Don't Feel Like Training? 6 Steps to Crush Demotivation!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มิ.ย. 2024
- Some days the workout motivation just isn't there...but that's no excuse not to train. Here's a 6-STEP PROTOCOL to get you through Demotivation Day!
Sometimes the knowledge that strength training is fun and good for us just isn't enough. Some days the usual workout motivation sayings and videos and self-talk just doesn't do it. Staying fit after fifty is hard work, and like all hard work it can sometimes feel like a chore.
On those days, you have to give yourself permission to blow it off--but only if you do these six simple steps. AT EVERY POINT in this protocol, you have the option to bail! But by the time you get to step five, you probably won't want to.
No matter what you do, STEP SIX is the most important. I won't have Greysteel Athletes being abused....even by themselves.
Follow these six simple steps to get you over the hump on those days when you just can't seem to care. You'll end up helping your exercise medicine go down, which in turn will help you stay strong, healthy, and fit after fifty. And THEN you can try using variations on this same approach to getting things done outside the gym!
WRITTEN AND PRODUCED by Jonathon Sullivan MD, PhD, SSC, PBC
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Hey Dr Sullivan, I know you probably hear this all the time, but congratulations on all your work. I learn a lot from you. I wish there was a "Dr Sullivan" here in Brazil. Hugs.
Thank you so much! That really means a lot to me.
Canal,
know how you feel. I live in Queens county, NY and no Starting Strength gyms here. Ugh
Digo o mesmo. Sully é uma inspiração há anos, desde o fórum do SS.
(I say the same. Sully has been an inspiration for years, since the SS forum).
Thats so truth my friend, but i believe with the knowledge of these experts, we can make a different our area here in brazil, at least a little bit of change.
Isso é muito verdade meu amigo, mas eu acredito que com o conhecimento desses mestres, a gente pode fazer a diferença na nossa área aqui no Brasil, pelo menos um pouquinho kk
I'm 85 yo, and my weights training no-nonsense rule? JUST DO IT!!✔️ Simple as that.
I've lifting weights (heavy in the last 15 years) for 35 years and one thing I can HONESTLY say.....I've NEVER regretted doing a workout, especially the hard ones.
Thanks for this I just did 25 deep squats after being tempted to do no gym work today. Feel better about myself now. Never miss a day!🙂
I know it’s not an option for everyone, but having your power rack at home makes a huge difference. The gym is open 24/7, the trip is very short regardless of weather, and there’s never a crowd. Those factors always made training seem like more of a bother.
That said, it helps me to prioritize must-do lifts and OK-to-skip lifts on off days. Most of the time, once you’re warmed up, you might as well do the whole program.
After doing lots of daily cardio when I was losing weight, I began to feel something I never expected. I actually felt bad whenever I took a shower without having sweat first, like I was wasting it.
This was almost a year ago and I still experience it. It's become a habit now to always do some kind of exercise before showering, these days usually 30 to 60m of weight training followed by some walking or cycling. On my "rest day" I'm supposed to relax but always end up doing something, even if it's just 20m of light cardio.
It never ceases to amaze me how powerful daily routines can be. You can go from dreading exercise, like I did a year ago, to feeling bad when you can't do it for whatever reason, even when it's a perfectly valid reason like acute joint pain (I know, I know).
I'm not sure if this applies to everyone, but I imagine if you stick to a consistent timing for your workouts, either always at a specific time or preceding a specific event (like showering), you will eventually create a new habit. And those don't easily go away.
At 74 I need a lot of self talk to get me under the bar…..actually this approximation strategy avoids all the self-cajoling and says “ just do one thing today” and “ah, what’s one more” and so on. Thanks for the help!
I’m 66. I use a couple of strategies to avoid the “I don’t wanna’s”. First, in addition to my detailed workout log, I keep a separate daily exercise log where I track all physical activities and the time spent on each. It’s a great way to give myself credit for being active, and the days with just a line through it for no activity don’t feel good so they’re rare. Second, I have a nice gym with benches and a squat rack set up in my basement. If I’m not feeling very motivated, I’ll just stand up from wherever I’m seated and start my warmups. Just taking that first step gets me going and down into the gym, and I complete that day’s full workout. Works every time.
Excellent.
I'm 65 and find that establishing a certain time of the day to workout helps a lot. That alone is as habit forming as brushing my teeth. Getting down in my home gym at varying times of the day throws me off track, as my brain keeps telling me, "Wait another hour....wait until later this evening", etc. On those days I'm not feeling it, I still go into my gym, and once I look around, leaf through my training journal, then get through the first five to ten minutes, I find myself glad that I got started. It's then that the reluctance melts away and I still continue to make progress.
