How To Overcome The Suck

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It gets easier to motivate yourself to work out once you start seeing results (e.g., clothes fit different, you can lift heavier weights or do calisthenics moves that you previously couldn’t).

But what really, really makes a difference is when other people start noticing your results, complimenting you, sometimes even asking for your advice.

You hear “damn you’re strong/buff, what’s your workout, any advice for me” enough times and it just seeps into your identity that you are a strong/buff person.

And it’s very easy to find motivation to do training activities that help you maintain what you perceive to be a part of your identity.

By the way, this applies to all skill domains, not just physical exercise. You can do this with math, coding, music, whatever the heck you want.

But the hardest part is the beginning, before you’ve kicked off the virtuous cycle. Unless you have a ridiculous amount of intrinsic motivation, it’s just a lot of suck at the beginning.

The way you overcome the suck is by setting a reasonable training schedule that you can actually stick to. At the beginning you need to focus on consistency, not training volume. You need to build a habit.

As you build that habit, you’ll not only find it easier to stick to your schedule, but you’ll also find it easier to increase your volume, eventually up to a level that will put you on pace to reach your goals in a reasonable timeframe.

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