Starting your fitness journey and sticking to a gym routine can feel overwhelming. Many barriers may keep you from going, like not being in the mood, feeling intimidated, or thinking your goals are too far out of reach.
Research shows that these barriers are primarily mental and can be overcome with the right mindset. The best advice for getting started is simply to start. Many people get caught up in trying to have the perfect routine, the best supplements, or the trendiest gym wear, but these aren’t necessary from the outset and can lead to procrastination.
Breaking down your goals into smaller, manageable steps reduces the perceived difficulty and helps conserve your willpower. If your dream body is the ultimate goal, your first achievable step is just walking through the gym doors. Fitness is a journey, and by taking small, consistent actions, you can make going to the gym a habit and avoid procrastination.
Procrastination often shows up when we say we “don’t feel like” going to the gym. We may feel stressed, tired, or fatigued, which are legitimate feelings, but humans are generally poor at predicting their future emotions. This is known as Affective Forecasting, where current feelings bias our predictions of future emotions. If you’re feeling low, it’s easy to believe you’ll feel the same while working out, making it easier to skip the gym.
This feeling of fatigue is often psychological. Exercise actually boosts endorphins, so you’re likely going to feel better after working out. To bridge this gap, consider using mood boosters like caffeinated pre-workout drinks. These can energize you and improve your mood now, making you more willing to work out later.
Other mood-enhancing activities, like listening to music, watching your favorite show, or playing with your pet, can also help. These activities can serve as cues to form a gym-going habit. Over time, these cues become ingrained behaviors. Setting specific, actionable rules like “if I set out my workout clothes tonight, I will wear them to the gym tomorrow” or “as soon as I leave work, I will go to the gym” can significantly increase your chances of success.
Once you’re at the gym, self-doubt might creep in, keeping you from using certain equipment or trying new exercises. This can be explained by the Pygmalion Effect, which suggests that our beliefs about the outcome affect our ability to achieve it. If you believe you’ll fail, your behavior will reflect that, reinforcing the negative outcome. Conversely, if you believe in your success, you’re more likely to achieve it.
This positive mindset shifts your Locus of Control internally, meaning you see your actions as the primary influence on your results. An Internal Locus of Control is associated with better well-being and higher goal achievement.
If your goals seem too daunting, it might be because they’re performance-oriented, like benching a specific weight or losing a certain amount of weight in a short time. These goals can feel unrealistic and lead to either giving up or looking for shortcuts. Instead, focus on process-oriented goals that emphasize personal growth. This fosters a Growth Mindset, leading to sustained success.
The Zeigarnik Effect supports this, stating that people tend to finish what they start. With a growth mindset, you view the process as ongoing, always seeing room for improvement, which encourages continuous progress.
Going to the gym might seem purely physical, but understanding the psychological aspects makes it less of a burden and more of a rewarding habit.
