Not everyone is born with the natural motivation to get themselves to the gym every day. The thought of walking into your local gym with beach bronzed Amazon warrior like physiques staring back at you can be daunting. Even though they wouldn’t even look up from their treadmills, their appearance can make you all the more self-conscious.
For some of us, the novelty of going to the gym soon wears off when the nights draw in, it gets colder, and there’s something good on the TV. However much you know you should go to the gym, you don’t. And that monthly subscription is wasted cash.
Take a look at how you can become a gym bunny in three simple steps.
Take a pal
Going it alone is never good for your mojo. To become a regular down at your local gym, you need to rope in a friend to keep you company. Doing anything with someone you know is way more motivating than doing anything on your own. Having a pal by your side can help you to develop a healthy competition. Who can lift the most weight or perform the most reps? You might want to keep a tab on your weight loss and set up a friendly wager to spur you on. When either one of you inevitably wants to cancel a session at some point, the other can pop round in exercise attire and be the motivator. Having this mutual relationship to get fit and lose weight is beneficial to both of you.
Do different exercises
If you head to the gym to only ever find yourself on the exercise bike or treadmill for half an hour with your earphones in, you might find yourself getting bored. Be a little more proactive and find yourself some new pieces of equipment to try or some classes to partake in. Look at more difficult CrossFit movements to try, try out a Zumba class or sweat it out in a spin session. By changing up your exercise regimen, you can add more variety into each visit. This keeps your gym sessions fresh, exciting and more beneficial to your body. Exercising more muscle groups will develop your fitness and help you to lose more weight and tone up.
Be strict
You don’t have to head to the gym every day. Two or three times a week is perfect. Any more and you run the risk of burnout and simply hating the gym. Mix up your gym sessions with walking, jogging or a badminton game with a friend. Being a regular at the gym allows you to meet new people and become part of a fun community of like minded people. Don’t worry about the way you look or how unfit you are – this is why you are there, and there are plenty of people at the gym who want to help you on your fitness journey. Set realistic goals and keep track of them. For every pound or percentage of body fat that you lose, you will be more motivated to continue at the gym.
Being a gym bunny may take some work, but follow this guide and you could soon find yourself enjoying the rower, lifting some weights or partaking in some legs, bums and tums.
Feature image credit: David Mark / Pixabay
