5 Workout Tips for Lazy People

I'm one of those weirdos who actually enjoys going to the gym and working out. Part of it stems from my years of competitive swimming, when I would work out intensely 2-3 times a day. Part of it is from my admittedly-vain desire to stay in the same shape I was my junior-senior year of high school. A good part of it is from the 'work out high' triggered by the release of all of those endorphins. And sometimes, the entire thing is one massive outlet of frustration and stress caused by school, work, and, of course, other people. If I have to be completely honest, if it wasn't for verses like Ephesians 4:26 and the accessibility of going for a swim, doing a quickie-yoga session, or running, I would have probably punched quite a few walls and people by now, and maybe thrown a computer or two.

But sometimes, particularly on weekends, in the middle of summer when everywhere is too hot for anything, and during the school year (so, pretty much all the time), I just don't feel it. I prefer swimming and using weird weight machines to doing body weight exercises in my dim, gross carpeted room. Once I actually do it, I feel great, but the mental wall of actually getting up from watching Hulu on my day bed to do a few dissatisfying squats and maybe a crunch or twelve, totally gets in the way. So here I present to you, tactics I use to motivate me to workout at home.

1. Do some wall sits while surfing the web.
This is kind of like that 'do crunches during commercial breaks' tip you see everywhere, only in this day and age, nobody watches TV with commercials anymore. So you're sitting down anyways, right? So why not unplug your fully-charged laptop and bring it on over to the wall with you? I'm literally doing it right. now. I can guarantee that the distraction of cute cats will override the burning sensation you feel in your hammies. You can even do intervals: one cute cat video of wall sitting, one cute bunny video of rest. Repeat 3-5 times.

2. Do it right before you're going to shower.
One thing that usually stops me from working out at home is that "ughh, now I have to shower after". If I'm swimming, it only feels natural to shower after, but for some reason showering at home is just really demotivating to me. So plan a little workout for right before your morning/afternoon/nighttime shower. Then you can feel fit and clean. Then you can go eat some nice wholesome food and feel super good about yourself.

3. Wear workout clothes as pajamas/house wear.
I'm pretty sure most people do this anyways, but if I happen to pull on a pair of jeans first thing in the morning, I'm not going to work out that day unless I schedule a trip to the gym in somewhere. I'm really the world's biggest walking oxymoron, because I am generally a hard worker, and love working out, but I am so lazy, I won't work out if it means I have to do the remedial task of changing into a pair of shorts. It's mostly because when I feel like I need to work out, I really just want to do it and get it done. Which leads me to my next tip.

4. Just freakin do it.
At the risk of sounding like a Nike commercial, seriously, just do it. If you feel the urge to get down and do some push-ups, do it. It'll take all of two minutes, and it's better than just sitting there. I often fit body-weight exercises into random times during the day. Particularly slow day at the aquatics center while I'm at the top of the slide? Lunge time. Waiting for my homework assignment to upload? Squat it out. Shoot, I'm doing elbow planks as I type.

5. Have something to work towards.
This is the single most motivating thing I do for myself. I don't use pictures of dehydrated, haven't-eaten-anything-but-brown-rice-and-lettuce-three-days-before-the-photoshoot athletic wear models to motivate myself, and neither should you. Just read that description of said model, and realize that it is not a reasonable or realistic image to attain. Even athletes make the mistake of believing that 'fitness' equates to 'low-to-no body fat', but your body needs at least a little bit to function.I believe that fitness is the ability to perform activities at an above-average level. You can run 3 miles without dying. You can lift 50 pound plus objects when moving out of your apartment. Definition is just a nice bonus to treating your body with respect and taking care of yourself. So rather than lusting after that picture on Pinterest, sign up for a sports club (my city has a free running club), where you'll be held accountable, and have goals to work towards. Sign up for races, that way you have to train. Shoot, if you absolutely feel you have to improve the way your body looks, set a realistic, attainable goal that won't leave you disappointed and discouraged. Just give yourself a reason to do something, and you probably will.