Discipline > Motivation: How to Show Up When You Don’t Feel Like It
Having motivation to go to the gym can be difficult, especially when our lives get busy and our other obligations get the best of us. Usually what separates the occasional gym goers from the ones that continuously show up is discipline. So many different factors play into going to the gym and actually seeing results; discipline in the driving force in all of them.
So let's talk about discipline versus motivation. Motivation is the driver that initiates an action. When you have motivation to go to the gym it can be caused by an internal force (yourself) or an external force (incentive), but it doesn’t always last. Motivation comes and goes, but discipline is what will keep you in the gym and get you seeing results. Discipline is the ability to follow through with your actions on a more consistent basis. This is what drives you when the motivation is nowhere to be found. It’s considered more stable because it does not rely on anything else but a commitment you made to yourself. In our book, discipline = results. We like to call it the difference between hype and habit. All it boils down to is are you disciplined enough to create daily habits from the hype that got you there in the first place? Yes, going on a few runs or hitting the gym whenever a friend asks are still great ways to get in some fitness time, but if you want to see real results in your life there is a certain level of commitment you need to adhere to. This is where accountability and routine come into play.
Creating a routine you can stick with is one of the easiest ways to commit to an active lifestyle. You can do this with your workout, nutrition and sleeping schedules to make it as easy on yourself as possible in the process. Routine may take shape in the form of a workout split or meal prepping and those two things are extremely helpful ways to manufacture a system that works for you. Pick a day over the weekend where you can prepare all weekday lunch meals so you don't have to do it throughout the week. Decide on an easy prep breakfast meal and make sure all the ingredients are chopped, measured and are ready for easy assembly. If you work out in the morning try to set out your clothes the night before, and if you go after work just take everything to your job with you. All of this preparation will take the extra work and time lost out of your daily schedule which, in return, provides more time to focus on other aspects of your life. If you already know what you’re eating for breakfast and lunch, and you know what your workouts are going to be for the week, then all of the guessing gets taken out of the situation. This is especially helpful for individuals who have busy lives and full time jobs or families they need to focus on.
Planning for your future self makes taking accountability as easy as possible, and eventually these actions will build discipline. Instead of acting solely on our feelings in the moment, if we create these systems to follow then the progress will start to show. If any of that sounds like too much too fast, then smaller steps can be taken as opposed to not starting at all. What this might look like at first is making sure you get 8 hours of sleep at night so that you feel good when taking on new training plans. Start with one or two days in the gym and gradually increase to something more manageable. A slow build up to a full schedule is much more likely to stick than starting everything all at once and giving up because you got overwhelmed. If you aren’t sure about how to exist in the gym, classes can help create consistency and take the planning out of your hands. Classes also uphold that sense of community and push members to work harder than they might alone. You’re basically using a buddy system for accountability, and it’s always nice to have someone there to encourage you to do your best. Our coaches are particularly amazing at this and can help develop training and nutrition plans that work best for you. Then when you get more comfortable, a transition to working out alone and doing all of the prep and planning yourself won’t seem as intimidating because the strong foundation has already been built.
Discipline is not something that comes easy. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to see the results you want to see in the gym, but just because something is hard does not mean you shouldn’t try. All of these small daily actions are things you can do to create accountability in your life and the discipline will follow if you stick to it. We want to be there for you, but even more than that we want you to show up for yourself and use that motivation to do everything you ever wanted to. Sometimes the most fulfilling things come from how hard you work to accomplish them, and our gym community prides itself on setting our members up for success in all facets of their life.
No one is born disciplined. It’s something you build one decision and one day at a time. Whether you’re prepping your meals, packing your gym bag the night before, or just deciding to show up when it would be easier to skip, every small action adds up. That’s how progress works. That’s how discipline is built. So if you're ready to stop waiting on motivation and start building real momentum, we’re here for it. Come take a class, talk to a coach, or just walk through the door. You don’t have to be perfect — you just have to keep showing up.
Let’s build the habit. Let’s build the discipline. Let’s go.
>>> Learn With the Best <<<
Written by the Primitive Movement x Swole AF Team
Follow & Subscribe
Stay connected with the crew, tune into our podcast, and get the latest from the gym:
Website: info.swoleafgym.com
Instagram: @swoleafgym
Facebook: Primitive Movement x Swole AF Gym
YouTube: @swoleafgym
TikTok: @swoleafgym
Spotify: Primitive Podcast on Spotify
