Willpower

Even fitness enthusiasts have days they just want to slack and forego their whole morning workout routine. So what do I do to get myself out of bed, out of the house on days like these? I don’t even think about it. I get up in my workout clothes I put on the night before. Go to the bathroom. Splash water on my face. Put on contacts. Drink water. Feed my cat. Eat a pre-workout snack. Drink water. Bathroom. Check the time. Brush my teeth. Wait an hour or two. Cruise around the internet, watch the news, stretch, clean, study, read magazines and simply waste time to keep my mind off it. Eye on the clock again. Pack my training bag. Lace up my running shoes. And go.

On my way there whether it’s walking, riding my bike or driving, I look around and cherish the little things of Mother Nature and city life. Dawn. Moon. Trees. People. Breeze. Leaves. Cars. Stoplight. Oh crap. Need gas. Pull over. Pump and back on the road. Sunrise. Mountains. Cyclists. Animals. Just focus on whatever keeps you calm. Don’t even think about what you have to do ahead of you. Focus on the present.

As soon as I get to a trailhead, I tell myself that I am just going to do a nice 15-min stroll. Ok…. maybe an easy 15-min warm-up jog. Yeah. That’s it. And I keep telling myself that to trick my brain into thinking this is going to be a real piece of cake. I get out of the car. Slap on my running watch and get my legs cruising at an I’m-sitting-on-the-couch-eating-doughnuts pace.

When I’m all warmed-up, I rarely even think about turning back and always end up getting at least 90% of my workout done for the day.

What works for me, might not work for you. Just play around, test yourself and see what taps your inner drive to get your butt out of the door and moving. Do whatever it takes… set an alarm clock out of your reach, fake fall out of the bed, curse, slap your face to wake up, do quick push-ups or better yet, check out an old photo of when you were once a Cheeto-eating couch potato.

The more you dwell on getting to the gym or wherever else that doesn’t appeal to you at that moment, it’ll be much harder to move forward. Practice focusing on the present and you’ll be surprised by the little steps that helped you get this far into your agenda. Baby steps…baby steps…baby steps! And soon, you’ll be in the grind. Well, I hope.

Still not convinced? Just remember this: