Motivation for a Workout

I truly enjoy a good work out.  But I have problems motivating myself to actually start the workout.  First there is the problem of where you work out.  Motivation to go to a gym is something I have not been able to achieve since graduation.  I found that once I started working full time I just could not make it to the gym regularly.  20 pounds later my solution was purchasing an elliptical for my home. You are probably thinking how expensive was that?  I did it through Sears 12 months no interest and the monthly payment over 1 year was not much more than a 12 month gym membership.    

Once I had the equipment in my house it became a challenge to motivate myself to actually get on the machine, especially with all the distractions at home. There are typically three times of day for those of us who work full time to fit in exercise: morning, lunch time, and after work.

Morning workouts are especially hard for me because I hate getting out of bed.  Not just where working out is concerned but for any reason at all.  I just hate leaving that warm cocoon of alternative feathery softness.  (I am allergic to real feathers, but that is another topic).  Every once in awhile I am forced to do a dreaded morning workout due to some unavoidable activity taking place after work.  On the rare occasion I accomplish this the day usually involves a red bull in addition to multiple cups of coffee.

As for an afternoon workout, I am not one of those lucky women who can work out on her lunch break, although my office has a gym and very clean showers.  There are a couple reasons why exercise in the middle of the day is not an appealing option for me.  First, there is not enough time on my lunch break for the workout I want to do.  Like most people, I have 30 minutes to an hour for lunch, but I like to do about 45 minutes of cardio.  I realize of course that I do not have to do 45 minutes, but when counting calories it really helps.  Second, it takes time to get ready to go back to work.  For me it includes a shower, blow dry, straighten and make-up.  When my hair air dries I have a frightening morning after look, not office appropriate.  In the end I would have to cut my work out in half to allow time to be presentable, plus bring all that stuff with me from home. For me that is just not worth the hassle.

Currently I am focusing my efforts on working out after work.  This challenge is that by 5 p.m. (if that’s when I leave the office) I am pretty tired and want to just relax. So I trick myself.  I put my elliptical in front of a television and a tivo.  On this tivo I record my guilty pleasure shows, the things my husband can’t stand, but I can’t give up.  This is a rather embarrassing list of some of the worst programming known to television, especially for a 28 year old woman, including America’s Next Top Model, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, the Secret Life of the American Teenager, Pretty Little Liars, ok pretty much anything on the CW or ABC Family.  Now if I want to watch these shows I have to get on the elliptical, and the workout goes by much faster without commercials.  Of course in reality you can watch a show without exercising, but trust me you start to feel like a lazy slug watching a show while the elliptical sits idly by. 

This trick works with other electronics too.  My mother-in-law started working out to her Netflix account.  She put her machine in the room with her computer and got an extender for her headphones, and then watches television shows and movies through her instant play Netflix account.  

How do you motivate your workouts?