I didn't start working out till my mid 50s when most of life's trials were behind me. I definitely think that being distracted with life is a demotivator because you absolutely have to concentrate when resistance training. You can't be entertaining thoughts about the job, the wife, the kids, the car, the house, etc.
Having said that, being able to effectively concentrate on getting the work done, it was relatively easy to get into the routine. And once I was on that routine for a few months, I felt weird and anxious NOT doing it. Now my body starts to anticipate the need to PUSH something after a day or so of rest. I HAVE to do it even if I don't feel like it. It's reflexive, like taking a shower or brushing your teeth.
There are days when I just feel tired or not especially motivated. But the routine/habit just makes me do it anyway. I find that when I start working out, often if not most of the time I'm weirdly STRONGER on those off days than when I go in strutting. I don't even understand what that's about. But consistent logging has helped me to spot such patterns and that helps too. Knowing I have strong and weak days and it doesn't speak anything to the long term trend. I don't have to worry that I put in a bad performance because the logging tells me better days are coming.
Anyway, I do like your advice and agree with it. I'll keep it in mind if I ever get to that point of needing a shove.
This video made me think one thing. You need to get weird with it. Like me? I get up at 2am every day now. It gives me quiet time for 2 hours before the gym opens at 4am. Then I work out until about 5:30am. I'm at my desk for work by 6am. This means each day I'm in bed by 6pm or 7pm at the latest, and I love it! So for me it took thinking outside the box to make working out make sense. I went from working all day, then trying to convince myself to go to the gym after I'm drained and have eaten multiple meals, to making working out the first thing I do after I spend meditative time alone. Its a game changer. Like I said I had to get weird with it, which for me means getting up at 2am, because who the hell does that? This guy!
Mental health is a strong motivation for me . I have a condition that makes me very angry and depressed at the same time ....Bi-polar 1 and 2 and my gym time working out focus me and puts my mind in state of calm . My Doctor and wife notice a balance to my behaviors when lifting , medication and meditation is kept up ; I do too and it makes me a better person and husband, cus when i am under the bar all my stress falls away and i fell better. I allway say " find your power find your peace" you dont have to be the fastesr, strongest ,jest be you 💪 . Thanks for the content brother, and now off to Golds.
I'm in a weight management program "PA" physical activity is required. My first goto for PA is lifting. On the odd days when "I don't wanna". I do this, 1. Gear up and show up. 2. Stand on the elliptical. 3. Stand there for my alloted exercise time. I didn't do anything. I would eventually stride slowly. By the time workout time ended I was going pretty well. PA complete.
I watch this video every several months because I just gotta. It's funny, encouraging and, well, motivating. On the days when Sully's poetry, delightful though it is ("Roses are red, violets are blue. Go to the gym."), simply isn't enough, this video is my go to. Thank you, Sully!!
My favorite exercise is the deadlift!!!!
Great strategy, Sully.
When I feel resistance, one that works well for me is to just stop and take about 10 seconds in my minds eye to see myself walking out of the gym at the the end of my workout feeling an awesome pump and an awesome feeling of accomplishment. I can see it in my mind like a movie clip and I can feel it. Next thing I know I'm on the way to the gym to get it.
I tell myself that just go to the gym and have a light day. I find my fooling myself gets me to the gym. As I warm up, I feel better and then hit it hard. This works for me at 71.
I am 76. After I got there, I dropped the volume and increased the intensity to cross a line. And rests between sets are longer.
It’s never about motivation, it’s about discipline.
Uh huh. If you say so.
@@GreySteel Of course. Discipline is a trained behaviour, whereas, motivation is merely about a desire or willingness to pursue a behaviour. Discipline is far more reliable in terms of action. Just ask the military.
I sometimes don't feel like going to the gym BUT then I think of all the elderly people I know and how the ended up, the general population around me and when my ex did not want me to train despite my health issues, works every time!!!!!
I like it brother, as a retired firefighter I know you are on to something! I knew I needed something in my life to keep me motivated and moving after I retired, so my wife and I started a small warehouse gym and asked friends in the first responder world to join us. Now I get up in the morning put my workout clothes on drink my coffee and go to gym! I tell my friends to just get there… once you build that routine in your life, the rest will come! Thank you for your insight
Can't love this enough, way to go!
Wow!! What a fantastic thing you did! 👍🏼💪🏼
Thought for the day!!! A day when you have TRAINED is NEVER wasted!
My wife and I have done this program and it works!!
Persistence/Discipline is the path to resilience & excellence...
I love getting out to hit the weights in the gym even if I feel lazy.
