How To Actually Enjoy Your Workouts
It’s a new year when many have decided to (finally) get serious about their fitness and commit to an exercise routine.
There are a lot of reasons that by February, most of those people have fallen off. One underrated reason that people fail to stick to it is that they just don’t enjoy it. It’s hard, they’re bad at it, the results aren’t coming. It’s difficult to make any kind of lifestyle change if you’re not enjoying it and not seeing the returns.
So today I want to offer some tips on how to actually enjoy your workouts so that you’ll… y’know… do them!
You don’t have to work out, you get to workout
This simple reframing goes a long way. Once you lose the ability to do something, you realize how much you miss it. You could get injured/ill in a way at any time that will keep you from moving your body. Think about the simple privilege it is to work out at all. You’re healthy enough, you have the time, you have the energy. For billions around the world, their workouts are their daily lives of labor and tasks.
So many people see exercise as a chore they have to do to look good so that people won’t judge them for their looks. That is a kind of toxic motivation that will mean you go into your workouts with angst and annoyance. It’s no way to enjoy your workout.
So next time, tell yourself, “Today, I get to workout”.
It doesn’t have to be a chore, it can be play
Related to the point above, I see a lot of people in the gym that look kinda… miserable? They’ve dragged themselves there because they’ve told themselves it’s something they have to do. They angrily push on the cardio machines until they burn enough calories to call it a day.
That is one way to work out, but it certainly doesn’t make it enjoyable. What if instead, you walked into the gym and said, “Let’s see what my body is capable of today”. Whether it’s lifting, calisthenics, cardio, yoga, or whatever, you’re exploring your body’s abilities. It’s why I’m not a fan of machines and I am a fan of free weights and bodyweight workouts. The more you move your body, the more it feels like play.
Next time you’re about to work out, start with a smile and see if you can’t have fun testing your body.
Process over results
Everyone wants to see results, I get it, I do too. When I first started, I would examine myself in the mirror often and get discouraged when reality didn’t meet my (lofty) expectations.
You’ve got to be careful with expectations. Most of us are not genetic freaks — you’re not getting lean overnight. 30-day “fixes” are scams — normal people can’t keep up with the intensity they require. Progress is often not linear — it can happen slowly, and then all at once.
This may seem counter-intuitive but forget the results, really. Trust in the process and check in every now and then. It will take around a month of consistent diet and exercise to see results. If you obsess in the mirror every night, you might not even notice them.
It’s a wonderful surprise to wake up one day and go, “Oh shit, do I kinda have abs??”
Trusting in the process is more about developing your identity as someone who cares about their health and the benefits that brings. You put in the consistent effort because you’re patient, and trust that you’re on the right path. Not because you’re expecting amazing results.
One way to not enjoy your workouts is to do them thinking, “well this is dumb, they don’t even work”. Drop the impatient attitude and trust the process.
Align your workouts with your values
I’m often surprised when people struggle to answer me when I ask, “What do you work out for?” I can’t say I blame them — exercise is one of those things we’ve been told to do by our parents and by society so we just do it without asking why.
I was guilty of this, I was working out as a kind of continuation from high school sports and because I wanted girls to notice me. I lifted and ate big in the name of muscles that you could see through a t-shirt. I felt like shit, I sucked at sports because my cardio and mobility were poor, and I didn’t like how I looked.
So I stopped to revaluate. What did I want out of fitness? I wanted to be able to enjoy my social hobbies like hiking, cycling, soccer, skiing. That meant doing more cardio and mobility. I wanted to feel good day-to-day. That meant doing bullet-proofing and posture exercises.
That made it much more enjoyable to workout because I could tell myself, “I’m doing X so that I can Y”. And when I played soccer all morning or crushed a 12-mile hike I could say, “Great, it worked!”.
What do you value? Is it active hobbies with friends? Is it looking good for your (potential) partner? Is it mental health? Is it staying healthy enough to see and play with grandkids?
There isn’t a wrong answer, but you should have an answer. Otherwise, you’re not going to enjoy your workouts very much as they’re not aligned with your values.
Alright, that’s it! Next time you gear up to workout, see if you be grateful for the opportunity to test your body and steadily improve towards your value-aligned goals.
I promise it’ll be a lot more enjoyable.
