--- title: 5 Ways to Make Yourself Work Out When You Really Don’t Want To description: Schedule a weekly class, run, walk, hike, or tennis match with your friend, partner, or family member canonical: https://time.com/3581219/work-out-motivation/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-13T13:00:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T11:23:22.808Z article:section: Health og:title: 5 Ways to Make Yourself Work Out When You Really Don’t Want To og:description: Schedule a weekly class, run, walk, hike, or tennis match with your friend, partner, or family member og:url: https://time.com/3581219/work-out-motivation/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13f13dc11a066ed8/698768642dce01de419dbbed/gym.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5167 og:image:height: 2906 og:image:alt: gym og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Ways to Make Yourself Work Out When You Really Don’t Want To twitter:description: Schedule a weekly class, run, walk, hike, or tennis match with your friend, partner, or family member twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13f13dc11a066ed8/698768642dce01de419dbbed/gym.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 5 Ways to Make Yourself Work Out When You Don’t Want To > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Health.com Contributor Nov 13, 2014 1:00 PM UTC  Exercise equipment in empty gym Exercise equipment in empty gym Getty Images by [Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Health.com Contributor Nov 13, 2014 1:00 PM UTC As the days start to get shorter and the temperatures drop, you may be tempted to slack off on your workout routine. After all, it’s also no longer swimsuit season and we can hide under cozy layers! But it’s so important to keep moving and find something you not only love to do but also _can_ do all year round. For instance, during the spring and summer, I love to run, bike, swim, play tennis, chase my little guy all over the playground and hike with him in his baby carrier. But as winter approaches, I can fall back on my yoga practice, Pilates workouts, bundled walks, strength training, and skiing. Though, there are still some mornings when I would much rather snuggle in bed. **HEALTH.COM:** [**10 Products That May Help You Sleep**](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20306893,00.html?xid=Time-workouts-111014) Here are some motivational tricks to help you break a sweat because you’ll definitely feel better after working out—and have the body to show for it winter, spring, summer, and fall. **1\. Drink a cup of joe** Coffee is an ergogenic aid and can stimulate you to work out and help you last longer during your workout. Also, if you tell yourself, ‘_I’m going to have a cup of coffee then lift weights’_ you’ll have something set in your head. Try to keep this trick for you AM or midday workouts not later in the evening, though. **HEALTH.COM:** [**The 20 Best Foods to Eat for Breakfast**](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20676415,00.html?xid=Time-workout-111014) **2\. Plan your reward** Promise yourself you can only view the latest episode of “Scandal” or “New Girl” after you log a workout. Or if you’re not a TV watcher, give yourself some sort of reward for working out. I tell myself once I do my yoga practice, then I can surf the web for cute clothes for my baby boy. **3\. Make a date** Schedule a weekly class, run, walk, hike, or tennis match with your friend, partner, or family member. I’m part of an Upper West Side Moms stroller walk and talk meet-up group in New York City. I get so much out of meeting other moms and spending an hour working out with them while still being with my son. Find something you can do—even if it’s joining a bowling league—that meets weekly and gets you excited to move. **HEALTH.COM:** [**20 Ways to Make Exercise a Habit That Lasts**](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20735338,00.html?xid=Time-workouts-111014) **4\. Listen to your playlist** It’s like Pavlov’s dog: if you have a great playlist to work out to, once you play it, chances are you’ll get in the mood to break a sweat. Any upbeat music can get you in the mood to move your body. Just turn on Pandora or your favorite artist and dance around your living room or put on your headphones and go outside or to the gym to run. **5\. Buy yourself new workout clothes** When I get a new yoga tank or an awesome pair of workout pants, I want to use them! I update my wardrobe each season with clothes that work for the whether. Invest in some fun long sleeve workout tops, get a long pair of running pants that will block the wind, find layers you love, and dress for success. I loved back-to-school shopping as s little girl and couldn’t wait to wear each outfit every day. I channel that same enthusiasm and excitement in to my workout wardrobe and plan some fun, new workout classes to take. **HEALTH.COM:** [**24 Fat-Burning Ab Exercises (No Crunches!)**](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20664616,00.html?xid=Time-workouts-111014) [_This article originally appeared on Health.com_](http://news.health.com/2014/11/05/5-ways-to-make-yourself-work-out-when-you-really-dont-want-to/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3581219/work-out-motivation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3581219/work-out-motivation/"},"headline":"5 Ways to Make Yourself Work Out When You Don’t Want To","datePublished":"2014-11-13T13:00:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:23:22.808Z","description":"Schedule a weekly class, run, walk, hike, or tennis match with your friend, partner, or family member","url":"https://time.com/3581219/work-out-motivation/","keywords":["Exercise & Fitness","Working out","gym"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13f13dc11a066ed8/698768642dce01de419dbbed/gym.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Health.com","jobTitle":"Contributor","url":"https://time.com/author/health-com/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13f13dc11a066ed8/698768642dce01de419dbbed/gym.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"gym","caption":"gym","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/exercisefitness/","name":"Exercise & Fitness"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3581219/work-out-motivation/","name":"5 Ways to Make Yourself Work Out When You Don’t Want To"}}]}] ```