I’m finding it hard to get motivation to work out, so I thought I’d ask what other men use as motivation to work out, I’ve tried motivation such looking after my health and doing it to look good for women but neither of these keep me motivated so I thought I’d ask other men what do you use to motivate yourself?

50 comments
  1. If I work out, I get a chance to live longer, see more of this world.

    Maybe in the future stay there for my kids longer.

    ​

    That is my main drive, main motivation. I looked into the mirror and did not like what I saw, what the future was of the person there.

  2. progress. i love feeling sore the day after and getting the odd compliment every once in a while

    also i saw a shirtless picture of me 4 years ago where i looked like melted ice cream and havent looked back

  3. I want to look good, feel more confident, be able to lift heavier things. I also do it for the mental clarity and wellbeing benefits that you get for being active.

  4. Progress is a nice one. You should log your workouts in a journal/notebook. I exercise for the mental benefits/clarity that is reached after a grueling workout. The aesthetic benefit is a nice motivator but a fleeting one. Try list down all the positive benefits from long term to short term. If youre struggling to find any, consider picking up a sport or hobby that requires your body to be in a good shape! For me its rock climbing that keeps me motivated to get stronger

  5. I started exercising accidentally and now my legs look and feel a lot better and I want them to stay this way.

  6. Look at videos of fat people doing fat people things and then watch videos of fit people doing fit people things and then im usually ready to go to the gym

  7. Health mostly. To try and feel good about myself. To not be an embarrassment to my kids when on holiday looking overweight.

  8. Physical and mental health is important to a happy, long life. It’s not that complicated.

  9. Personally I’m never satisfied with how I look. I always want to be leaner and more muscular. Not to the way it’s getting to bodybuilding. I just get very insecure very quick. The gym as a bit of my safe place

  10. Do everyday tasks with ease. I’m smaller and lighter than most people, which means I’m also weaker than most people. I just want to be able to carry groceries and play with my dogs without feeling like a cooked noodle

  11. Reason 1: My grandfather died a 48 and my dad at 56, both of heart disease. My kids never had a grandpa and my dad was a great guy, he would have spoiled them rotten. I am determined to be a great grandfather, I have 3 grandkids now. I am 64, have abs. I do HIIT classes 3x a week at 5 am.

    Reason 2: I love being very fit and being able to do basically anything I want. Makes enjoying retirement much easier when you feel just absolutely great every day.

    Reason 3: I look great and who doesn’t like getting compliments and stared at? Kinda fun to be way more fit and strong than guys half my age.

    Reason 4: I see other people my age and they are hobbled, are fat and have terrible color, their skin is just GRAY and you can tell their quality of life is very bad. That is very motivating.

  12. The more i work out. The more food i can consume without getting fat…mmmmm laffa, schwarma, chocolate cake

  13. It’s all about progress for me. I set weight goals on the big compound exercises (dead lifts, squats, bench press, bb rows, a couple others) and then every workout is about slowly increasing the weight on those plus doing some supporting exercises.

    It’s only 1-1.5 hours a day. I never regret doing it, but I always regret skipping.

  14. Feeling fit. Mental clarity. Looking hawt. Lowering my risk of heart disease and diabetes

  15. Health and functionality. It decreases your chances of dying by most means. I want to be able to go for a decent walk or up a flight of stairs. I want to be able to easily sit down or get up or to carry heavy shit. I don’t want to be that middle aged man/father/grandfather that can barely play with his kids/grandkids or can’t help them out or show them how to do things. I want to be able to do the physical activities I enjoy for as long as possible. Whenever I see someone older than me or out of shape, struggling to do basic actions due to them not taking care of themselves, that motivates me. So I workout with these things in mind. The looks are a secondary benefit but my focus is my health.

  16. It’s almost impossible to always have the motivation to workout but if you make it a habit you won’t need the motivation because you will go because it feels wrong not to.

  17. Many reasons over the course of my life. I want to look good for me, for my wife, and I just like being muscular. As I got into my 30’s it was those reasons plus my health. I want to be here for wife and kid. Now 41 it’s all those reasons plus keeping myself in a condition where I can still keep working hard at a physical job. I’m a contractor and need to maintain strength and flexibility to keep working into the future.

  18. The knowledge that if i’m ever attacked or I need to defend my life no one is coming to help me.

    Same with everything else in life, moving furniture, supporting others, carrying heavy loads.. No one is going to help me so I better be as strong as possible to take care of my own life.

