How to Never Need Motivation or DISCIPLINE to Work Out Again

Many people attribute their lack of sticking to a gym routine to a lack of motivation. Motivation is a weird thing. Sometimes you get these odd bursts of energy where you’re actually excited to do something that you don’t want to do. Maybe that thing is hitting the treadmill for 45 minutes. Sure, it’s great when you’re excited about getting into shape.

But then what happens when you don’t have the motivation? You don’t do the thing you don’t want to do. You opt to watch a few episodes of Reacher instead. Then you don’t get the results you wanted in the first place. Sound familiar?

Is it possible that people who stick with a workout routine aren’t just blessed with unlimited motivation or discipline? What if they like exercising almost as much as you enjoy watching Reacher ? Now that’s a great question to ask. Stick with me, and we’ll talk about four things you can do so that you never need to rely on motivation or discipline to get in your exercise.

Think back to when you were a child. You probably got plenty of exercise. Whether that’s from playing hide-and-seek with friends, riding bikes down dangerous hills, or playing street football, you burned a ton of calories as a kid…playing games. You never needed motivation, you never needed discipline (I mean, I got disciplined, but that’s another story) to do those things. You just did them because they were fun. What if we applied that same logic to exercise today? Do you find 45 minutes on a treadmill fun? Maybe if you’ve got a good playlist, podcast, or TV show to watch.

But if being on the treadmill makes your music, podcast, or TV show feel like it’s on half speed, you probably don’t enjoy it all that much. Don’t fight your nature. Do the things you actually enjoy that get you moving your body. If I were a more savvy business owner, I would tell you that the only way to reach your goals is through East Lansing CrossFit. But…some people don’t like doing CrossFit. 🤯🤯🤯 I can’t comprehend that mindset, but who am I to judge?

If you enjoy basketball, go shoot some hoops. If you like playing tennis, go play tennis. It doesn’t matter if you’re not “in shape” enough to be really good at those things, just go do them…because you enjoy doing them!

We all know what it’s like to go somewhere and be the worst at something. You often feel like everybody’s staring at you (they’re probably not). But we don’t like that feeling of just not being adequate at some skill.

Contrast that with an activity that you’re relatively good at. Maybe in a competitive setting, you can beat some of your friends most of the time. When you do that activity in public, you don’t feel awkward. You might even think that if people are staring at you, they’re admiring your skill. It’s possible!

Between these two situations, which one are you most likely to do day in and day out? Of course, the one you’re relatively good at. So, maybe if you’re not so good at running on the treadmill, go lift some weights. You might look over and realize you’re lifting about as much as everybody else. You’re holding your own and you don’t feel out of place in that setting.

As a plug for CrossFit, every day we walk in and look at the workout and think, “I’m good at X movement, but I’m not too great at Y movement.” So, you take the stuff you’re good at with the stuff you’re bad at, and in the end, you’re just okay at it. Welcome to CrossFit, where almost everybody is in the same boat. But then, every now and then, you see a workout that has ALL THE MOVEMENTS you’re actually good at, and you crush the workout. Those are great times!

Okay, so you’ve determined that you LOVE competitive underwater badminton AND you’re pretty decent at it too! Here’s the catch. You have to drive 75 minutes to the nearest facility. And also, they have like three parking spots, so it takes a while before you can park your car. Oh, and the person that checks you in at the front desk just doom-scrolls the Gram and takes several minutes before they let you into the building.

Is this something you’ll be able to do every day? Not likely.

So it’s best to pick something that might be near home or work, or at least on the way. Don’t let the logistics become a barrier.

That being said, it doesn’t need to be the most convenient option. Sometimes, you might drive 10 or so more minutes to go to a place where you might like the people more, or the facility is nicer, or anything else you might value.

I can’t tell you how many times I have been flummoxed because I ran out of the house really quickly and forgot to throw some piece of gym clothing into my bag. It’s terrible to arrive at the gym, go to change clothes, and realize that you don’t have a shirt to wear. Some people might not be bothered by this (ahem, Jake), but most of us would feel a bit awkward in February in Michigan, already shirtless in the warm-up.

One thing that works for me is a checklist stored on the phone that lists out every item you’ll need. Some people might prefer to print this and put it next to their gym bag. Over time, the checklist will become second nature to you, but especially if you’re new to working out, it’s a really helpful tool to make sure that nothing derails your progress.

Motivation and discipline get too much credit and blame for success and failure in the gym. In the end, it all comes down to flowing with your nature, not trying to fight it. Do the things that you enjoy. Do the things you’re good at. Do the things that are not a burden to do. And have everything you need prepared. Make your life easier, not more difficult. Make your life more fun, not more boring.