“I broke my finger the other day, I can’t go to the football game tonight”. “My legs are a little stiff from working in the yard yesterday, I better not go to the concert tonight”. “I have a bit of a headache, its best I not attend the New Year’s Party”. ““ All sentences that have never been uttered by anyone in the history of time. Yet for some reason, if you replace the words “Football game”, “concert” and “New Year’s Party” with the word ” gym”, then you have a sentence that gets repeated to me on a weekly basis! Why is that? How come we can magically be healed or suddenly have the strength of superman to dismiss pain in some instances, yet have the toughness of a thin pane of glass in other instances?

I’ve read articles stating that laziness is natural or instinctual. They claim, since it takes action to do something, then it can’t be natural. We don’t have to take action to breathe or go to the bathroom and those are considered natural. Getting up and doing something takes action, therefore it isn’t natural. I’ve also read articles that have stated being a hard worker is natural or instinctual. They claim that it’s an evolutionary necessity to be a hard working individual, without it, we would have not survived. While I tend to lean heavily towards the second article, the fact remains that many, if not all, have a tendency to be lazy. I know I’m not immune the “lazy bug”. There have been countless times where my alarm has gone off to get up and go to the gym and I’ve just laid there thinking to myself, “I am too damn tired and too damn comfortable to move from this spot today”. And then promptly moved just enough to turn off the alarm.

So is going to the gym that painful and excruciating and hard? Nope, it’s actually quite easy. The problem is, it’s even easier not to go. And therein lies the problem. So how do we overcome this? Our good friend, Sir Isaac Newton has the answer!

Sir Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion states, 

[blockQuote position=”center”]”An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.”[/blockQuote]

Essentially this means, a body at rest, stays at rest. A body in motion, stays in motion. So the answer is creating an initial motion or action. Life keeps getting more and more convenient and less and less physical action is required. Therefore the necessity to be physically active is much higher, yet the immediate need to move is much lower.

So let’s change that. Here’s what works for me. I attempt to set up a training session every morning at the gym to train a client. This way, I have to get up and go to the gym, my job, my client and my reputation depends on it. If I don’t have a client that morning, there’s no immediate incentive (or punishment) for not going. For yourself, try setting appointments right before you would like to go to the gym, that way you’re already in motion getting things done, so going to the gym is now easier. Another thing that works for a lot of people is get a gym buddy. Find a friend to workout with and set a time for both of you to be there. You’re much more likely to go when someone is depending on you to be there. Anything that sets you in motion or creates an immediate incentive or punishment will up your chances of going to the gym.

This same thing can be applied to eating healthy. Plan ahead. If you give yourself only 30 min for lunch, then there is a higher chance you will not go home and prepare a proper and healthy meal. You’re more likely to pick up fast food and eat it in a rush to get back to work.

My last bit of advice, don’t stop, not even to take a couple weeks break. Remember, a rolling stone gathers no moss! The number one cause of my clients or students quitting is due to a break. I typically see a quarter of my students leave for Christmas break each year and not return. I see Clients that go on vacation and completely disregard their fitness regimen and never return. Or if they do return, they’ve set themselves back months.

So don’t let that broken toe nail, or the minor headache, or a sprained wrist keep you from improving the quality of your life with fitness! However, do note that there is a difference between pushing through the pain and ignoring pain. If you have a sprained knee, don’t just slap on the Icy Hot and continue doing squats! Instead, focus the training in a different area that isn’t injured. One should also note not to go to the gym while sick. It should be obvious, but I see it constantly, people sneezing, coughing, wiping snot on dumbbells…yuck! In this case, the body does need to sit back and relax to fight off the infections, but as soon as it’s done, get right back to it!

Will I see you in the gym or in my class soon?