I don’t know about you, but exercising and I have a sordid relationship.
This week, I’m going to talk about what you can do when you don’t want to work out — 4 things that can help you get your butt into gear and get it done!
I have older siblings – same mom, same dad. My sister was back in her pre-pregnancy jeans two weeks after she had a baby. So, after my first, I was like, “Oh yeah, I’m totally going to be like her!”
News flash: I wasn’t.
Much to my disappointment, I found myself a year later still overweight and unable to lose it. I realized that for me, my metabolism, and how I roll in my life… I have to work out to physically be in the shape that I want to be in.
Then, as the the years have progressed and as I fought alongside my late husband and his cancer diagnosis and battle, I found that working out was not only instrumental for me physically, but it became instrumental for my mental health, too.
Over the years, I have really learned that I need to keep exercise in my life in order to maintain balance.
“How do you work out when you don’t want to?” Being on YouTube, having my podcast, being out in social media, and motivational speaking, this is a question I get asked a lot. The truth is, it’s HARD. Especially if you’re a working parent with a ton of other obligations and things on your plate. It’s hard to put yourself first and find that time, but it’s essential.
Here are 4 things you can do when you really don’t feel like exercising but know you should!
Grab a Friend
If you don’t want to exercise, grab a friend. Make an appointment with them and show up. If you commit to somebody, you’re more likely to actually follow through. I can’t even tell you the countless amount of workouts that I would not have done had I not committed to a friend previously.
At first, I couldn’t be accountable to just myself. As the years have gone by, I appreciate, honor, and value my time and commitment to myself as sacred and special, but that took a while to get there. If I was just on my list before, there’s no way that I would be like, “Yeah, my appointment with myself is cancelled because I don’t want to do that.”
It took a lot of consistency in years and visualization to get to where I am and hold myself accountable. So, if you’re in the same place now and it’s hard for you to do that, grab a friend.
Put on Your Workout Clothes
Just do it. Even if you have errands to run and you think you’re too bust, chances are, if you put on your workout clothes, you WILL work out. I don’t know what it is, but even to this day, this is the hardest step for me.
Don’t Take it for Granted
I was naive. I took everything for granted before by husband’s cancer diagnosis, and it rocked our worlds. It completely changed my perception and my view of the gift that it is to be able to exercise.
If you have hands that can tie your laces to your workout shoes, if you have feet to put your shoes on, if you have air that you can freely breathe without an oxygen tank… you are so blessed!
When I don’t want to work out, I try to remember those who can’t. If you followed my journey at all, I hated to run. Unless I was being chased or there was an amazing sale, I would not have run. But, when my husband got sick, I started to run with some great friends and people who was accountable to. Since then, I have run over a dozen half marathons and two full marathons. There is no way I would have ever done that had I not had my husband sitting on the couch pre-surgery, post-surgery, attached to an oxygen machine, just wishing and thinking, “here is this gorgeous, hunky, young husband of mine in his thirties that can’t work out.”
That’s when it all changed for me. I went from begrudgingly saying, “Ugh, I have to put my workout clothes on and work out” to “wow, I am lucky to be able to do that!”
Shift your mindset from, “I have to work out” to “I get to work out.” This thought motivates me to show up for myself more days than I can count. Try it out. If you can workout, you are lucky.
Visualize Your Why
Why do you want to work out? At first for me, it was how I looked. After I was a young mom and cancer came along, I got in a deep and dark depressed state. That’s when working out became important not only for my physical well-being, but for my mental well-being. It helped me get out of some deep, dark, and depressive states.
Why do you want to work out? Do you want to look a certain way? Do you want to feel a certain way? Do you want to just be healthy? Think of your why and visualize how you want to feel. Visualize the side effects of working out. Have you ever in the history of your life worked out and then thought, “I wish I wouldn’t have done that”? Probably not.
In January, I did a series on your why and your purpose. You can go back and revisit some of those videos if you like. You need to get a purpose. You need to get a reason and a why in order to show up for yourself. If you’re struggling with this, go back and revisit those previous episodes.
I hope these 4 things help you get your butt going, moving, and working out. If you’re struggling, remember: grab a friend, put on your workout clothes, remember those who can’t work out, and visualize your why.
My kids are what keep me going. They have one parent, and I want them to have a parent that’s healthy and that is a good example of how to take care of yourself.
It is also important to know that God cares how you feel. If it’s important to you, it’s important to God. God wants us to take care of our bodies. Whatever your higher power is, that energy that breeds life into you. In Psalms 18, it says, “I will love thee oh Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my strength in whom I trust,” so lean on God. I know it sounds like it’s a disconnect like, “Oh well, spiritual is here and physical is here,” but in my life I can completely testify and tell you that those two can merge.
Turning my heart to God has been a catalyst for me to get out of depression and darkness. I got the answer that I needed to start moving my body back when my husband was sick and I was struggling with depression. God cares. God is there. I can’t tell you how many countless times I didn’t have the strength to do it, but I prayed to be able to show up for myself and show up for those people I was accountable to, and God gave me the strength to do so.
I promise, after you work out, you feel so much better. So, I’m challenging you! If you don’t want to work out, remember these 4 tips and you will be able to show up for yourself.
I love you, and if you need help being accountable, I am here for you. You can check out my website, kamillebauer.com , for information on my mentoring program. Sometimes you just need someone to help you work through what you want to do with your life. One of my greatest joys in my life is to be able to help people invite light back into their lives and be able to put themselves on the list and have a more balanced, happy, and healthy life.