Struggling to Stay Consistent with Workouts – Looking for Advice

[Avidan]

Hey everyone,

I’ve been having a hard time staying consistent with my gym workouts. I keep searching for new workout plans online, start with good intentions, but end up switching programs or stopping altogether.

My goal is to follow a structured routine and work out at least 3–4 times a week, but in reality, it’s just not happening.

Sometimes it’s a lack of motivation, and other times I find excuses not to go.

Has anyone here dealt with something similar?

I’d really appreciate any tips, personal insights, or strategies for building self-discipline and staying motivated over time.

Thanks in advance!

 

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[Lou7]

Hey everyone,

I’ve been having a hard time staying consistent with my gym workouts. I keep searching for new workout plans online, start with good intentions, but end up switching programs or stopping altogether.

My goal is to follow a structured routine and work out at least 3–4 times a week, but in reality, it’s just not happening.

Sometimes it’s a lack of motivation, and other times I find excuses not to go.

Has anyone here dealt with something similar?

I’d really appreciate any tips, personal insights, or strategies for building self-discipline and staying motivated over time.

Thanks in advance!

1. This a mind thing, 1st of all. You have to raise your bar. Think about it: why do you shower everyday? Because you would find gross not do it , right? But why don’t you find humiliating not to do the think you said you would do?

2. Get a workout partner

3. State all the whys behind your desire. You probably don’t want it bad enough

4. Get professional help. Mainly from natural bodybuilders. Natural workout is different from enhanced

 

[DareDevil]

one solution I have,

forget online

go to a gym , you made your goals great now forget about it , your goal is showing up in the gym's door thats it ,

Action gives motivation

LETS GOO LETS LIFT BRO GET THOSE GAINS

Do one thing go buy a gym membership first thing in the morning
POST THE GYM AND YOURSELF in the lifestyle thread section
and focus on just showing up in gym thats it

Action > Motivation
Low expectations High Standards > High expectations

Sir that will be 10 reps you can click on the award rep bucks section lol.

 

[403burnout]

Has anyone here dealt with something similar?

Yes.

One thing that helped me was simplifying it. This is probably sacrilegious to serious gym-goers but it worked for me - I stopped looking up workout plans online and went there without a plan.

My only goal was to show up at the gym on the days that I said I would go, and stay there for at least 30 minutes, even if it was just walking on the treadmill at a slow speed.

The thing is, once I actually showed up and walked on the treadmill for a few minutes, my brain realized it was stupid to come all that way and not workout. The hard part is getting your a$$ off the couch and through the doors. Once you're there, walking 50 ft from the treadmill to a weight bench is comparatively easy.

Focus on just showing up, not strictly adhering to a program. Do things that make it easier to show up. Change into workout clothes before the time you are planning to go. Force yourself to take a different route to/from work where you drive right past the gym. Etc.

 

[Eurojanek]

Here's my take:
My why:
Needed to keep my back pains under controll and escspe or postpone surgery for as long as posible. Being in better shape is bonus.
Motivation:
Not needed. Keeping achieving my goal is enough. No famous quotes of Arnold on my FB, or any photos of my biceps. Zero bragging to friends. Also don't need to gain extra muscles, just unneccessary weight to me, impressing folks - not interested.
Action:
Did 4 years of kettle bell hardstyle 3x a week with a group untill Covid. Skipped 1 training. Now doing KB at home 5x a week, but not hardcstyle, just some lighter exercises (don't want to wake up kids).
If in doubt:
If I feel like I dont want to train today I remind myself: if I skip this time I skip another time and then some more, and eventually will quit alltogether. So I have to decide: If I skip today, that means I can aswell give up entirely on the spot. Otherwise pump that iron right now!
If it still feels like a doubt I promise myself to only do some lighter exercises or do only half a training (then end up doing the full training most of the time anyway )
I undestand my take fits internally motivated people and might not suit you, but hope You can pick something for yourself anyway.
The "if in doubt" section possibly. Also applicable for quitting stuff like smoking, alcohol etc.
Cheers,
Janusz

 

[TheWiseGuy]

There's no advice anybody can give to make you want to go to the gym.

It's simple discipline.

Trust me, 99% of the time I don't want to go, but I go anyway. It pays dividends when I'm in public with my girl, and I feel like I'm going to explode out of my shirt! LOL

In saying that- a few months ago, I made the mistake of sacrificing workouts to work on my business. I didn't realise that these two things weren't at odds with each other, but functioned as a whole.

Any positive change isn't very fun. But to develop as a human, you absolutely must develop your body to an acceptable standard.

 

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[theNeverMore]

for me, the biggest friction I removed was to buy a workout (I bought Athlean-X, really good programs).

It freed up a lot of mental space for me. And made my workouts way more enjoyable.

Having a gym close to home also helps. Like others have said, your goal is to change into gym clothes and walk to the gym. That’s the only goal. Working out after you get to the gym is easy.

 

[Devilery]

For beginners, what you do in the gym barely matters. Just go as often as you can and lift something for an hour or so each time.

6 months later, you'll know what to improve. First, just develop a habit of going to the gym.

 

[Avidan]

one solution I have,

forget online

go to a gym , you made your goals great now forget about it , your goal is showing up in the gym's door thats it ,

Action gives motivation

LETS GOO LETS LIFT BRO GET THOSE GAINS

Do one thing go buy a gym membership first thing in the morning
POST THE GYM AND YOURSELF in the lifestyle thread section
and focus on just showing up in gym thats it

Action > Motivation
Low expectations High Standards > High expectations

Sir that will be 10 reps you can click on the award rep bucks section lol.​

Thanks for the advice bro, it's good! But without a structured plan? Just work on the whole body?

 

[Avidan]

Yes.

One thing that helped me was simplifying it. This is probably sacrilegious to serious gym-goers but it worked for me - I stopped looking up workout plans online and went there without a plan.

My only goal was to show up at the gym on the days that I said I would go, and stay there for at least 30 minutes, even if it was just walking on the treadmill at a slow speed.

The thing is, once I actually showed up and walked on the treadmill for a few minutes, my brain realized it was stupid to come all that way and not workout. The hard part is getting your a$$ off the couch and through the doors. Once you're there, walking 50 ft from the treadmill to a weight bench is comparatively easy.

Focus on just showing up, not strictly adhering to a program. Do things that make it easier to show up. Change into workout clothes before the time you are planning to go. Force yourself to take a different route to/from work where you drive right past the gym. Etc.​

Thanks! But I think I need a structured workout plan — without one, I feel lost at the gym.

 

[Avidan]

Here's my take:
My why:
Needed to keep my back pains under controll and escspe or postpone surgery for as long as posible. Being in better shape is bonus.
Motivation:
Not needed. Keeping achieving my goal is enough. No famous quotes of Arnold on my FB, or any photos of my biceps. Zero bragging to friends. Also don't need to gain extra muscles, just unneccessary weight to me, impressing folks - not interested.
Action:
Did 4 years of kettle bell hardstyle 3x a week with a group untill Covid. Skipped 1 training. Now doing KB at home 5x a week, but not hardcstyle, just some lighter exercises (don't want to wake up kids).
If in doubt:
If I feel like I dont want to train today I remind myself: if I skip this time I skip another time and then some more, and eventually will quit alltogether. So I have to decide: If I skip today, that means I can aswell give up entirely on the spot. Otherwise pump that iron right now!
If it still feels like a doubt I promise myself to only do some lighter exercises or do only half a training (then end up doing the full training most of the time anyway )
I undestand my take fits internally motivated people and might not suit you, but hope You can pick something for yourself anyway.
The "if in doubt" section possibly. Also applicable for quitting stuff like smoking, alcohol etc.
Cheers,
Janusz

Thanks for the reply bro! Sounds like you’re really consistent and goal-driven.Quick question – on those “lighter” days, do you follow some kind of plan or just go by feel?

 

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[Jaywalker]

Most of this thread is misinformation and will get you tepid results. In terms of my background, I lost 58lbs and work directly with a personal trainer link. I paid 200 a month for weekly check ins and now do biweekly check ins for 100 month. This guy will absolutely change your life for the positive. Fitness has virtually eliminated all symptoms of mental illness for me. He can help you cut through the misinformation and get a routine that helps your goals.

For starters, you can reframe gym time in your brain as a chore to a fun hobby. I go to the gym 5x a week for 90mins a session because it helps me focus for the rest of the day. I just feel better after the gym.

Count your calories on myfitness pal. 80% of your look will come from what you eat. I overate for years without realizing as I had no idea of the calories in a given food. Now, my body seems to naturally regulate how much I eat in a day, and I get appropriate hunger signals. This came from months of religious calorie counting.

Weigh yourself first thing in the morning.

In terms of my end goals of my physique, I'm no where close. But my lifts are going up by orders of magnitude so I know it is a matter of time and just executing on the vision outlined by my trainer.

Also track your reps and your weight so that you know if you're making any progress.

I wasted years of my life on tepid fitness advice that really got me no where at the end of it. I made more progress in the last six months than I've made in years.

Best of luck on your fitness journey! You can do it!

 

[bc0510]

99% of the time, I would like to avoid showing up to the gym... but 1% when I hit the gym door, warm up for 10 minutes, I get full energy to go for another hour of exercise. So, the thing is, you just have to go there, warm up, and it will change your mindset. This is how it works for me.

