The Motivation to Workout

It's been a long day and you're tired and bored of sitting in meetings all day and going home is looking more and more appealing versus going to the gym for a few hours. I get asked all the time how I manage to make it to the gym when I have so many other things going on in my life. To me, it's a question of motivation and rationale for wanting to go. It's also a case of simple economics. I began working out full time during my last year in my undergraduate studies in college. At that time I had access to the campus gym which was a new facility filled with the latest equipment and the best features. We had a large pool, an indoor running track and loads of equipment. Plus at the times I went (either mid-morning when I didn't have class or early afternoons before even classes let out) I usually got to use all the equipment I wanted without having to wait a long time to get on. At the time I was going to campus anyways so I used to keep my gym clothes with me and then go to the gym after class on the way back home. That time, it was easy to get motivated and seeing as how my last few semesters were not too strenuous in terms of time or study commitments, I was able to workout a lot.

For a lot of people that motivation comes from seeing success and realizing goals in your workout. For most people who go to the gym, losing weight is the primary motivation. I know that in my case, that was my primary motivation. I was probably borderline obese or at least out of shape enough to know that I was taking the quick route to a major coronary or other health issue if I didn't change track quick. While issues like heart disease and all were not at the very forefront of my mind I still knew that I wanted to reduce my weight and get in better shape. By the time I finished my final year I had dropped more than fifty pounds and was in far better shape than I had been in a long time.

The main question that people ask is how long did it take me and when I tell them that it took me personally about seven months. Upon hearing that most people assume that from the time I started working out to the end, I was losing a steady stream of weight and that's not the case. During the first few weeks that I was working out, I never saw any results. I would workout regularly and fairly intensely but the initial results were disappointing. I used to work out about three times a week (and walk every day) and by the end of the week, I would have lost about a pound of weight. After the weekend, I would come back and weigh myself only to find that the weight had either returned or that I had gained back more weight. It was frustrating and I couldn't figure out why it was taking so long.

I cut back on my intake of food while still maintaining a balanced meal plan. I never skipped meals completely but I did reduce the amount I took in. I determined that to lose the weight efficiently I had to 'take out' more than I was putting in. By the end of the first month I had finally reached a point where I would lose a pound or so a week and then keep it off during the weekend as well. If I hadn't kept going then I probably wouldn't have continued to work out the way I did. Getting to that point was the hardest part though. I can understand why most people lose the motivation to go to the gym after not seeing results. Many people think there is some miracle weightloss program in your body that kicks in every time you go to the gym. Unfortunately the only miracle program I know of is you.

You only get out of your workout whatever you put in. If you are walking along at a snail's pace on an extremely slow treadmill and then guzzling down a soda to get a quick energy boost you are putting in more than you're likely taking out. This is a common thing I notice about people who come to the gym shortly after heavy intake holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's. At those times of year you suddenly see an influx of people who join and then workout beyond normal limits to the point that they hurt themselves or don't see results and then just quit altogether. Most trainers I have spoken to don't ever tell you that you have to train your body to start burning fat. They do great jobs of pushing you and getting you into the fitness mode but very few ever told me that it is hard work.

I have been working out for several years now and though my weight has fluctuated a bit in the past few years, I haven't returned to the shape I was in my early college days which is a good thing. I look at those old pictures of myself and can't recognize the face looking back at the camera. Watching old videos and seeing old pictures makes me realize that I don't want to be back in that shape ever again. I want to keep pushing myself and keep pushing past the next plateau so that I stay in shape. For those of you out there who may have stumbled upon this page while looking for advice about joining a gym or going to a gym, believe me when I say that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Don't expect to lose weight in a week starting in your first week but stick with it and you'll see results soon enough.