Getting to the gym is always the hardest part. The best way to overcome this is by finding your perfect gym mindset. On top of diet and nutrition, your mentality going into the gym can change the experience. Finding that motivation is difficult for many people, but once it’s found, the performance in the gym can drastically change.

When I lost 80 pounds a year ago, I had many things on my mind fueling my day to day activities. The first thing on my mind was going to high school and feeling that I needed self-confidence. The second was suffering from night terrors and having my confidence affect my dreams in negative ways. Everyday tasks were extremely difficult.

If you want to lose fat you need to have that internal motivation but also have external ways to get you amped to go to the gym.

Everyone has something that makes them excited or motivated and it’s just about incorporating that into the gym. For me, it’s watching UFC, any Marvel film, or even some Dragonball. Starting out, when it was difficult to find the motivation, I’d always watch intense scenes or matches that’d motivate me to get up and go to the gym. I also used the soundtrack to certain films in the gym that gave me that extra push.

You could use entertainment as your motivation, or you could make it something more personal. If you have kids who are overweight and you want to be a better physical role model or go through a transformation with a buddy, that can work. Compatibility partners and the idea of letting someone down can be a very motivating factor. It’s all about what works for you.

The external source for motivation is worthless if you truly don’t want to change. The only way to go through a transformation is to have your mind set on being healthy. The only person you can rely on during the transition is yourself, because no one else is going to do it for you. As soon as you find that spark, the rest of the journey is light work.