  19. To quote Pat:
    „Live a Long and healthy life, to be able to save myself, to be able to save someone else, to kick ass.“

  20. better health, long-term benefits, improved mental health, are some things that motivate me to go work out.

    but motivation is easy to help you start working out, and discipline keeps you working out. what keeps me disciplined is actually enjoying the exercises I do and reminding myself this will keep my body active in 30-40 years. but also, some days will just suck and i have to just go despite all the excuses i keep telling myself

  21. Motivation has very little to do it with for me.

    I’ve got sessions to get done? I go and get them done, even it means i’m doing two in a day to catch up

    It’s not a neat fit, but Gurney Halleck says it best

    >“What has mood to do with it? You ~~fight~~ lift when the necessity arises—no matter the mood! Mood’s a thing for cattle or making love or playing the baliset. It’s not for ~~fighting~~ lifting.”

  22. Thing is you kinda have to earn the motivation first. A lot of what people see as motivation really is just good ole discipline. A ton of my gym visits weren’t because I wanted to, because I felt like it, because it made sense, or because I felt I had to. It was 100% because that’s just what I do now. No reasoning or logic just action. When you make some progress the motivation will come easy.

  23. Progress motivates me. When the beer gut starts to shrink and abs start to make an appearance that’s when I begin to feel like I’ve done something good for myself. Also, I’m gay. Gays spaces are often filled with a lot of in-shape men. I start to become self-conscious if I haven’t spent at least a few months in the gym working on things before going to all the summer spots.

  24. I find it fun “pushing my body/mind/self.” It was hard getting into a routine and going regularly for a minute but now it’s just fun. For instance, I hit a plateau so to speak and the reps and sets I were doing became too easy.

    On the way home, thought it would be a good idea to up the weight and maybe add in some new exercises, etc. I was so excited the night before I went back. I could hardly sleep. The idea I was about to take another step forward and really challenge myself was exciting.

    I used to to be close to 300lbs. At the time I didn’t think much of it, but looking back on it, i never want to be there again. I feel so much better, so much more confident. I have more clothing options and now, if a shirt is too tight, rather than show off my man boobs and stomach, it only really highlights my physique more. It’s a great feeling.

  25. I get up early and do my workouts before work. For me, no matter what chaos the day brings, I’ve accomplished my workout and done this thing completely for myself. Beyond looking and feeling good, it’s a great motivator.

  26. Bed performance, beach season, can’t see Moby with a fat belly, looking sharp when you wear nice clothes etc.. but mostly discipline like someone mentioned. Also healthy body = healthy mind.

  27. Self care. As you continue to work out, you can do more. Thus, working out is a celebration of what you can do. Sports is a bunch of people who are celebrating what their bodies can do together.

  28. Knowing I could achieve a better state of being than the one I see in the mirror.

  29. Health and feeling good(which ties into self-confidence, mental clarity and general wellbeing).

    But that’s not motivation. Those are REASONS. You work out because you have to, not because you want to. You work out whether you feel like it or not, because it’s part of your goals.

    Notice how people never miss work because of lacking motivation. Just prioritize your fitness the same way.

  30. Consistency. In the morning no coffee or breakfast until later. Not as a reward but just not till later.

  31. If I don’t I’m going to completely miss out on anything close to a good sexual relationship

  32. The progress I’ve seen in myself. And I know it might be a little cringe but the other thing is having something to aspire towards. My go to is cbum or bulked Connor McGregor. Watching them makes me immediately want to head to the gym.

  33. I like the person that I am when I work out. I’m more energized, more focused, more… balanced. I *literally* see a different person in the mirror when I exercise – more athletic, more handsome, more confident.

  34. To look good naked.

    In a seriousness, look good feel good.

    All the health benefits are a plus (:

  35. Because I hate myself, and when I work out, I actually get that little endorphin high that makes the self-loathing go away. I’m not into booze/drugsso it’s my only option.

  36. I hate the gym, but boy do i move being healthy AND looking good.

    Give calisthenics a try, being able to through yourself around is fun to me.

  37. I think it’d be funny to be inconveniently large and jacked, and I’ve never been one to not give everything for a joke

  38. Because there are people out there that are faster than me. And that is unacceptable.

  39. Sense of accomplishment. I don’t notice any changes in my health nor my looks, it’s just that I like the feeling of completing a checkpoint after running for some kilometers.

  40. You don’t need motivation, you need discipline. Exercise should be a non-negotiable, like brushing your teeth and getting dressed. It’s part of the maintenance you need to do on your body, just like you need to fill your car with gas and change the oil and put air in your tires.

    That said, I love the sore, energized feeling I get the day after a hard workout. Lifting really just takes my troubles away. I do think internal motivation is better than external (“women”) and specific, immediate motivation (how you feel after) is better than vague motivation like “health.”

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