Great talk! The war of the mind is always in play.
I turn 79 next week and have been mega guilty of putting off a daily workout. Your taking the effort to prioritize this systemic problem is appreciated. But I want to emphasize that THIS COMMENT SECTION brings out some wisdom from from all of US procrastinators to ---JUST GET HER DONE!
Good content. Last training session I "wasn't feeling it" and told myself " winners do things they don't want to do on a regular basis so they can accomplish great things"
When the go : no-go ratio gets fractional, I remind myself the liquor store (which stocks my favorite bourbon) shares the parking lot with the gym...
So many good tips AND entertaining...thanks Sully!👏👏
Telling myself I can quit and go home whenever I want has gotten me to complete SO many workouts!
I always feel better after and happy I did the workout.
Motivation is a false friend. It's like everything. You don't wait for the right mood to buy groceries or go to the dentist. You just do it.
Thanks for this. I know that the less I feel like doing a workout, the more I need to do it. It never fails that by the end of my warm up, I'm glad I decided to take that first step and start. I have hit PRs during this sort of workout.
Small promise of wine after the work out.
OMG!!!!! Your channel is awesome. My husband finally got me in the gym at 46 and I love it. My husband had been in the gym for years before I joined him. Everything you say he has been telling me for year's.
I never want to train but I learned myself to switch off my brain and just do what my plan says, and do one step at a time, pack the back, get on my bike and drive to the gym and at that time there’s no reason to go back, and you really need to have a training plan so you don’t have think about what to train 👍😀
I'm at this point today. Been hitting squat and deadlift PRs every time for weeks. Going to go light but going to the gym.
Establishing a workout program as part of one’s routine is essential
One thing I learned about myself a long time ago is that in the main, I'm a rules-based life form. So years ago, I decided that the rule for exercise was: if you put on the uniform, you can't take it off until you did the work. At the time I was a runner and I can't tell you how many times I said to myself "I don't wanna" while I was tying my shoes, only to find that I was ready to go and so I had to follow the rule. In all that time, I only took off the uniform once. I still follow this rule, 30-something years later at age 60. I did it today, to be honest. I am still recovering from an injury and had a tough work day and just really did not want to go. But I got home, moping, went to the closet, looked down, and I was wearing my lifting gear, so ... off I went.
Know thyself. If you know you're a rule follower, make some rules to help yourself. Thanks so much for everything, Coach.
Turning off the tv (or the TH-cam) and walking into the gym are always going to be the toughest part...
I think that this video skates along a border line. There is often a good reason not to train, although you may be scheduled to. Particularly for older people (I am 79) overtraining can have much more serious consequences than for younger people. I‘ve trained most of my life and now know pretty well whether my body is telling me to take an extra day off, or if I am just being lazy. For people new to strength training, or returning after a long layoff, this may not be the case.
Ahhhhhhh I see what you did there!!! Well played Dr. Sullivan.....well played.
Something that helps with motivation is having a workout routine. For instance, it's easy to blow off workout out if you don't have a set exercise routine. By that I mean a routine that has been defined by a coach and that involves specific exercises that you do over and over. It makes working out MUCH simpler. Why? Because you don't have to make anything up, or think about muscle groups, or anything! You do the exercises and you go home. For me, I'm doing a Pull, Push, Legs, Day off rotation, with the exercises set by AthleanX. It's been amazing. I no longer go to the gym and do way too many exercises and burn out. Or not enough. I go in, I do whatever I'm scheduled to do, and I go home. Its a LOT easier, and you don't want to miss a day because you want to stay on track. If you just go to the gym and just do full body or whatever feels good, why would you go on a day that you don't feel motivated? Without a schedule and a plan it will just all fall apart.
Thanks a million this is SUPER helpful!🙏💪
The angry packing of the gym bag, grumpy eating. 😂😅. Yes showing will most like lead to the workout being done.
My main strategies are: 1. I don't ask myself if I am training today. I just do it. 2. If I get to the gym and I am feeling out of it, I do something, rather than nothing. I have a detailed program and I generally follow it but being off program is still better than none. 3. I keep the goal firmly in the front of my mind.
Sully I need 7 steps. I was so close to working out. Grabbed your book to add to the Blue book reading.
Great video, thanks. I've always said that the most difficult exercise you can do is the "pull". Getting in front of that gym entrance door and "pulling" it open to step in. Once you're in, the rest comes easier. Thanks again.
Totally agree.
