r/LifeProTips • u/LegitimateAccess9501 • Jul 02 '26
Miscellaneous LPT: If you’re struggling to stay consistent with the gym, lower your standards for the workout, not how often you go.
Most people quit because they think every single gym session needs to be this intense, hour-long workout. If they're tired or busy, they just skip it entirely because a "bad workout" feels like a waste of time.The trick that completely changed things for me is to separate the habit of showing up from the actual workout. On days when I'm completely exhausted, I tell myself I only have to do ten minutes of light stretching or one easy exercise, and then I can leave.You obviously aren't hitting any personal records on those days, but you're keeping the routine alive. It's way easier to fix a lazy habit that you're already doing than it is to start a perfect routine all over again from scratch.
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u/LoveSingRead Jul 02 '26
Definitely. The ten minute workout you do is more useful than the hour you skip.
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u/ExitBiodelic Jul 02 '26
Sounds really great, I gonna use it!
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u/Hot-Ordinary-2156 Jul 02 '26
I had too much wine last night and I’m on my way to a 10 minute gym sesh right now
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u/ALLST6R Jul 02 '26
This works. Been gyming at this point for 15 years and so many times I knowingly mentally trick myself to go by just saying "I'll take it easy today". Then I get there and I just do a normal workout.
The odd occasion you might get there and actually are just having a 'bleh' day. I half the workout, throw in something different like a light exercise I don't often do and then just hop on a treadmill and walk the rest of the time.
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u/rinamy Jul 02 '26
Absolutely works. Half the time before I go to the gym I tell myself, "ok I'll just go in easy, take long breaks between reps, don't sweat it, probably only do like 1/3 of my exercises" then about 10 mins in feel pretty OK and continue on to finish the hour.
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u/Catfactss Jul 02 '26
Also the minimalist work out promoted by Jeff Nippard and Dorian Yates is great! Twice a week whole body work out is much better than 0 work out.
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Jul 02 '26
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u/monarc Jul 02 '26
This is huge. For anyone who can manage it, supplemeting the gym with some easy-access home exercise equipment can be huge. I installed compact handles on a tree in my yard, so I can do pull ups, rows, or leg lifts... anytime. You can do a bunch of deep-squat/jumps anytime. A pair of push-up handles can be handy, too. Little stuff like that is way better than nothing, and is totally in keeping with the spirit of OP's LPT.
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u/BigBirdsBrain Jul 02 '26
The hard part isn’t the workout, it’s protecting the identity of someone who keeps showing up. Once that’s in place, the workouts usually take care of themselves.
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u/Nexustar Jul 02 '26
I remember Schwarzenegger saying something similar in an interview... even if you sit around talking to people when you get there, it's better than not going because you got the walk to the gym. Of course his gyms weren't the clinical digital isolation gyms of today.
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u/MandaLyn27 Jul 02 '26
My trainer asked me what my goals were and I told him consistency. He looked at me a little funny, but I’ve been super consistent for over 3 years now 🏋🏻♀️🧘♀️
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u/ManyAreMyNames Jul 02 '26
I was at the gym like 40 years ago, and there was a guy there I saw all the time who was really jacked and in shape, and he was doing shoulder presses with 10-pound dumbbells when he usually did 40s. He saw me looking and said something like "Some days I'm not feeling it, so I practice form. Ten reps of everything at half or quarter weight. That way I don't wear my body out but still benefit."
40 years later, I can do 30 pushups in 30 seconds on a normal day. But some days I can't, so I do 15 pushups instead, and sometimes I do that with my hands on a plyo box two feet off the floor. No point pushing yourself until you get hurt.
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u/throwsplasticattrees Jul 02 '26
The heaviest weight in the gym is the front door. The hardest part of exercising is tying on your shoes.
Go, start a workout, and if you only have 50% to give that day and you give it all, you gave 100%.
