How To Stay Motivated To Reach Your Goal In The Gym
Going to the gym every day can be a challenge and not seeing results immediately is discouraging. My entire life I have been involved in some sort of sport and after coming to college I had a hard time finding working out fun. I wasn’t sure what I was doing in the gym and felt intimated by all the people that would be working out around me. If I didn’t see results I would stop going and felt like it would magically happen off of a diet or some weight loss supplements. It took years for me to stay motivated to reach my goals in the gym but if you’re having trouble here are some tips that may help you.
Having A Gym Partner
Having the same schedule as a friend or family member may not always work out but making an effort to go with someone will make you hold each other accountable. My roommate and I started our fitness journey by doing short jump rope HIIT workouts, for those of you just starting out HIIT workouts are high-intensity interval training workouts. We worked out for 2-3 days a week for 30 minutes at first and scheduled what times we could both workout without each other. Eventually, we increased the number of times we went to the gym and how long we would workout for. Cardio is a great way to burn fat faster but it’s also important to incorporate some weight training. The first month is the hardest because although you can work hard in the gym you may not see results. Having someone to go to the gym with me helped me stay motivated and get into a routine of going to the gym.
Eating Clean
Don’t get me wrong I love to go out to eat or order food when I have a busy day but eating clean is the essential part of becoming healthier. If you eat out on a daily basis some of the food may not be that great for you and can cause you to feel sluggish. If I eat a burger and fries I am more likely to skip the gym and lay in bed all day binge-watching my favorite show or watching youtube videos. When I eat better my body has more energy and I have a healthy mindset which allows me to push myself in the gym. I pick a day of the week and plan out all my meals and make sure I am balancing the number of calories I intake. I go to the gym every day of the week so it’s important for me to eat enough calories to replenish my body. It can be hard to eat clean consistently because saying no to a dinner out or a couple drinks can make you seem like a fun sucker but there are healthy alternatives to mostly everything. At the end of the day eating clean is the best thing you can do for your body and mind. It will help you with your gym goals and make the results appear faster
Planning Workouts
Each day of the week for me is dedicated to certain areas of the body I want to work on. I’ll do legs, arms, and abs while incorporating a cardio day. I have been working out for a couple months now and use social media platforms to help me find workouts so I can change mine up and it makes it more fun doing new workouts rather than repeating old ones over and over again. I tend to look for videos of girls who have the same or similar body types like me so I don’t feel discouraged. Some workouts are for advanced people and some are for beginners so it’s important to keep that in mind. It can be hard to reach your gym goals when you start off with a workout that is to difficult for you. Also, going into the gym with a plan can make you more excited and motivated to go. Having a set schedule allowed me to get used to daily workouts. If you are working out multiple times a week it is also important to listen to your body. If something is hurting you may be doing the workout wrong and if your body is sore and tired it is okay to take a rest day as long as you get back to working towards your gym goals after you give your body time to rest.
Taking Progress Pictures
Taking progress pictures is something I did not do for a very long time. I didn’t think taking a picture a day or every week would allow me to see the changes that were happening and that I would just notice them by looking at myself in the mirror on a daily basis. Trust me on this one, seeing a picture from the beginning of my fitness journey compared to now still has me in shock. Not only did I start to feel more energized and happy about the way I looked I knew from my progress pictures that I was working hard and slowly reaching my gym goals. It’s also not about trying to be the skinniest person or looking a certain way according to society’s standards in order to stay motivated you need to be happy with your body. All fitness journeys are different so if it takes longer for you to see results or you see them really fast and then hit a plateau keep working hard and changing up your workouts to see what works best for you while remembering to take pictures of yourself as much as you can so you can look back at your progress.