Gave this video a like many, many moons ago. Watched it again today when the algorithm placed it in my "suggested for you" playlist (algorithms are scary). So, down to the basement gym to train, but I don't wanna. Que audio, Whitesnake ♪ Here I go again on my own... ♪
Thanks very much Dr Sullivan You really inspire me. Really love all your videos. God Bless 😊
I’ve used a very similar strategy. I’d tell myself just go to the gym and dress out. And that’s all you have to do. You can go home if you want. Invariably I’d end up staying and just doing my workout. Doing this was manageable, but thinking about doing a whole workout was too overwhelming for me on a particular day for whatever reason. I liked the way you presented it. Thanks!
On the rare occasion this happens, I'll do option 5b. Showing up and doing curls, shrugs, forearms, abs, battle rope, pushing the prowler or even the rowing machine gives me a feeling of accomplishment at having done SOMETHING. It breaks the monotony and injects (you guessed it) a little fun!
great. Genius. Thank you for this.
The most important 1rep max is...
Opening the door to the gym! 💪🐯
The days you don't want to workout the most are the days you MUST - I hit a new PR today but had to force myself into the gym and I ALWAYS feel better having worked out
Yep!
@@GreySteel
Don't agree, sometimes your body and mind are telling you not to train for a reason, occasionally it's pure laziness, other times you need a rest.
I don't agree with the fun part either, if training isn't fun, why do it ? I hate fishing for instance, therefore I don't do it.
@@johndonson1603 grumpy :(
Thank you so much. Everything you say is so true and I had to chuckle because I recognize all if it. Rationalizing over and over. For me the aches and pains and time needed to recover has been a hindrance but I shouldn’t let it be an excuse. I consider myself very knowledgeable about all of this but I don’t practice what I ( try not to) preach. Thanks so much for reminding us all and allowing us to be our sometimes weaker selves.
Great advice, coach. Love the content and attitude. I have had some of my most productive workouts on days I felt like crap and did not want to hit the gym but did anyway. Of course, some of my worst workouts happened when I was totally stoked to go! Me: born 1965, started with SS program at age 50, still training hard, though -- sorry -- not strict SS anymore.
Very timely for me, thanks
My gym is in the basement. And it can be hard to walk down those stairs. You've released this video just when I was toying with the idea of .... Oh jeez... I'm going. My failsafe is the accusing look from my wife who knows my schedule.
Not the vid I wanted today.. but the one I needed... Thanks, Doc!
Excellent!
Thanks!
I tell myself I’ll just do my squats
Usually I do the rest of the workout after I do them
Best wisdom 🙏
Thanks
Good day Doctor, I want to Thank you for this motivational polite kick in the butt to get into action on my planned work out.
I am age 79 living on social security in a simple, paid for home on Philippines beach community. I built a gym in 4 foot by 8 foot end wall of my bedroom with incline bench, cables, dip bars, pull up etc. Six months ago while doing squats both feet slipped out from underneath me and I hit the floor on my upper back. The barbell pinning me to the floor unable to breath.
Well your motivation has me doing chest Monday and Friday now benching bar at 80 pounds and 25 Lb dumbbells. Ten sets of 15 reps. I can see and feel the positive results.
Thanks!
i train only 2 days a week’full body’,if missing 1 workout entire schedule is ruined🏋🏽
As someone that's nearly 70 what gets me to the gym is knowing that I don't have to beat my record every time I go. I do my best when I go there but it's not a torture chamber. I turn up at the gym and I do my best depending on how I feel. Guess what I make improvements and I attend.
Bottom line is, if you don't enjoy what you are doing eventually you'll stop doing it.
Instead of saying “I HAVE to go to the gym” say “I GET to go to the gym.”
Perfect.
I enjoy your light hearted banter. I do think though, that lifters need to stick pretty tightly to their program.
Over time of course there are off days. But you need to push through those. Just tick it off. A harder session can be daunting, of course. But they have to be done. Once you start it's mostly fine. The motivation can be internal or external or both. I can't remember missing a session except for injury or illness. And that's how you get better. It becomes a matter of pride. Just say to yourself "it doesn't matter how I feel, it's getting done". And then it does .
Really heavy lifts require lots of mental strength. The same mental strength that leads to consistency of training. Of course the program must suit the lifters schedule. All the best.
I enjoy your videos. I also have your book. I'm a firm believer in strength training. I agree with the SS principals. There are a few issues. Most gyms are not set up for the basic lifts nor do they have properly trained instructors to teach the lifts. The second issue for older folks who want to do this (and younger ones, too) is the cost. In Texas, the monthly cost for a SS gym membership for 3/wk training is $455. That's $5,460/yr. That's expensive.
Online coaching is half the cost. Coaching with a video camera and some training partners is even less. It can be expensive, like any other form of medicine and many other worthwhile things, but not as expensive as golf, tennis, boating, or Type 2 diabetes.
