I'm really lazy and struggle mightily to make it to the gym. How do I develop the motivation to start (or continue) with an exercise program if I've always been a couch potato? Where does motivation to work out come from, and where can I get it?
-- Charlie Katz, loving father, respected clinical psychologist, Nordic-Trac enthusiast
This is a major issue that we all struggle with, so I'll spend some time going over ways to make it easier. Everyone I know suffers from feelings of laziness and lethargy to some degree. When we are busy with schoolwork and our social lives, it can become a real challenge to make it to the gym. I have a few ways of trying to combat this problem.
The first, and probably most important, is to create a time for yourself when you "go to the gym." If you have a specific time marked off in your schedule to get down there, chances are you'll have a good workout. Pretend it's a class - one where your attendance counts towards your grade. For most people, the hardest part is actually making their way into the fitness center. Once they get there, it's a lot easier to get a workout in.
Second, have reasonable expectations. If you are just starting out on a workout program, don't try to go seven days a week. Make your goals easily achievable at first, such as going to the gym twice a week for an hour at a time. It may not seem like much, but two workouts a week can have a real affect on someone who currently doesn't workout. Once this becomes a normal part of your schedule, try adding another workout every week. Don't overwhelm yourself by diving in headfirst. If you've been going to the gym every day, it's a lot easier to get burnt out quickly and stop altogether. The key is to start a consistent program that allows you to work out and also enjoy the rest of your life.
If your struggles lie with motivating yourself, get a workout buddy. Find a friend who has similar workout goals and go to the gym together. When you don't feel like doing anything besides sitting on your butt, your workout partner will force you to stop being a bum and go to the gym. Another thing that will help with motivation is seeing results - when your pants feel looser or your arms look bigger, going to the gym becomes more exciting. Focus on making consistent, gradual gains with every workout. Keep a log of what you are doing so that you can do better each time.
Another way to get a workout in is to avoid the fitness center altogether. If you hate jogging on a treadmill or repeatedly lifting heavy metal objects, find a sport you like and do that. Go play pickup basketball, or join an intramural soccer team. Do pushups and situps in your room. One of my housemates (who has 6.5 percent body fat) bought a pull up bar for his doorway and uses that all the time. The main thing to focus on is getting you moving around and working up a sweat. Exercise doesn't have to take place in a weight room, so try to find something that makes you interested, and get moving.
I go to the gym a fair amount, but I've never been formally trained in what exactly to do there. Is there a particular order that I should put my exercises in? Does it even matter?
-- Pat Manahan, creator of the game 'Pat Cocktails'
A rule to live by is to always work out bigger muscles first. If you are going to do a back/biceps workout, do your back exercises first and then progress to biceps. The reason for this is that biceps are accessory muscles for your back exercises and working them out first will fatigue them for the back workout. If the accessory muscles are already tired, it will limit the amount that you can lift with the larger muscles. Don't worry about fatiguing the accessory muscles before you isolate them. Even though they will be tired and you'll be lifting less, the quality of your workout will be unaffected.
A way to get around this is not to work two similar muscle groups in the same workout. Instead of back/biceps, do chest/back. You can hit your arms later in the week, after they have recovered from the previous workout. You'll be able to lift more weight, do more sets, and it may feel like a more concentrated workout on those muscles.
