At the gym (or not)
Demotion of motion
How do you stay motivated when you’re not really all that motivated to move from the couch?
Bless me trainer for I have sinned. It’s been 4 days since my last visit to the gym. I confess. I just didn’t feel like it. Not only did I not go to the gym this weekend, but I ate…pizza and pasta! Yes! Clutch your pearls in shock! I have no excuse, I just felt like being a sloth. That’s all.
This is not new. I’ve been on this particular roller-coaster a few times. You get all motivated and you hit the gym solidly for weeks. Then one day something shakes you out of your routine and …BANG. You’re fat and flabby again (ok more flabby).I tell myself the same thing each time: “It’s not the end of the world.” “Your body hasn’t forgotten how to be fit. The next time you hit the gym, you’ll be back where you were in no time.”
Of course that still leaves the big question: “What’s going to get you back in the gym?” For me, it’s simple —CASH. I actually pay someone to be there waiting for me on a regular basis. I make the minimal commitment to never flake on my trainer and he agrees not to give me too much grief for not working out every day. See? Everyone’s happy.
You know the other thing that keeps me motivated? The inescapable truth that if you eat anything you crave after 40, you will get fat. Oh and you won’t just get fat all over. NO. It will all go straight to your gut. That thing will grow and grow until it cascades over your belt. After a while, even your big un-tucked shirt won’t hide it. Your blubber will bulge in front of you announcing your sloth to the world. The horror! Think about that the next time you’re getting dressed and tell me it doesn’t motivate you!
I’m paying someone and I like my current waist size so I must go to the gym. I must go but I need not descend in to a shame spiral for missing a day or two. Motivation can escape me once in a while. Like everything else in my life, peace has come from adjusting my expectations to align closer to reality. I will go to the gym semi-regularly and I will look like I swallowed a bowling ball on a semi-regular basis. Peace through balance. How’s that for Zen motivation?
I'm a middle aged, middle manager at a major tech company. I'm a gamer, a sculptor and loving husband. I'm occasionally insightful, sometimes pedantic but rarely pretentious. Oh, and I've been a professional writer for years so I know a lot of words.
