5 Reasons You Quit Your Gym Membership and 5 Reasons To Get Back In It

With the dawn of the New Year, people are making those old commitments to improve their health and fitness with their gym membership. 

They want to look their best and feel healthy so that they can live a better and longer life. However, this commitment will not be unfamiliar to many of the people who are making it fresh this year. Many of those who are making this commitment have already made it before with their workout plan, several times, at the beginning of a previous New Year. But, they did not persevere and gave up at some point. The question is facing many people is why they have to make this commitment again.

Why did they not stick with it last time?

 

5 Reasons You Quit Your Gym Membership

#1 You Convinced Yourself That You Would Eventually Fail

You lamented the fact that you have already made these previous commitments time and time again. Every time you overcame a temptation to skip the day at the gym workout, you would hastily remind yourself that next time, you will probably fail. You would ask yourself if you could really be expected to overcome this temptation every time and persistently work out without any problem at all. Even when you were succeeding, you recognized that your history of failure would eventually overcome you. You realized that you would fail again just as you have so many other times.

When temptation does come and laziness does set in, this lingering doubt will be precisely what is wielded to give in. You will begin to tell yourself that you might as well skip this time because you will fail eventually. Of course, this thought is emerging as just an excuse for laziness rather than a discourse in rational thought. It is a psychological maneuver meant to allow you to enjoy a decadent evening on the couch.

#2 You Did Not See Immediate Results

People are sometimes discouraged by their results after spending a lot of time at the gym. If they have been consistently losing weight or becoming more trim every week, then one week they will get to a point where they did not lose anything, and they will become discouraged and depressed. They will begin to ask themselves if this workout plan is even working as it is supposed to, and whether they need to try something else. Some people will go so far as to skip a few days at the gym, telling themselves that it is pointless because they are not seeing any results, you need to ask yourself should I workout today?.

Of course, body weight workout can fluctuate sometimes and everything is not related to an insufficient workout. But if it is related to the workout, it would just need a little tweak. As you become stronger, you will see fewer results. Sometimes, the very fact that the workout isn’t having such an impact on you will make you think that it is not working. A moment of research or consultation with a fitness expert would alleviate your doubt and fear. However, this momentary disappointment is often enough to motivate people to quit the gym.

3 – You Are Not Properly Motivated

Why do you want to be at the gym? 

When people publicly make New Year’s resolutions, sometimes they regret it soon after. They do not want to be one of those people who declare that they are going to go to the gym and then quit a few days later. So they will continue going just to maintain positive public perception. Perhaps they are going to the gym to please other people. They want to optimize their physique so that they can look attractive enough for someone else.

These are all inadequate reasons for going to the gym and will lead to frustration and eventually quitting. Your motivation for going to the gym needs to be drawn internally rather than externally. The gym should not be some arbitrary rule that you impose on yourself. It should be a free choice, out of your recognition of the importance of health and wellness. When you are properly motivated, when you understand the benefits, then you will be more likely to stick with it. Unfortunately, many people who go to the gym are just not motivated properly. They are going for the wrong reasons.

4 – You Complain About What The Gym Does Not Have

There are some activities that are both fun and a good exercise. People enjoy playing sports, and they require a lot of physical exertion. Similarly, many people enjoy swimming. They will suggest that if the gym just had a large indoor pool, then they would see real results. Then they would be willing to stick with it. They will suggest that if they just had a certain piece of technology(like a tactical flashlight) to enhance their workout, then they would stick with it and would get in shape.

Well, there is no reason that any of these features are necessary for all workouts even shoulder workouts. People have been working out for thousands of years without sophisticated technology. These are excuses that drive people away from the gym. When people ask you why you are not going anymore, you just tell them that they do not have the equipment that you need, and that is the end of the story. But you could see the same results using other equipment. You just need a little bit of drive. After all, swimming can be exerting. All of these other activities can be exerting. They might be alluring at first, but the same laziness would overcome you even if you had an indoor pool. What you need is not sophisticated technology.

What you need is motivation.

5 – It Disrupted Your Schedule Too Much

You spend all day at work. There are some days that feel like they drag on forever, and all you want to do is to get home, to sit on the couch and to relax. As the moment draws near, you look at the clock and joy fills your heart as you see that it is quitting time. But the joy is fleeting as you realize that you still have something else to do. You have to go to the gym. As you contemplate this, the option to skip it seems more appealing.

You begin to realize that you have so much to do and the gym is just a disruption upon your schedule. In fact, that even seems like a reasonable excuse to stop attending. Since it is reasonable and the couch is so alluring, you cling to it. The time factor has led many people to stop attending the gym.

