I Don’t Really Like Going to The Gym
“I don’t really like going to the gym. I can do yoga.”
“I don’t know if lifting weights are really my things. I can do cardio/swimming/cycling.”
I get frequently asked by many men and women about what they can do to get that feeling of belonging to the gym. They lack the drive to go to the gym. They feel out of the place.
It’s everything that they don’t want to endure. It’s tiring. It’s painful. There’s sweat.
They don’t want to leave the comforts of their AC. It’s easier to go to a bar and order some freshly brewed beer. But making that choice is what separates winners from losers. It’s a fight to be above average. And it can be torturous until you get results.
The pain that one experiences in the muscles when they start lifting can be intolerable, many don’t want it. It’s something they haven’t encountered before. They don’t know how to deal with it.
But if you pass that phase, you will live for it. The feeling of being sore – It’s beautiful.
The first time I went to the gym I was 18, I hit the gym for 10 weeks before I finally quit. It wasn’t so rewarding after all. Or let me rephrase it, I felt out of the place.
Next, after approximately a year I went to a fancier gym and paid for a year in advance. Annual membership is always available on discount and I thought this might be the key. I tried but I failed. Three months later I transferred the membership to a friend.
I bought and transferred membership a couple of times (thrice). I tried but I always failed – until I went all in. Guess buying membership just ain’t enough.
So, what can you do to not feel like a cowboy at a ballroom?
Here are the three things that will drive your butt to the gym:
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Reason
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Discipline
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Investment
1. Reason
Once a person is determined to help themselves, there is nothing that can stop them.
Nelson Mandela
You can only begin if you have a strong enough ‘Why’.
Do you have any reason to get fit? To shed those pounds? To build those muscles?
It takes a lot of mental strength to form new habits. To stay consistent. You will have to stay invested for long before you start getting rewards.
You will have to spend time, energy and money. Standing by a goal where you don’t get instant gratification is demanding and exhaustive. You need discipline and a lot of self-belief.
Motivation, grit, determination, discipline these are all words if you don’t have a reason. Reason can be anything. It can be an insult. It can be a challenge. It can be your child. Maybe you want to change the entire course of your life.
Or maybe you do to prove it to the world and everyone who had questioned your abilities.
Take it as a challenge. Challenging yourself is a pathway to overcome self-doubt. Your journey might begin because of them, but you will discover it was always about you. And it will always be about ‘YOU’.
2. Discipline
That’s how winning is done!
Discipline before motivation. Motivation is fleeting, one day you’ll be super motivated, have plenty of time and going to the gym is undemanding. But then there are days where you’ll see it as a chore.
On those days you will have two options:
- Stay true to your reason and get work done.
- Succumb to the temptation.
Now succumbing to temptation is human. It’s unacceptable if you do it more often. Then you’re truly an average man.
Commit to a schedule. And get your ass to the gym and don’t let anything to avert you from doing it.
You will need to make it a habit. And it will come to you. You might have to cancel your plans for the sake of being in the gym, for sticking to the diet. You will have to learn to say ‘NO’.
Let’s go for a movie tonight?
No. I have to go to the gym.
Want to go out for dinner tonight?
No. I have to stick to my diet.
Do you have what it takes? If yes, you will be successful.
3. Investment
And at last, you will have to make an investment. In yourself. Not only I bought the gym membership. I hired a trainer. I bought the muscle building supplements.
It was business for me. And I went all in.
Hiring a trainer can be expensive but if you want those changes in your body. If you want to learn the science behind gaining muscles and losing fat, consider making that investment.
I hired a trainer for the first four months. He cleared my basics and that made all the difference. I learned to feel the load. I pushed and I pushed heavier.
I have yet to learn many things. I have a reason and I am disciplined. Starting from February 2017 I’ll be working with a coach. It’s going to cost me a lot of money. But I don’t mind making that investment. For me it’s education.
If you pay a coach in advance you might go through the drill. You might follow the routine. You might follow the diet. And you might lose those pounds.
But then it will only happen if you have a strong enough ‘Why’.
