Getting To The Gym!

(If you cannot tell by how tiny I am and also how long my hair is, this is quite an old picture, but it's one of the most recent photos of me actually working out in the gym!)

Ever since I started going to the gym over a year ago, I've really grown to love it! I'll be honest in saying I didn't warm to it instantly, but now it's one of my favourite ways to spend 'me' time. So today I thought I'd share a few of my tips, now that it's the middle of January and you may be lacking in that 'New Year, New Me' spirit that made you join up in the first place and encourage you to keep going!

1: Grab some friends!

I was fortunate enough to be dating an avid gym-goer when I first started out, so I didn't have much choice but to be dragged along with him which helped out a lot! I don't think I even went to the gym alone for about a month after joining.. I also have a few other friends who I like to go to the gym with - sometimes it's just really nice to hear about what others like to do during their workouts and it's nice to have someone there motivating you.

2: Deck yourself out

Now I'm not saying you need to buy yourself a bunch of Nike gear from head to toe, but you want to be comfortable and feel like you look nice in what you're wearing, otherwise your confidence levels will be so low! Some of my favourite clothes are form Adidas if you feel like treating yourself, but I also have a lot of stuff from the H&M sportswear lines and USA Pro are one of my favourite brands - plus they're stocked at Sports Direct so you're guaranteed to get a good discount!

3: Workout Playlists

One of my main issues once I get into the gym is staying focused on what I'm doing, and I find that workout playlists are one of the main things that help that. Having Spotify is great because there's a whole section of playlists dedicated to workouts under the explore tab, and you can even sort by whether you're looking for playlists for in the gym or for running, which I love. Having a good pair of headphones is another thing that I would recommend as I've had pairs before that would keep falling out of my ears - one of the ultimate pains in the bottom! Personally, I prefer to wear headphones rather than earphones when I'm working out but that's entirely down to everyone individually!

4: Social Media

At the end of the day, why did you start working out? If you're anything like me, it was because you're tired of seeing pictures of so many fit girls (and by that I mean fitness!) on the internet and knowing you're not doing anything to look remotely like that. If that's the case, I'd say that you need to keep surrounding yourself with things like that. I love following women who are into fitness on Instagram and Twitter so I can follow what they're up to and how they do their workouts - it's a great way to pick up tips! I'm subscribed to Nikki Blackketter on YouTube and she's honestly such a huge inspiration to me (and her boyfriend and her huskies... Sigh, talk about life goals!) - watching her videos really gets me hyped up to go back to the gym!

5: Tracking

Social media may be great for tracking other peoples' workouts and progress but I think it's important to track your own as well! Everyone does this differently, be it a diary, an app or even posting an Instagram every time you go to the gym (come on, we've all been there...) This way, you can see whether you're improving and is especially beneficial if you want to get into using weights at the gym, as you can track to see if your body is getting stronger and you're lifting heavier weights, which can be a real confidence booster! If nothing else, it shows you what areas you have focussed on in your recent workouts, so you can do the bits you've neglected a little next time you go to the gym!

Hope these tips have helped you out a little bit and keep on going if you're trying to get into going to the gym - it takes 21 days to build a habit and this is one that ultimately, is going to do you a lot of good!