Establishing a fitness routine or workout program can be challenging on its own, but sticking with it is the hardest part and it all comes down to motivation. Working out is really 50 percent just showing up and the other 50 percent will take care of itself many times. It really is a lot like life in fact. Just show up and good things can happen.

If you suffer from a lack of motivation at the gym and often binge Netflix instead of exercising, there are some tricks to the trade that will get you inspired and ready to go.

 

  1. Recruit a Friend to Train With

 

 

 

 

 

 

People will find it much easier to cancel on something when it is just them that it is affecting. However, if you have a workout partner, canceling will not be an option most of the time simply because you don’t want to let someone else down. When I began my workout journey years ago and wanted to stay consistent, I recruited my girlfriend to join me and we held each other accountable to show up. After a while, it became our daily routine. Decades later, I’m still going strong.

 

  1. Create a Home Gym

 

 

 

 

 

All of our lives are busy. It can be difficult to find the right amount of time to go to the gym if you have to travel to get there. By the time you change into your workout clothes (10 minutes), drive to the gym (15 minutes), exercise (60 minutes), and then drive back home (15 minutes), you are almost at two hours out of your day. With a few key pieces of exercise equipment in a seldom-used room, you can train at home and reduce the amount of time spent considerably.

  1. Start a Fitness Diary

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you can actually detail the difference exercising can make in your life, it is much easier to keep going forward. Once a week, I weigh myself and measure the inches around certain areas of my body so I am aware of the gains I am making towards my fitness goal. Knowing that I am losing on average a pound a week and shrinking inches from my waist is inspiring me to do more.

 

  1. Plan Your Workouts

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you take the time to write down all of your workouts ahead of time and the exercises you want to do, then you will be stepping into the gym with a finely tuned plan and be ready to go. Think of it as a To-Do List and there is a much better chance you will get things accomplished.

 

  1. Make a Financial Commitment

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t know about you, but I hate wasting money. If I have funds getting taken out of my bank account every month for a gym membership, you better be sure that I am going to be getting my money’s worth. I don’t want to say I am cheap, of course, but I do spend my money prudently. By making a financial commitment like a gym membership that I can’t get out of for a year, I am assuring myself that I will have the motivation to get to the gym consistently.

 

Getting started on a workout program can provide a great feeling inside, but keeping the motivation to continue at it can be difficult. With a little help from the ideas listed above, you can keep on training year after year without missing a beat.