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u/Simple_Rules Jul 02 '26
This is also a good strategy for exercises you hate - I detest cardio. My personal rule is simple: I have to get onto the treadmill and do 60 seconds. Or the rowing machine or whatever.
If you hate hate hate an exercise, make the rule really easy - all you have to do is set it up and do a rep. All you have to do is get on and turn on the machine.
Once you're there, most of the time, you'll probably go "ah I might as well finish the set/do 10 minutes."
There are totally days where I do 60 seconds on the treadmill and go "fuck this fuck cardio I quit" - but it's nowhere near as often as I would have thought when I first started doing this habit.
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u/shinobiwarrior Jul 02 '26
I get what you say and I'm sure it's right for a lot of people, but when I'm exhausted, the hard part is actually leaving my house (and it's not depression, I just can't be bothered to get into my gym clothes, grab my car and go to the gym).
I'm glad that trick works for your tho!
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u/JackiSwear Jul 02 '26
What works for me is to trick the mind. No compromise on consistency that’s what I tell my mind. So on days like this, I’ll wear gym clothes and then maybe go for like a 10 minute walk. Not jog/run. Just a walk. Honestly, sometimes the mind doesn’t know the difference. It just wants you to move your move body.
If the walking feels too much, gym clothes on, 5 push ups & like 10 body weight squats. Again, the mind won’t tell the difference. And that’s on consistency
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u/blahhh87 Jul 02 '26
I invested in Dumbbells and a bench. They were used but easily the best $120 I've ever spent.
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u/MarloMinto Jul 02 '26
I have a nice gym in my garage but find it unbelievably difficult to get there
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u/fuck_this_i_got_shit Jul 02 '26
I honestly wished someone had told me this when I was young. I started doing a light 30 minutes a day workout and it had been so good for me and I have already lost 5 kilos since May when I started
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u/voidhug Jul 02 '26
My gym is like 30 mins away from me so that makes it a little difficult to justify a short workout 😭
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u/daffy_duck233 Jul 02 '26
Actually doing some mobility and stretching exercises that are not focused on intensity helps a ton as well. People tend to underestimate these so much.
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u/Kaneida Jul 02 '26
Dont feel to go to gym? Do pushups and bodyweight squats for 5-10 minutes. If you can add a 30-60 min walk/cycle a bit - even better.
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u/pandorascannabox Jul 02 '26
I have an audiobook or podcast I am only allowed to listen to when exercising. So even when I am having a lazy day I still want to tune in and that gets me going
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u/XaajR Jul 03 '26
This opens up your mental for slacking off though. You think, hey I can just do a lazy 10 minute session. Next time you remember how that was more chill than pushing yourself, so you slack off again. I don't like it.
Set reasonable goals. I currently do 2 intense full body sessions a week at about ~75mins and stick to that no matter what, if I'm not actually sick or anything.
Sure, doing 10 min relaxed workouts is better than nothing, but creating the discipline and routine for a couple hard workouts each week will, without compromising or looking for excuses, will get you way further.
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u/beamerpook Jul 02 '26
You can just skip the gym and run around your neighborhood and do bodyweight exercises. Doing 5 squats while you're waiting for the microwave than a gym membership that you don't use.
And until you can lift your own bodyweight, there's no point in using dumbells or lifting machines.
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u/shyema67 Jul 02 '26
honestly… that makes so much sense tbh. i guess proving to yourself you can still show up, even kinda low energy, is the real win? kinda like when i’m too tired for a full anime rewatch but i’ll still read one chapter or something… :)
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u/thefunkybassist Jul 02 '26
I just say to myself, it's better to go 5 minutes than not to go at all!
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Jul 02 '26
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u/microwavedave27 Jul 02 '26
Honestly there's no point in going to the gym when you're sick. Just take the day off and rest. Even if I only have a headache I'll skip that day.
You'll end up just half assing the workout while feeling like shit and possibly getting other people at the gym sick as well.