Second thing - having a partner in the gym is always good for motivation, discipline, and a proper gym workout routine. See if you can find one.

 

[WillHurtDontCare]

Hey everyone,

I’ve been having a hard time staying consistent with my gym workouts. I keep searching for new workout plans online, start with good intentions, but end up switching programs or stopping altogether.

My goal is to follow a structured routine and work out at least 3–4 times a week, but in reality, it’s just not happening.

Sometimes it’s a lack of motivation, and other times I find excuses not to go.

Has anyone here dealt with something similar?

I’d really appreciate any tips, personal insights, or strategies for building self-discipline and staying motivated over time.

Thanks in advance!

Just do this routine:

12 Week Push Pull Legs Program Preview

Completely Comprehensive, Detailed 12 Week Program

www.bowtiedox.io

Plan your workout the night before. Put them in a note taking app on your phone. I use Apple notes now but I used to use Evernote (which sucks now but it gets the job done). Store the workout notes in a specific folder. If you're unfamiliar with the exercises, look them up on YouTube the night before, and store the links with your exercises. Don't spend too much time overthinking the exercises at the gym (unless you're doing real heavy weight on compound lifts) - just do light weight and try to knock out the routine in 45-60 minutes. You can progressively add weight as you see fit, but use really light weight in the beginning just so you can get a feel for the individual exercises and the routine as a whole. Your goal is to do all of your thinking in advance so that you can just got there, quickly bang out the exercises, and leave. If the machine that you need is taken, just skip it and move on to the next exercise, then come back to it later.

This is a snippet of one of my workouts stored in Apple notes to give you a sense of how you can organize your workouts.



oh and make this photo your wall paper on your phone:

 

[Bigguns50]

I can only give advice based on my experience.

Day 1) Chest/shoulders/triceps
Day 2) Legs
Day 3) Back/ biceps

I do a rotation, so each muscle is worked every 4 and 5 days.

Day 1
Day 2
Cardio
Day 3
Day 1
Cardio
Day 2
Day 3
Cardio

And so on.

I have days when I am literally too busy to get to the gym even early in the morning. Not often, though. From experience, if I don't go first thing in the morning (Usually 6:30 a.m.), things happen, and I don't go at all.

I'm usually up at 4:00 am to meditate, stretch, do deep breathing, and have a higher-calorie green smoothie. I love the routine but I don't love 4:00 am.

My 'whys' will be different from yours, but they are important to me. There are many, many days when I don't 'feel like' going, but I go anyway. Like others have said, it's discipline.

 

[The Sandman]

1st, understand that whatever program you choose is THE LEAST IMPORTANT component. So don't stress it, just pick one and follow it for a while. CONSISTENCY is the biggest factor.

I like Wendler's 5/3/1, and used the Five3One app for years. It's really nice to have a program that lays it all out. No decision making, just do the lifts specified. I'm sure there are "better" programs, but this works and unless you're an advanced athlete any good program will do. 5/3/1: How to Build Pure Strength

I think many programs are overly complicated in an attempt to look interesting and stand out in a crowded field.

 

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[LuckyPup]

Hey everyone,

I’ve been having a hard time staying consistent with my gym workouts. I keep searching for new workout plans online, start with good intentions, but end up switching programs or stopping altogether.

My goal is to follow a structured routine and work out at least 3–4 times a week, but in reality, it’s just not happening.

Sometimes it’s a lack of motivation, and other times I find excuses not to go.

Has anyone here dealt with something similar?

I’d really appreciate any tips, personal insights, or strategies for building self-discipline and staying motivated over time.

Thanks in advance!

You already know what to do; you don't need us to tell you. Bottom line: You'll either find a way, or you'll find an excuse.

 

[Johnny boy]

Secret ingredient is being mad at life and feeling bad about yourself and never feeling good enough

 

[ygtrhos]

Falls under general habits question.

Depending on the level of detail you wish, I can write an essay here about this.

The shortest answer: https://s3.amazonaws.com/jamesclear/Atomic+Habits/Habits+Cheat+Sheet.pdf

If you want a very long answer, read Atomic Habits from James Clear.

 

[Kevin88660]

I think you have to experiment different workout routine, find it which one you prefer the most and stick to it for easy tracking.

It’s a balance between what you like to do, and what you have to do. Because what you find a hassle is hard to sustain.

It has to fit in your lifestyle without too much hassle.

I stick with gym 2-3 times a week plus walking. Walking is very easy to track if you have a fat loss goal, using phone or smart watch. It has easily be integrated into your daily schedule. I can precisely calculate the walking distance per day needed for the fat loss goal using chatgpt.

