Hey everyone.

I'm in a workout rut! I haven't done any type of workout since last week. And I don't feel like doing anything any time soon. I know I should when I get home from work but the last few days I have not felt 100% but I feel like I'm kind of using that as an excuse right now.

Sorry I just wanted to vent.

I so know the feeling.

A wise person in another forum said that action doesn't come from the feeling, feeling comes from action. Do it, I bet the desire will come back

I'v been down this road many times. The urge to workout never hits. I have to literally drag myself to the gym and make it happen. You will feel better once you get back into it, and likely not before that. Once I get stuck in a rut I inevitably feel like crap until I'm back to working out. Only it's like working out for the first time all over again! Kick yourself in the butt and get back out there!

Do you have a Curves near you? They have a special going on right now, 1 free week. I'm going to my introductory class on Thursday.

http://www.curvesinformation.com

Maybe something new will get you motivated? I'm hoping that's the deal with me!

I personally think it's ok to have times that you are not in the mood to exercise. It will come back, maybe it's your body telling you that you need a break. I just started back at the gym, granted i was off for a long while but i really wouldn't worry about 1 week.

I hear ya Proatthis... me too. I'm forcing myself to go tonight because my 2 hours every Tuesday right now is all that I'm doing. :-/ A drastic decline from the 5-6 hours a week I Was doing before. School and what not has drained all my workout motivation *laughs*

There are days where I definately feel the same, I think we all do. Most days I have to force myself to workout but after a really good session, I feel fantastic and want to go back. The key is finding something you enjoy doing at the gym, home, or outside. For me it's Zumba, I was immediately hooked after my first class and try to do at least 3 classes per week. I lost the first 80 or so pounds doing nothing but Zumba! I then added Spin and running to my agenda.

Hey guys

Thanks for your feedback and support. I truly appreciate it. I'm normally a pretty active person with lots of walking/some running,Jillian micheals videos,the odd spin class and such. I moved over the summer to a small town and started a new job a few weeks ago. This is the first time in a long time I have to join a gym. I was working out at home and walking/running outside all summer. I am finding it hard to get my groove back with the change of starting a new job and the kids back in school. I know I need to workout and always feel better when I do. I hope reading all your posts and advice will help pull me out of this rut.

Thanks ladies I always find great support here

The hardest part is just getting a routine going again. If you are joining a gym that offers classes, you might look for classes you want to try at times you will be able to make a fair amount of the time - to minimize the excuses for not going, and so you don't beat yourself up if you simply can't go.

If you have a local running store or something similar, you might see if they offer classes or running groups if you are up to a social aspect in your workouts, meeting people in your new town, while the weather still isn't too bad out. In this area anyway, most of the little non-chain or small locally based chain stores (running, cycling, general athletic) offer free running groups and free or very inexpensive walk to run programs, plus sometimes other goodies like free yoga classes, etc.

You could also try tracking activity on a site like fitocracy (can use invite code lifehacker I believe) to see if that motivates you. My brother wasn't very active (he's a total beanpole, just a sedentary beanpole) and then I invited him to the site and he's really gotten into the idea of completing quests, getting levels, etc. The site is in beta so they're still adding stuff. He has sworn he's going to beat me to the next level no matter what he has to do. There's a 3fatchicks group on there and who knows, maybe if we ever see enough WW 3fc folks on there, it might be worth having a group just for that. My BL team on here just made their own group and set up a group challenge to see who gets the most points, which sounds fun!

I totally understand how you feel. I took a few days off once and it took me forEVER to find my groove again. But once you find that routine and groove it becomes addicting!

I also agree with what Kim said about finding something you really like to do. Like, I hate the treadmill. I get bored after 2 minutes. But I LOVE the elliptical and, oddly, like walking around my city. I could walk for hours on sidewalk but can't stand the treadmill. Weird. I also have a Wii Fit and there are games on there I love and use when I really need to talk myself into exercising. They, naturally, don't give me very many AP but it's better than nothing

The one thing I always tell myself when I'm feeling that way is that I never regret exercising. But I always regret NOT exercising. So I grab my iPod, put on some rock music, and just make myself do it.

I know the feeling of not wanting to work out. Been there, done that, will do it again.

I force myself to do it, though, because I suffere from depression, and even with the meds I take, if I don't get a good 30 minutes of exercise in each day, I get irrationally angry & confrontational, really tooling for a fight. I just can't be that person anymore (especially now that I am a mother), so I make myself get out there and do it. Even if it is just a casual walk, it is still something.

I made an appointment on my agenda for the gym sessions. And when I feel not motivated at all, I first look if I'm not coming up with a cold or something, if something new into my life is not temporarily stressing me or making me more tired that usual...and here is my little trick to myself : I tell myself to put on the running shoes, then I walk to the door and tell myself I'll walk around the block and come back...even 5 minutes. And if I come back after those 5 minutes, I tell myself I did show up Then I take on the usual program I've set for myself...and if I can't make myself put on the shoes, walk to the door and walk the 5 minutes, I look through my yoga dvds and simply stretch...For me too, what motivates me is that I know I will plateau if I don't move...

Working out in a gym can get really boring. So I took to gardening in nice weather.
I never go to a gym to work out early spring through late fall. I am just too busy gardening and working around the house every day. The hard work uses up all my energy. But my place looks nicer every year.

I am completely landscaping around my home this year. Digging in large plants and hauling over 50 40-pound bags of topsoil and mulch really adds up to a lot of heavy lifting. Sometimes I get so fatigued it takes me 3 days to get back to normal.


This weekend I am moving a patio walkway. I have to clean and lift 30 40-pound patio blocks to another location. That's a killer.
But it's not as boring as working on the same machines all week.

Tomorrow I am planting 45 large hostas in another area. And a large mulberry tree. It all adds up to a lot of stooping, bending, pulling, and heavy lifting.
I'm in great physical shape and well toned even though I have a lot more weight to lose.

My skinny neighbor tells me I need more exercize to lose weight. LOL
I told her I need more rest.

My overweight neighbor tells me I should hire someone to do all that yardwork.
I tell her I'm the one who really needs the exercize.
And she is so overweight and out of shape, she has to hire someone just to do her housework!

In the winter...on the days I don't shovel snow, I go to my clubhouse and work out to stay in shape, because I have to or I don't feel well. The gym is a whole lot easier than yardwork.
I don't have to battle the insects and the scorching sun.

I believe that the Good Lord gave us a finite number of heartbeats,
and I'm d#%%#d if I'm going to use up mine running up and down a street.
~Neil Armstrong on jogging, in an interview with Walter Cronkite~