Too lazy to go to the gym? What to do when you don't feel like it

It's 19:00. Your bag is by the front door and the sofa is closer. "I'm too lazy to go to the gym, I'll go tomorrow." Tomorrow the same thing happens, and by Friday you don't even consider it.

In a thread on Forocoches, a Spanish forum, titled "Me da mucha pereza el gym" ("I really can't be bothered with the gym"), one user summed it up: "very few people train because they enjoy it".

Stop waiting to feel like it. Decide the time once, remove steps between the sofa and the door, pair the gym with something you enjoy and make skipping it cost something.

Why you can't be bothered to go to the gym

The effort is now and the result arrives months later. Between the two, today the sofa wins.

On top of that, you decide again every day. "Am I going today?" is a question you can always answer with no. And answering no is free: the membership is already paid, so skipping costs you nothing extra.

1. Decide the time once, not every day

A meta-analysis of 94 studies by Peter Gollwitzer and Paschal Sheeran compared people who only had a goal with people who had also decided when, where and how they would do it. The second group followed through considerably more often.

Swap "go to the gym more" for "Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 19:00, straight after work". At 19:00 you're no longer deciding whether to go. You decided that on Sunday.

2. Remove steps between the sofa and the door

Every stop at home is a chance to stay. Pack your bag the night before, take it to work and go straight there. If you train in the morning, leave your kit ready by the bed.

3. Save something you enjoy just for the gym

In an experiment at the University of Pennsylvania, Katherine Milkman and her team gave one group gripping audiobooks they could only listen to at the gym. At first they went to the gym 51% more often than the control group.

The effect faded over the weeks, especially after the Thanksgiving holiday. Use it to get going: the series or podcast you only play on the treadmill.

4. Start with a session you can't say no to

"An hour of leg day" feels like a chore. "Twenty minutes and home" barely does. Once you're in, you often stay a bit longer. And if not, you still went.

5. Make staying on the sofa cost something

The membership doesn't move you because you pay it whether you go or not. A cost that depends on this session moves you more: €5 you only lose if you're not there on Wednesday at 19:00.

The simple version, no app needed: tell a friend they keep €5 if you haven't sent them a photo from the gym by 19:30.

How we do it at Ultimatum

Ultimatum is the app we're building for the days the sofa wins. You choose what you'll do and when, leave a small guarantee and prove it with a photo taken there and then at the gym: keep your word and you get your money back, and if the photo check has doubts, a person reviews it and nothing is charged automatically. It isn't out yet, so join the beta and we'll let you know.