] X Research Source} Even 30 minutes of extra sleep can make a big difference between whether you’ll feel exhausted or energized to hit the gym.

For example, if you usually go to bed at 11:00 pm, try to go to bed at 10:00 or 10:30

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Have your training bag ready. Getting ready to go to the gym right away is also a great way to stay motivated. When everything is ready, you will have less reason to quit. Put your stuff in your gym bag and keep it handy at any time. ^{[9] X Research Source}

For example, if you want to go to the gym after work, leave your gym bag in the car or in the office. Don’t forget to bring a full set of clothes and training shoes, a water bottle, a towel and some snacks.
If you want to go to the gym in the morning before you go to work, you can leave the exercise bag near the door. Put on your workout clothes and put other items in your bag, such as a water bottle, toiletries, towels, and clothes to change into when you go to work.

Steps

Stay motivated through material incentives

Create a positive workout experience

Getting ready to go to the gym

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