How to Motivate Yourself to Go to the Gym

Author: Michele Dolan / Source: wikiHow

In this Article:Using Material Incentives to Stay Motivated Making Gym Visits a Positive Experience Setting Yourself Up to Go to the Gym Community Q&A 9 References

A gym membership is a great way to give yourself access to high-quality fitness equipment, classes, and trainers.

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However, many people who have gym memberships do not use them regularly. If you are trying to motivate yourself to go to the gym more often, there are several strategies you can try, such as rewarding yourself, connecting with people at your gym, and keeping your gym bag somewhere convenient.

1 Purchase an audiobook that you commit to listen to only at the gym. Research has shown that only being able to listen to an audiobook while at the gym motivates people to go to the gym more often. Choose an audiobook that you are very interested in listening to so that this will actually motivate you.^[1]
- If audiobooks aren’t your thing, then try making a list of movies you want to watch and only allow yourself to watch them while you are working out, such as while walking on the treadmill or using the elliptical machine.
- You may also consider making a gym-only music playlist. Create a playlist of your favorite songs and commit to only listen to them during your gym workouts.
- Another alternative to audiobooks is to find a podcast that you will only listen to at the gym. Choose upbeat tracks to help make your workout more fun.
2 Set up a reward system. Knowing that you have something that you are working towards may also help you to stay motivated to go to the gym. Take some time to establish rewards for going to the gym a certain number of times weekly and monthly.^[2]
- For example, you could reward yourself with a new nail polish or movie rental for going to the gym 5 times in 1 week. You could also reward yourself with a pedicure or a trip to the movie theater for hitting the gym 20 times in a month.
- Choose rewards that will motivate you and commit to give them to yourself only if you meet your gym visit goals.
3 Calculate the cost of not going to the gym. Gym memberships are not cheap, so not using your membership is a waste of money. If losing money motivates you, then take some time to calculate how much money you will be losing by not going to the gym or not going often enough.^[3]
- For example, if your gym membership costs $60 per month, and you don’t go for a week, then you will be wasting $15. If you only go to the gym 2 times in a month, then it is like you are paying $30 per visit.
4 Pledge money that you will go to the gym or donate to charity.…