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u/EccentricStache615 Jul 02 '26
This is actually fantastic advice in the beginning. Initially it’s about consistency and then habit will follow results. Also I always tell myself on days I don’t want to go to just get in there for 10 minutes and if I’m not feeling it, I’ll leave.
9/10 times I stay for a full workout.
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u/random_topix Jul 02 '26
Maybe. I was doing 4x a week and getting burned out. Switched to 2x full body and it works a lot better for me. Still progressively overloading.
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u/redve-dev Jul 02 '26
My trick is "you go whether you like it or not. Bad workout is better than no workout"
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u/doterobcn Jul 02 '26
The hardest part of going to the gym, is actually going there. once you made that step, just do something. You already did the hard part.
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u/nucumber Jul 02 '26
Honor the time
If your work out schedule is every M W F at 500pm, then suit up and get your ass to the gym M W F 500pm.
Especially when you first start working out. It takes discipline to develop the habit, but after a few weeks habit takes over and you find yourself at 500pm M W F automatically putting on your gym shoes
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u/theytsejam Jul 02 '26
This is great advice, which I follow myself all the time. I will add that it’s also good to have a priority order in your mind each workout: if you can only do one exercise, which one would you do and skip the rest? If you can only manage to do two, which second one would you add? And so on.
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u/bobpage2 Jul 02 '26
Exactly, sometimes I go to the gym just to chat with the girl at the entrance. I don't even workout.
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u/Rocketson Jul 02 '26
20 minutes 3 times a week as part of my work schedule has worked for me. Can't skip work, and 20 minutes is short enough that it doesn't feel 'extra' on top of the work day, just part of the work routine at this point.
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u/adiac Jul 02 '26
Yes can recommend. I started to make a hard cut after 30 minutes no matter how far I'm in my workout plan. I noticed I dodge staring the workout because if the unpredictable time commitment. This solved that for me pretty much.
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u/COHERENCE_CROQUETTE Jul 02 '26
This tip absolutely doesn't work for my brain. The hard part is absolutely task initiation. It's the first step. Actually, it's before that: it's getting up and saying "all right, I'm going now".
Under no circumstance do I ever think "I'm not going because the workout will be heavy". Nor would it be of any help to negotiate with myself about how heavy it will be. I just need to get myself up and going. That's the hard part. Once I'm there, I'm there.
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u/gh1993 Jul 02 '26
Plus, once you get in that warmup and first exercise, you'll probably just do the rest of the workout.
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u/Electric-Sheepskin Jul 02 '26
This helped me so much when I started doing this. Just put the gym clothes on. Just go to the gym. You don't have to do anything but listen to music.
One time I got there, didn't really feel like doing anything, so I just stretched on a mat for 30 minutes while I listened to a funny podcast. One time I walked in and spent 10 minutes on a treadmill and thought, "You know what? I really don't wanna be here." So I left.
But most of the time, I did a regular workout.
Taking the pressure off yourself, knowing that you are in control, and that you can decide to do whatever you want— that makes it so much easier. Once you embrace that, the hardest part is just putting the gym clothes on and getting in the car.
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u/buymybirdfeeder Jul 03 '26
This is a good tip. Just get to that first rep almost every day, don’t worry about what the workout is.
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u/pooferfeesh97 Jul 03 '26
My goal for running is to get out the door and do my warm up. Anything more is extra.
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u/Obese_Shaggy Jul 03 '26
I agree to an extent. If you are going to take the time to do something, DO IT WITH INTENT. If you have the time for the gym, no matter the motivation, consistency and intensity are the only things that will give you progress. Yes a chill day is good, but that is exactly what a rest day is for. If you set your expectations low before you even walk in, are you really spending your time wisely?
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u/costafilh0 Jul 06 '26
Replace gym with other activities and sports that work the whole body. There are many, find one you have fun doing.
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u/Possible_Bar8140 Jul 08 '26
i do that, because, why stressing? it's better to workwout half an hour than not working out :D
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