The first time I began to workout was at university, first year. I had ordered a 20kg set of dumbbells from the internet. So weak was I at this time that I struggled to carry the box containing them from the faculty office where they were delivered to my hall of residence. It wasn’t a far distance but I still had to put it down twice on the way.
Things have changed but I am still quite far from where I wanted to be some 9 years later.
In fact, the longest I’ve ever managed to maintain a fitness routine was about ten weeks. That’s a decent stretch I guess. And I did notice some gains after this time but burnt out and stopped for a while. Outside of weight training I did manage to lose 2 stone after a 4-month period with consistent cardio at the gym. It was a massive success and I was incredibly proud of myself, as anyone should who has lost any amount of weight. However, it didn’t last. I kept the weight off for months until the start of this year when I slowly put it back on over about 6 months.
This isn’t surprising as apparently some 95% of people regain some weight after losing it. In fact, a study in 2016 found that after weight loss appetite increased by 100 calories more than usual for every 2 pounds a person lost.
Regardless of this, my lack of self-control was my biggest downfall. I should have taken out shares in my local convenience store near to work as I would be much richer after all the spending I did there. My new job being far away from any store will be a boon to my weight loss and my bank account!
So apart from those two minor success stories my fitness life has been a myriad of failures. I have many excel spreadsheets which chronicle all my routines I have made over the past several years, some of which never started. Many of these routines are very similar. Often just a minor change, such as a few new exercises or a different method of working out (such as pyramid training). Perhaps one of the reasons I struggle is due to not trying entirely new things?
More recently I have spent more time at the gym with a training partner. I have two or three close friends I go with from time to time. It is always said that working out with a friend is an excellent way to keep motivated and it is true. I found it much easier to go regularly when going to the gym with a friend. By organising my time so that I could go with a friend, even if not always the same friend, I managed to get a decent routine going. I was able to record my workouts on my phone and everything was going well. That was until my friends were unavailable or went at times that weren’t convenient to me.
It’s not that I mind going on my own, I just couldn’t find the motivation sometimes to go.
I’m eager to find new motivation to go regularly. In the end it comes down to willpower and repetition to build a strong habit. If I find anymore tips or tricks to getting myself to the gym I’ll be sure to let you know about them!
What do you do to keep yourself motivated to maintain a fitness routine? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading,
Michael