Hey yall. I really wanna start working out again, but I just can’t seem to find the motivation to start/ go to the gym. Any advice on getting motivated?

[u/Prililia915]

/r/GayFitness/comments/1w5sesx/hey_yall_i_really_wanna_start_working_out_again/

It’s genuinely like a mental block or something. Once I’m working out, I’m fine. But it’s the act of going. It ends up being more and more time being going, and then I stop all together

[u/rob_cornelius]

Motivation is what inspires you to do something for the first time and maybe a couple of times after that. Its a fleeting thing. What keeps you doing something is dedication, determination and discipline. Psych people normally call this "executive function". its one of the first things that mental health issues of all kinds steal from us.

You can build up your executive function levels but it takes a great deal of effort and a long time. You have to make yourself work out once the motivation/inspiration has faded. There are no short cuts, no one can motivate or inspire you to exercise.

There is one thing that can help build up your executive function. Every single time you finish some exercise no matter how "small" it is try to celebrate doing it. Put an X on the date in the calendar (see r/theXeffect for details). Try to tell yourself things like "That wasn't so bad after all", "I actually enjoyed doing that", "I want to do it again soon". When you do you are persuading your subconscious mind to increase your executive function levels. In many ways you are doing that already. It just takes a lot of effort and time.

At the same time shit happens to us all. When you are deep in the shit its literally pointless to beat yourself up for missing out on a work out. Try to deal with the shit as best you can and get back to exercising when the shit is more manageable. Looking forward to exercising again can make the shit easier to deal with too.

Eventually you can take your improved determination, dedication and discipline and apply them to the rest of your life. I always say that if I can get up at 6am and go out into my back yard in the dark, cold and rain of a February morning to swing my kettlebell then the rest of the day will be a little easier.

You got this. You can do it. We all believe in you. We all want to help you.

[u/c0mp0stable]

You just have to do it. Waiting for motivation will have you waiting a long time. Do it first and motivation will come later.