 

[Jockomofino]

1st, understand that whatever program you choose is THE LEAST IMPORTANT component. So don't stress it, just pick one and follow it for a while. CONSISTENCY is the biggest factor.

I like Wendler's 5/3/1, and used the Five3One app for years. It's really nice to have a program that lays it all out. No decision making, just do the lifts specified. I'm sure there are "better" programs, but this works and unless you're an advanced athlete any good program will do. 5/3/1: How to Build Pure Strength

I think many programs are overly complicated in an attempt to look interesting and stand out in a crowded field.

I was about to recommend Starting Strength, but this is good too. 3 days a week, low volume. The secret for him would be to start very low weight and add at smaller increments. Hopefully this would build the habit without perception of much pain. By the time he got to really pushing any weight, the habit would (hopefully) be there and the way he felt out of the gym should make him want to show up every time. Once advanced in that, read Practical Programming to keep going.

 

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[JimmyJonCricket]

Something that might help if anyone's tired of the traditional gym is starting in some kind of combat sport, boxing, kick boxing, jujitsu, MMA.. You never lose those skills, and improvements are easier to see, plus people are usually more fit which is encouraging by comparison..

I have some weights at home, do some quick home workouts, walk/bike when it's nice out, then boxing classes 2-3 times a week.

The push up challenge is a good one too, get down and do as many as you can twice a day.. Or whenever you have time.. It's always a quick few minutes but killer workout, same can be applied to pull ups n such.

 

[Einfamilienhaus]

The Best advice for every Problem is to Start from your yourself and the question: What do you want to achieve?

Just going to Fitness because everyone seems to do it is not the right step. If your goal is to get fit, than Fitness might be the right choice. If you want to learn how to protect yourself, getting stronger by Body mass is not the Best choice for example. In this case starting with some fighting sports would achieve better results.

 

[Jobless]

I think, if the workout plan is too complex to remember in your head, maybe you should simplify it. I don't want to be in the gym and have to pick up my phone or a piece of paper to check what exercise and how many sets and what weight etc.

 

[Dome]

Hey everyone,

I’ve been having a hard time staying consistent with my gym workouts. I keep searching for new workout plans online, start with good intentions, but end up switching programs or stopping altogether.

My goal is to follow a structured routine and work out at least 3–4 times a week, but in reality, it’s just not happening.

Sometimes it’s a lack of motivation, and other times I find excuses not to go.

Has anyone here dealt with something similar?

I’d really appreciate any tips, personal insights, or strategies for building self-discipline and staying motivated over time.

Thanks in advance!

Ever thought about doing an other sport instead of gym? I really like full contact fighting sports like boxing, kick boxing, etc. But you could do other sports like swimming, soccer, football, tennis too.

In this type of sports you don’t have to worry about „I keep searching for new workout plans online, start with good intentions, but end up switching programs or stopping altogether.“

The only motivation you need is to show up, the coaches will do the rest and help you push your limits. So way less excuses and distraction.

If even this wont help you stay motivated you may have to simplify everything. Buy a yoga mat and if you for example work from home put it every evening down so when you first enter you „office“ the next morning just do as much as push up’s you can. Make this a everyday routine. If you hit for example 30-50 reps, start to add a new workout like sit ups and repeat. Sometimes you have to train your „brain“ before you train the muscles. Because if it is this simple you can’t make any excuses up. You can do push ups everywhere and don’t get overwhelmed from all the stuff a gym offers.

 

[Supa]

Made me think of this masterpiece of a video (make sure to watch at least the first 25 seconds, there‘s quite a twist to the video):

View: https://youtu.be/9mbp0DugfCA?feature=shared

 

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[Wardy]

Stop treating working out as something that is a choice - that you can choose to or not to. You have to eat, you have to sleep, you have to make money, you have to stay fit - or you'll age faster, die sooner.

 

[Kevin88660]

Remove the word “easy” will set the right expectation.

I have to reserve two hours for walking everyday to hit my body recomposition goal.

Still the best out of all choices, no need to change and travel to the gym. No need recovery and something that can be done daily.

Music on, starting walking in your own room back and forth like an idiot. Doesn’t matter. Use a phone or watch to track the steps.

I have gym sessions targets in mind also. But walking is the non-negotiable part that I commit to.

 

[DareDevil]

Remove the word “easy” will set the right expectation.

I have to reserve two hours for walking everyday to hit my body recomposition goal.

Still the best out of all choices, no need to change and travel to the gym. No need recovery and something that can be done daily.

Music on, starting walking in your own room back and forth like an idiot. Doesn’t matter. Use a phone or watch to track the steps.

I have gym sessions targets in mind also. But walking is the non-negotiable part that I commit to.

Depends on his goals , I follow exactly what you do diet + low cardio thats it , I don't need fat on my body