Tired of training: what to do if you lack the desire to work out?

Author: Mikhail Ziborov - author of the site makefitness.pro.
2021-10-21

Decreased interest in the activities we engage in is often a normal process: we are humans – creatures of inconsistency. We need variety, and it’s no surprise if motivation to train disappears. By the way, our Telegram channel offers quite a variety of information that can enhance your life and training.

A logical question arises: “What to do if I don’t want to go to training?”

Tired of Training: Change Your Activity

Here are a few options:

1. Engage in a different sport or change the type of load.

A different sport – this is straightforward: if you’re tired of lifting weights in the gym, then start playing ball in a sports hall (football, basketball, volleyball – whatever suits you best). Perhaps wrestling or other martial arts (boxing, kickboxing, MMA, etc.) might be suitable.

Changing the type of load means switching from strength training (bars, dumbbells, body weight) to cardio training. That is, from anaerobic to aerobic activities. You can train at the same fitness center; just transition from weights to a treadmill, elliptical machine, stationary bike, or swimming pool.

2. Increase the intensity of your workouts.

High-intensity workouts take less time (if a regular workout is 45-60 minutes, then high-intensity workouts last up to 30 minutes). Moreover, this study confirms that high-intensity training induces a desire to continue training and provides enjoyment from the work done.

Increased workout intensity means a faster pace of exercise execution, reduced rest between sets and exercises, and increased weight of the loads. In general, increasing intensity is about complicating the workout in various ways. You can continue doing the same exercises as before, just by lifting more weight or significantly reducing rest time (not 3 minutes, but 1-1.5 minutes). More details on increasing weight are in point 3.

Short intense workouts:

3. Start adopting periodization.

In short, this means training one way for a period, then switching to another way, and so on. For example, if you have been training with 8-12 repetitions, and this approach has become stale—showing no desire to continue training and no significant results—then it’s time to increase the weight and shift to 1-5 repetitions.

Changing periods will keep motivation high (it’s like reaching one level in a game and striving for the next). Each period usually lasts 2-3 months, although the exercises may remain the same.

You can find some of the best training programs at this link.

Conclusion: Maintain physical activity without stopping your workouts. This way, you will not only continue to move but also strengthen your weaknesses.

For instance, individuals focusing on gaining mass often try to perform less cardio (running, swimming, team sports). The absence of cardio can become a habit even when they are no longer trying to gain weight. As a result, this can lead to pathological conditions like sports heart syndrome, weak blood vessels, and respiratory issues. Changing activities can help address this.

Periodization will allow you to progress in strength while you have been stagnating doing 8-12 repetitions (research). Or the opposite: stop fixating on strength metrics and finally start building muscle (switching from 1-5 repetitions to 8-12).

Don’t Want to Train: Bring a Friend/Make New Connections

Remember, people are social beings. Many of us need social interaction. A study indicates that as people age, they prefer to train in company. Motivation for sports changes with age: young people aged 18-26 generally prefer to train alone (they don’t need a partner). Older individuals tend to train with someone else (in groups, with partners, or even with strangers who share similar interests).

Moreover, there are motivational differences between ages. Young people are focused on future benefits from sports activities, while adults seek immediate benefits (like improving mood, gaining positive emotions, socializing, etc.).

Conclusion: If your workouts don’t spark motivation, start training with a friend, bring someone along, or make connections with someone around your age (meeting and socializing in gyms is perfectly normal; few will object). You might also consider joining group training sessions where people train, socialize, and connect. A common goal brings people together. It’s possible that a decrease in workout motivation isn’t because you’re lazy; it could simply be age-related.

Lost the Desire to Train: Just Rest

Yes, sometimes you really need to take a couple of weeks off from training altogether. Many of my clients have returned to the gym after a 2-3 week rest with no physical activity, and they found their desire to move came back naturally.

Warning! There’s a possibility that you won’t want to return. Personally, I find it challenging: if I stop training, I lack the desire to start again (as I don't want to regress to lower weights and have to rebuild my form, since you can’t return to your working weights immediately). Therefore, such passive rest is not entirely restful for me.

Additionally, our life energy directly depends on the quantity and quality of mitochondria—the stations that produce energy in our cells. Mitochondria live for 2-3 days. If we stop utilizing these energy stations, they die off (leaving only enough for basic life functions, not for training). Because of the death of mitochondria, our life energy decreases when we stop training! Note that after a rest period of 2-3 weeks, your strength may be even less than it was during training.

And of course, there’s the issue of muscle mass loss with the absence of training. Proper nutrition can help minimize these losses.