I almost abandoned my workout routine — here's how ChatGPT helped me stick to it and stay motivated

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Here’s an error tons of folks make once the ball finally drops for the new year — they’ll hype themselves up to start going to the gym, and within a few weeks (or even days), they abandon their workout routine. Excuses come in abundance when someone opts out of the gym drills they just kick-started for themselves. And right now, New York City’s brutal, frigid weather and my being tired from working all day are the ones sitting at the top of my list for reasons why I feel like leaving my workout journey behind.

Since I asked ChatGPT to build me a beginner workout plan in the first place, I figured I’d revert to my newfound digital trainer to see if it could double as my AI motivator.

After taking note of all the information it provided me with, I came away from it with a new perspective that instilled confidence in me and got me ready to get back to working out.

I started my comeback process by asking a question that ChatGPT answered with tons of advice

To get me mentally excited to work out again, I presented this question to ChatGPT: “I feel like quitting my gym workout routine. What tips do you have to stay motivated and keep from quitting?” It began its extensive gameplan by telling me that feeling unmotivated is very common, and the goal is to make quitting less likely when one’s motivation is at an all-time low.

What followed soon after was a checklist of suggestions that I took into consideration as I mentally boosted myself back into a confident state. There were three tips in particular that ChatGPT dished out that I think could help a lot of other people who are also feeling a bit demotivated:

• Shrink the commitment (this is huge) – when motivation is low, lower the bar instead of quitting. Tell yourself: “I’ll just show up for 10 minutes.” Once you’re there, you usually do more—but even if you don’t, showing up still counts

• Reconnect with your real “why” – Forget generic reasons like “I should be healthier.” Write one sentence and keep it on your phone. Example: “I work out, so I have more energy and confidence in everyday life”

• Redefine success – Success isn’t crushing every workout and feeling pumped all the time. Success is going when you don’t feel like it and leaving with energy instead of guilt

This is the sort of information I’d be unsurprised to see contained within the pages of a self-help book written by a workout guru or from the lips of a Hollywood trainer. ChatGPT’s useful advice proved to be more valuable than I thought it would.

Alongside friendly counseling, ChatGPT also provided me with useful tips that I can put into physical action

I wasn’t just showered with inspirational quotables and breakdowns of what they truly mean—ChatGPT also listed off some tips that are meant to become a part of my workout routine.

With a focus on making my gym sessions more enjoyable, ChatGPT told me to switch workouts more regularly, changing up the type of music or podcasts I listen to (more hype rap music and less sultry R&B!), go to the gym at different times every day, and work up a sweat during shorter yet more frequent sessions.

It supplemented those applicable tips by telling me that using different forms of accountability will aid me in the long run. The theme of “external beats internal” became central to ChatGPT’s group of people or behaviors that can hold me accountable:

• a gym buddy (even if you train separately)

• trainer check-ins

• tracking workouts in an app or notebook

• telling someone “I go on Mondays and Thursdays”

To bring its motivational gameplan to a satisfying close, ChatGPT offered to adjust my current workout routine by telling it how long I’ve been working out (not long enough, honestly…), what I dislike the most about it, and what my original goal was during the initial stages of my workout mission.

Final thoughts

It’s easy to wake up after a longer-than-usual nap and say to yourself, “yeah…I think I’m gonna stay in bed today.” That and so many other forms of verbal copouts tend to spring up whenever one chooses to drop their current workout routine. With ChatGPT in my corner, I’ve gotten the renewed confidence I needed to return to the gym and continue to get fit enough to walk around without a top at the beach this summer.

Here’s hoping the sort of advice ChatGPT supplied me with helps you and makes you want to keep from quitting your newfound (or ongoing) gym visits.

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