5 Reasons To Get Back To It

1 – Who Is In Control Of Your Decision?

People are plagued by a lack of willpower. They know what the right thing to do is. They know what they should do. They know what the optimal choice is. But they just cannot bring themselves to do it. Whether it is the gym or your simple diet plan, what they want to do does not matter. They make choices based on powerful instincts and temptations despite that this is not what they want to do or how they want to live.

People want their life to be characterize by willpower. When temptations arose, they overcame them and did what they knew was the best. Willpower is one of the most impressive and important personality features. By going to the gym and shedding instinctual desires, you will demonstrate that willpower. You know that you should go to the gym and you know that the arsenal of reasons not to is just a collection of excuses. Do not allow yourself to be driven by temptation and laziness.

Do what you want to do.

Do what you know you should do.

Do you want to be in control of your decisions?

Go to the gym.

Get back to it.

2 – You Can Have Workout Partners

It can be very easy to quit a gym exercise program if you are the only one that you need to convince. It is quite easy to convince yourself to give into temptations. But if you have a group of people that plan to go to the gym together on a regular basis, it would be rather embarrassing to send them a collage of transparent excuses. It would be more difficult to skip a day at the gym when you have partners.

Partners can also keep each other accountable for their goals and their workout practices. You will be there to encourage one another to keep going. If your friend is making an excuse or wants to drop out, you can remind them of all the reasons that they should keep at it. Also, the element of social interaction will keep you interested. There are not enough opportunities to be around your friends, talking to people and having a nice time. By making the gym an easy gym routine, you will also strengthen your bonds of friendship and give you the social interaction that you need.

3 – You Do Not Have To Overdo It

Many people are overwhelmed by the idea of spending an hour on the treadmill. Forty minutes sifting through these dreaded machines seems like a rather treacherous option. That may be one of the things that repelled you from the gym in the first place. You started researching what the optimal workout plan was. You wanted to burn one thousand calories every day, and you plunged headfirst into it without thinking about the consequences. Afterward, you were quickly burnt out and you quickly convinced yourself to quit.

Well, when you get back to the gym, you do not need to plunge headfirst into these challenging workouts. If you really dislike a certain machine, nobody is making you do it. If do not want to workout for an hour, you do not have to. People learn to crawl before they learn to walk. They move from less intensive to intensive. Start with 20-minute exercises. Even start with some stretches for 20 minutes and slowly move into the optimal workout program. As you learn how to build muscle, you will want to integrate more challenging workouts into your program.

You can start slow.

4 – It Will Reduce Stress

People who are very stressed out often do not exercise on a regular basis. Indeed, they are often the people who look for excuses to avoid exercising. The idea of exercise stresses them out. But you do not have to be like that. The mental health benefits of exercising are substantial. Doctors often recommend exercise to patient who struggle with clinical depression. It is the natural alternative to pharmaceuticals that is most effective. Exercise increases the concentration of the chemical norepinephrine, which moderates the brain’s response to stress. This means that the more exerted you feel during these 20-40 minutes, the less stressed you will feel throughout the rest of your day.

That seems like a worthy compromise, doesn’t it?

Doctors also recognize that exercise will make you a happier person. It releases endorphins, which create feelings of happiness and euphoria. So the question that you should ask yourself is, are you struggling with stress?

Could you be a little happier?

Everyone could be a little happier. Go to the gym. That short workout will be a milestone for both your physical and your mental health.

5 – It Will Prevent Mental Aging

Most people do not realize that exercise can improve your brain’s function. This means that you might become quicker on your proverbial feet as well as on your literal feet. While the time at the gym might cut into your TV time, it may make you more likely to sit down to read and enjoy a good book. If you endure a difficult workout, you will see an increase in the brain protein known as BDNF. It will also increase your memory and ability to process and retain new information. It seems that reading is not the only way to exercise your mind.

Further, exercising your mind will help to prevent mental aging. Any middle-aged individual knows what I am referring to. They are not as sharp as they used to be. They cannot make the connections that they used to. Their memory is lagging behind as they struggle to remember an old friend’s name. Exercise can prevent this. Those who regularly exercise are also exercising their mind. In this way, they will live longer in both mental and physical agility. Is that 20-40 minutes at the gym really that daunting?

Is that 20-40 minutes at the gym really that daunting?

Jessica Kane is a professional blogger who is trying to be healthier this year. She currently writes for AEDs Today, a leading supplier of automatic external defibrillators including popular models such as LIFEPAK AEDS.