How to Work Out Without Hating It

By Jordan Bissell on July 28, 2014

Especially now that most people are out of school and have a lot more free time, it’s probably harder than ever to motivate yourself to work out (and 100-degree weather doesn’t help).  I used to vehemently hate working out during the summer, but grew to really appreciate it.  I can’t guarantee that you’ll become a gym rat by fall semester, but these tips will definitely improve your experience with exercising.

1.  Establish a time.

Whether you’re a morning person or a night person, there’s going to be a specific time of the day that is naturally better for you to work out.  Although I’m a morning person, I’ve found through trial and error that exercising seems much easier to me when I’m doing it at night–probably because I’m pretty useless before I’ve had breakfast and coffee.  For other people though, you might have more energy in the morning or just have more motivation to do something active than you do after a long day of work.  Either way, discover your “ideal time” and stick with it.

2.  Run to music.

I know that those iPhone armband thingies are kind of ugly and tacky, but they really make a huge difference.  It’s one thing to start your run and countdown how many minutes you have left, but somehow thinking “I have 3 songs left” seems much more doable.  If you have a playlist you can remember how many songs you have yet to listen to, and if you are playing an entire album you can figure out where you are time-wise too.  Also, something about a great beat makes pacing yourself easier.

3.  Focus on the high.

On difficult days where I would really rather eat Ben and Jerry’s while binge-watching New Girl, I have to remind myself of how great I feel once my workout is over.  ”Runner’s high” (or when you become high from the adrenaline rush of working out) is a very real thing and can be used as a motivation for regular exercising.  When I’m making myself tie my tennis shoes to go for a run, I just have to think back to how great it feels to be a little bit sore and I become a little more willing to start counting down the miles.  Of course, sometimes you have to listen to your body and take a day or two off, but if you’re just being lazy, this strategy really helps.

So instead of using this summer to become an expert on every crime scene on Law and Order: SVU (which honestly isn’t a bad idea), create a workout plan and actually stick to it!

And if all else fails, try this bracelet, which shocks you every time you skip the gym…

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