Love your videos and your philosophy. I have no motivational problems but I do have a million questions. I'm in the gym from 6am to 8am doing weight resistance training and following your advice. Is there a difference between training in the morning and training at night? Is there a difference? Thanks a million
please do a video on recovering from sciatica and getting back to weight training. thank you.
Another helpful video. Thank you, good work. I use this (the hardest part of most training sessions is getting dressed for it, it’s all downhill after that) and the David Goggins one, where one side of my brain is saying “I’m not training today”, and the Goggins side is saying “yes you f***ing are!” It’s an interesting argument to observe. And Goggins almost always wins (persistent bastard!). :-)
Good stuff, Dr!
If Im really tired and get under the bar and I feel like Ill just get hurt. I stop.
Some days Im like, Im going to train but its not going to be a great day. Sometimes its actually one of my best days. And was much easier that I thought it would be. If Im over training, I might take a week off and go back a little lighter. But I stay at it.
Its kinda' like brushing your teeth, you have to be consistent to keep them healthy. But, ignore them, and they'll go away!
Word of advice. Don't think about it. Just suit up. Warm up. Train. Good luck !
Hi Sully! Great posting which I have found really useful! I love your tee shirt.... Where can I buy one please? Doesn't appear on your website as far as I can see?
For me what happens is not so much that I don't want to train, but that I don't want to go to the gym itself. Which is why I'm putting together a home gym. Of course, with a home gym I won't have any excuses then will I........
Nope. You're gonna be boned. Excuses = 0. 🤣
A Welcome Back Kotter reference. You do know your audience.
Mr. Cot-air !
Because I AM my audience! 😆
we don't have bar bells at my gym. dumb bells and weight machines but no bar bells. substitutes for bar bells? every time I've made myself go to the gym when i really didn't want to go, I've had a great work out. It changes my mood for the better every time.
I never miss. Except the last 10 days. Positive for covid.
Just this morning, I didn't wanna. I went to the gym and decided to see what content you had put up lately, and this was perfect. 5A today.
Dr Sullivan A brilliant posting! Where can I get your brilliant tee shirt please?
You can find that shirt and all the Greysteel merchandise via the links to the merch displayed under the video.
Its funny how helpful this is. Works great to approach it like this. John Sullivan Psy.D ?
LOL. Thanks.
@@GreySteel No - thank YOU. This technique also works with paperwork, taxes, vehicle maintenance, healthy eating, regulating nicotine/alcohol, repetitive work assignments, and virtually every other routine behavior one can name.
Are you an example of your program?
Have a training partner. Much easier than going alone.
YES. Absolutely.
Weight lifting been raising my BP. Anyone else having this issue?
At my age of 64, I’ll bail on it and come back harder the next workout. Always was effective for me in the past, but don’t make it a habit.
Odd, I'm 75 and never ever feel like bailing out.
Good to hear. I have a full time job that is physical. Some days I’m just too tapped for a workout.
@@rushv825 I do understand. If I were still working I would do the same. I do anticipate the day when I can't keep up my present pace. For that matter, I have not got a pr in about 3 years.
I only work out with weights twice a week. I think as you age you need to recover completely from your last work out. Believe it or not my strength is off the charts for a man my age. I train intensely for a couple of sets of compound exercises, and that’s it. No I do not or ever taken have PED’s.
I cannot think of any day in the last 9 years when I felt as if I did not wanna train. There have been days when I could not train but never one I did not want to train. I think I'm strange.
I can confirm this for our viewers: Dan ALWAYS wants to work out. Always.
So yeah. He's kinda strange. 😆
Tell me your secret, Sir.
Good for you !
Pretend its like brushing your teeth. You do it because you have to; if you also *want* to well thats a bonus. (Original quote from someone wiser than me, wish I could take credit.)
Also- I pay $285 a month for BLOC online coaching. If I don’t make use of it, it’s just throwing away money I could spend on beer. Or worse still, just waste!
6 simple steps...put down the potato chips, get off the couch, grab your gym bag and go! Wait! , that's only 3 steps...see..it's easier than you think!😀
I witnessed a 40 something male load a barbell with plates and then unload, several times, without performing one set. Wondered if this was legitimate exercise. Maybe he was trying to motivate himself?
He was spotting his imaginary friend!!
Hard to say. I can only observe that I've had days like that. 🤣
If you feel like you don't wanna, you're overtraining. Take an extra day or two off.
I wouldn't go that far. This is a bit too categorical for me. The diagnosis of overtraining can't be made on the basis of feeling demotivated.