10 Tips for Getting to the Gym More Often

Why is going to the gym sometimes so hard? It can be for a variety of reasons, but some common ones include being too tired, having too much work, and having other plans. We seem to come up with excuses time and time again that prevent us from doing the exercise we know our body craves. It’s not always intentional, but we often fail to adapt our schedules to make up workouts we know we missed.

I try to go to the gym twice per week but have struggled to do so in the past couple of months. I was sick for a few weeks, which naturally prevented me from working out. However, I’ve been better for over a month and have only made it back to the gym once. It’s pretty disappointing, but it’s also true. I seem to unable to set aside 2 hours each week (~1% of my time) to do so. I bet you’re guilty, too.

To help both of us, here are 10 ideas that will get us back in the gym in no time:

1. Lay out your gym clothes the night before

If you’re more of a morning gym person, make getting dressed as easy as possible when you wake up. Near your bed, lay out exactly everything you need for the gym the night before so you don’t have to waste time in the morning looking for something. If you consider yourself lazy in the mornings and don’t know if this will work for you, consider sleeping in some of your gym clothes to make getting dressed even easier :)

2. Bring your gym clothes to work

Not everyone can handle working out in the morning. I tried it for a while, but it was messing up my sleep schedule and morning routine. I was waking up at least 30–40 minutes earlier 1–2 times per week, which resulted in less time to myself before leaving for work to do things like read and write.

For those who choose not to exercise in the morning, try packing your gym clothes in your work bag to promote hitting the gym on your way home from the office. Whether you go to a gym near your residence or your office, you’ll increase the odds of actually showing up if you’re carrying your gear with you. By not going back home to change, you’ll not only save yourself time but also avoid putting yourself in the position of coming up with an excuse not to go.

3. Set up a few training sessions

If you have a hard time motivating yourself to go to the gym and pushing your body to new limits, consider investing in a personal trainer for a few sessions. Regardless of what excuse you come up with, you’re not going to want to let your trainer down by canceling or missing one of your appointments. You’ve not only committed extra money from your paycheck to do this, but you also don’t want to become that person who doesn’t follow through.

4. Get a workout partner

This is closely related to the previous suggestion except that you don’t have to pay extra money. You can either ask a friend who lives in the area to agree to work out with you or befriend someone at the gym w typically works out at the same time as you. What I like about this option is that your workout partner can be closer in age with you than a trainer, which removes any formality from a trainer-client relationship. In addition, you might feel worse about canceling or not showing up for your workout partner because he/she literally depends on you for having a better workout. A trainer, on the other hand, can potentially take on another client or help other people around the gym, so you might not feel as bad.

5. Establish a consistent schedule

Instead of trying to make it to the gym when you can, it’s better to commit to a certain number of days each week to give more structure to your training. Once you pick those days, you need to decide if you’re going to go in the morning or evening. If you really want to try to build the habit of working out, you should do everything possible to go to the gym at the same exact time on the same exact days each week. Make sure to treat the time as sacred and only let emergencies interrupt. After a month or two, your body and mind will likely get used to it, and it will become part of your normal weekly routine.

6. Reward yourself

You’re definitely going to have those days when you’re not going to be in the mood to work out but know that you should to keep that consistency intact. On those days (and any day you work out for that matter), you can motivate yourself to go by promising yourself some sort of small reward afterwards. Maybe it’s treating yourself to a better dinner than you normally have. Or buying something nice for yourself that you’ve been wanting for a while. Or devoting extra time to a hobby you enjoy. Regardless of the reward you choose, it’s a nice light at the end of the tunnel that will not only get you to the gym but also help power you through your workout.

7. Vary up your workouts

Doing the same workouts over and over again can be boring. You can try to make your trips to the gym more interesting by varying up the exercises you’re doing. Perhaps you try something new each week to keep you on your toes. For example, take a 1-hour gym class instead of focusing on weight training. Or devote an entire workout to cardio when you typically focus on weights. The key is to surprise yourself and keep your body and mind guessing.

8. Design shorter workouts

While people typically go to the gym for an hour, nobody is holding you to that standard. Try going for 30 minutes, getting hyper-focused, and stepping up the intensity of your workout. You can probably get just about the same amount of training done, since you won’t be wasting any time getting distracted between sets or exercises. If this type of time commitment is more your style, perhaps you’ll develop the habit of going more than twice per week (maybe even every day!).

9. Sign up for a competition

Going to the gym can be hard if your workout goals are self-imposed and limited to things like increased strength, greater flexibility, or faster running time. While this might be enough for some people, others like me might be more apt to let themselves off the hook if nothing real is holding them accountable. Signing up for some sort of future training competition will put a hard deadline on your calendar and give you something more tangible to work towards. For example, signing up for a 5K will likely help increase your odds of going to the gym so you don’t embarrass yourself come race day. Bonus points if you sign up with a friend.

10. Weigh yourself every day

If you’re only going to the gym once in a while and not exercising outside of it, you’re naturally going to burn fewer calories. Depending on how strict you are with your diet, you might also have the tendency to eat junk food. One way to combat both of these things is to hop on the scale every day to weigh yourself. Gaining weight is not a pleasant experience, so being able to monitor it on a daily basis will help you spot it easily. The idea here is that if you see yourself packing on some pounds, you’ll be motivated to shed them by returning to the gym on a regular basis.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. How do you inspire yourself to get to the gym?

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