Summer is winding down and the days will get shorter, cooler and darker. But don’t let this mean your workouts will get shorter, less frequent and less intense. Instead use the change in seasons to revamp your workout and increase your positive self-talk.

How do you keep yourself going to the gym when it gets colder outside? Working out with a friend or buddy is a fantastic way to make sure you get to the gym (they keep you accountable and call you on it when you slack off) and make sure you have more fun. Fun you say? At the gym? Yes, absolutely. 

Nike is a great one for positive affirmations to get you motivated. Their “Just Do It” slogan was very effective at encouraging people to keep going with their workouts. Just get to the gym and your friends will take it from there. Your friends will help you have more fun at the gym. We use our exercise time for talk therapy, sharing our troubles and sharing our fun life highlights. This is how we learn about the great new birthday party spot, whose child just got their driver’s license and ran into a mailbox, and about the new wine bar in town. 

We also use our workout time to encourage each other. Many times we have moments of clarity where a statement made in the gym is so profound as to impact us forever. I tend to be more on the extreme side of exercising – six days a week for me with a light workout on the seventh day. A friend asked me how I got results at the gym and I told her about one of my workouts and invited her to join me. She did. Then she asked me how I make sure I go on the other days. She said, “Don’t you lie in bed and have that conversation with yourself, ‘Should I go to the gym or should I go back to sleep?’” I said, “No!” I don’t allow myself negative self-talk. There is no option. When the alarm goes off, I hit snooze once, but I get up. Just like I am going to brush my teeth every morning and go to work, I am going to get up and workout. Eliminate the negative self-talk completely. Just get up and go. You will never regret your workout! I guarantee it, and you might have fun in the process.