First, a quick catch-up. If you noticed there was no article last week, here’s why: I’m in the final stretch of my personal trainer certification. Final exams are coming up, and I have a pile of reports and case studies to hand in before the deadline. So for the next few weeks, studying gets the top spot and everything else, including this newsletter, moves a little slower. I’m not going anywhere. I just can’t do everything at full speed at the same time, and I’ve made my peace with that.
Which brings me, very conveniently, to today’s topic.
Over the last six years, my relationship with training has had real highs and real lows. Some months I couldn’t wait to get to the gym. Other months, the couch won more often than I’d like to admit. If I had relied on motivation alone, I would have quit years ago. What kept me consistent was never willpower. It was systems. Small structures that make training easier to execute and, just as important, more enjoyable. Today I’m sharing the five that made the biggest difference for me.
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01. learn when your body actually wants to train
I’m a morning person. When I train early, I have more energy, I’m more focused, and the whole day seems to roll better. So I plan all my workouts for the week at fixed morning slots, like appointments I don’t negotiate with myself every day. That’s the point of a fixed schedule: the decision is already made. You’re not spending mental energy at 6 pm debating whether you’ll go or not. You just go, because it’s Tuesday and Tuesday is lower body.
That said, I don’t let it become a prison. If something comes up and I can’t train in the morning, I simply swap the order of my tasks when possible and train later. The workout still happens, just at a different time.
If you don’t know your best window yet, pay attention for a week or two. Notice when you have the most energy and when your workouts feel the least like a chore. Then build your schedule around that, not around what some 5 am motivational video told you.
02. review your goals at least three times a year
Goals expire. The goal that excited you in January can feel completely stale by June, and training without a clear purpose is the fastest way to lose steam. So about three times a year, I sit down and ask myself what I actually want from my training right now.
I like working in phases. Some phases are all about performance: lifting five times a week, chasing progressive overload, maximizing muscle growth. Others are more about quality: slowing down my tempo to perfect a movement, improving mobility, working on my general fitness. And some phases are just... calm. Maintenance mode. Those matter too.
Right now, my goal is to be a fitter person in the health sense of the word. My lifting is focused on the main muscle groups, with extra attention on my glutes because that’s my current aesthetic priority (I contain multitudes). On the cardio side, I want to run faster, so I follow my running plan religiously. My current split: lower/upper four times a week, plus two runs that I plan to bump up to three in the coming weeks.
The beauty of phases is that they match your life. Crazy season at work? Maintenance phase. Feeling ambitious? Performance phase.
You’re not failing your plan, you’re adjusting it.
03. save your best media for training only
This one is my favorite because it feels like cheating. I pick media I really want to consume and I make it exclusive to training. All my runs (including the long ones) are on the treadmill right now—I refuse to run outside in this heat, I have my limits—and I always have an audiobook ready for them. The rule of the game: I can only listen to that audiobook during my long treadmill runs. Nowhere else. So every week I actually look forward to a 90-minute treadmill run because I need to know what happens next in the story. Same logic with music. I have playlists I only play when I lift.
There’s real science behind this. It’s called temptation bundling, which is a fancy way of saying you pair something you should do with something you love doing. Your brain starts associating the workout with the reward, and showing up gets easier.
And it works way beyond the gym. Podcast you love? Only while folding laundry. Trashy reality show? Only while meal prepping. Use it on any task you keep avoiding.
04. find a rhythm you can keep for years
The best training plan is not the most impressive one. It’s the one that fits your actual life. If you can only train twice a week, that’s completely fine. Two sessions a week, done consistently for years, will beat six sessions a week that collapse after three weeks every single time.
If your time is limited, make those sessions count. Go for full body workouts built around compound movements, meaning exercises that work several muscle groups at once, like squats, rows and presses. More muscle worked per minute, more results per session.
Consistency is boring advice, I know. But it’s the entire game.
05. don't be afraid to mix it up
Strength training stays the foundation, and I’ll die on this hill. Building muscle protects your bones, your metabolism, your joints, and your independence as you age. Health organizations recommend a minimum of two strength sessions a week, and I consider that non-negotiable for long-term health.
But around that base, play. Yoga, pilates, running, hiking, whatever calls you. Variety breaks the monotony, trains your body in different ways, and keeps motivation fresh. I love lifting, but running does something for my head that no barbell can. And I recently started doing Hyrox sessions from time to time. I’m hooked, and I want to make it a regular part of my routine.
so, to sum it up…
Know your best time and protect it. Give your training a purpose and renew it a few times a year. Bribe your brain a little. Choose a rhythm you can sustain. Keep it varied enough to stay fun.
Notice that none of this requires being a disciplined person. I'm not one. On paper, I'm actually a great candidate for quitting, but having a setup that catches me on the days when motivation doesn't show up is what keeps me going. Hard days will always come, for everyone. The people you see training year after year aren't more motivated than you. They've just made showing up the path of least resistance.
So my advice: stop waiting to feel motivated and start making it easy, and pleasant, to show up. Discipline isn’t something you have. It’s something you set up. And you can start setting it up this week, with just one of these five strategies. Pick the easiest one first.
Now I’m curious. What actually keeps you showing up? Or if you keep falling off, where does it usually break down? Tell me in the comments, I read every single one.
before you go…
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That’s all for now,
— Glicia
The gym isn’t the only ritual for me anymore. The walk there and back has become one too. That’s where podcasts finally get my full attention, and where a lot of my best ideas tend to show up.
LOVE, and you know I need it 😉