We’ve all been here, no matter where you are in your journey whether you just started or you’ve been working out for a while and maybe you feel stuck or burnt out. Regardless, you’ll run into these feelings numerous times and it’s fine because what actually matters isn’t the roadblock itself but rather how you decide to respond to it. This is a completely normal feeling to have and no matter how down you feel just remember you will push through and you will get back on track with those gains, I promise.
Take A Step Back and Evaluate the Progress You’ve Already Made
Whenever you feel like quitting just remember everything you’ve been through to get to the point you’re at right now. If you already started making progress why are you going to throw that away? You’re proud of the fact you started going to the gym and you’ve actually gone through with the changes you’ve been wanting to make and now that the preparation is out of the way, all of a sudden you want to give up.
After 3-4 weeks you’ll start losing muscle and strength so not only was all that time spent in the gym a waste but if you decide to get back into the gym later, you also just wasted all that time you weren’t going to the gym and you’re even further behind.
If need be, take a rest week for your body and mind then come back at 100% that might be all you need to get back into the swing of things which is completely normal. Sometimes doing the same thing for too long causes burn out but don’t let that kill your passion and kill your grind. We already know you’re resilient by looking at the progress you’ve already made there’s no reason you should cut that short.
Make A Plan to Get Back to the Grind
When the process of procrastination starts the only way to break it is to set a plan in place in order to get yourself back on track. Some people will tell you “Just go, stop thinking so much!” but it isn’t always this easy sometimes it feels that there’s more than just our thoughts in the way, and thats where you need to do some evaluating.
After you figure out what can make things easier for you, look to get these things correct so you have a better time getting back to the weight room. Maybe you need a routine so you know what to do when you get there, maybe you should look into some group activities to spice it up because you think cardio is boring, or maybe you’re just intimidated because you’re not sure how everything works. Once you’ve figured out these doubts you’re having you won’t feel like there’s so much standing in the way between you and the gym.
Going Back
Congrats on making it back! Once you accomplished this just be patient and take it one day at a time, don’t give it everything you have on your first day back. If you decide to go that route you’ll feel like you have to match that same energy every time you go which will just make it feel impossible to be consistent. Instead, work back up to the same intensity over days/weeks so you don’t end up right back in the same mind space you started in.
If you need some help preparing mentally for the gym click here!
Preventing the Cycle from Repeating
Now that we made it back we need to put a plan in place to stay on track. The number 1 way I stay organized when it comes to working out is 2 apps that I use every day.
The first one is myFitnessPal which allows you to keep an eye on what you’ve been eating and you can also use it to create a meal plan with the nutrition facts of any food you eat already taken care of by the software. The second app is a workout tracker, there are many different apps to choose from just find one that has a layout you like and use it to track all of your lifts so you can tell exactly how much progress you’ve made, or if you’d rather keep a physical journal feel free to do that instead.
I know this may sound tedious to keep up with but eventually, you’ll learn to love having these tools because you’ll look back on what your fitness life used to look like compared to now.
Bonus Tip! The Cookie Jar Strategy
The cookie jar strategy is something that I learned from studying David Goggins. You might have heard of the retired Navy SEAL before due to his sheer ruthless mentality and that warrior spirit he carries 24/7.
He wrote a book called “Can’t Hurt Me” and it’s easily one of the best books I’ve ever come across and I recommend it to EVERYBODY.
In this book, he talks about the cookie jar strategy as a way to think back to everything that motivates you to keep going in those moments of doubt. Goggins believes that in those split seconds where you feel like just dropping the weight and getting the f*** out of the gym is the exact moment you need to believe in yourself. So he created his cookie jar and every cookie is something (eg. a memory) he can call back on that will give him the drive to push through his self-doubt. So whenever you don’t think you can do it, grab a cookie! Not actually but you get it.
Click here to read Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins!
Conclusion
It’s important to understand that we’re always going to run into challenges throughout our lives when it comes to anything. Like I said before it’s not about avoiding these challenges because frankly, they’re inevitable, but instead, we need to plan so we have a way to move past any obstacles we encounter on the way to success. Fitness isn’t different from anything else in the idea that if you come prepared, you will have a better time and the odds of you achieving your goals are much higher than if you go based on your thoughts in the moment.
