You know those winter mornings when the alarm goes off and you’ve to get up for that early morning workout?

You hit snooze and start weighing up the situation…

Your brain goes: “It’s still gonna be so dark outside. Probably been raining too.

“Bet it’ll be freezing when I pull back these covers, and it’s so warm in here. I’ll just lie till the alarm goes off again…”

At this point the local betting shop is giving out odds of 10-1 for you actually dragging your ass out of bed, but there’s still a bit of hope…

Then you remember that you’ve not packed your gym stuff. You don’t even know if you’ve got any decent t-shirts that are clean.

Done deal. The gym aint happening.

Or this scenario might be familiar. You’ve had a longgg day at work. Had to stay on at the office an hour later.

The brain goes: “Aww man, I should really be finishing my workout by now. I’ve still got the rest of the week, so I’ll just go tomorrow night.”

Done deal. Skipped workout. Again.

Let’s be honest, if a half decent excuse comes along most of us are gonna snatch it. That’s the problem.

The biggest block between you and your fitness goals is not lack of strength or simply being out of shape.

And it’s not a lack of desire if you’ve signed up to the gym and made a firm decision to have a better body and better health.

“Excuses are always gonna pop up in your head, but proper preparation can give you the upper hand…”

Nope, it’s the barriers we come across – just as we take a step in the right direction. These barriers come in the form of delightful little excuses that give you an easy get-out.

Excuses are always gonna pop up in your head, but proper preparation can give you the upper hand and make it less likely you’ll give into them.

Get clever and outwit that voice in your head by following the nine simple strategies below that will smash excuses, boost your motivation levels and keep you on track in the gym.

Once you gain momentum, start hitting your weight lifting goals, and get the buzz for your training…you may never miss a workout again.

#1  Schedule your training days in advance. Spend 20-30 minutes on a Sunday planning your workouts for the week, either in a pocket sized diary or digitally on your phone. To find out why a gym training diary is so important for making good progress check out this article.

Mark up the days and times you will be training – and make them non-negotiable. Unless it’s an emergency, whatever crops up is going to have to fit round your training time.

#2  Be specific. Following on from the above, you should map out your exact workout for each day. List each exercise, how many sets, and how many repetitions you’re going for etc.

#3  Avoid Mondays. We all hate the first day of the working week. Even God hates Mondays. It’s always that bit harder to get motivated for a workout after a long Monday at work, especially if you’re still not 100% over the Sunday hangover.

So to stay on track with your training schedule, make Monday a rest day.

#4  Buy a second or third set of gym clothes. If your sweaty gym clothes are lying in the washing basket you might not get round to cleaning them in time for your next workout. That gives you an easy get out.

You can hardly turn up to the gym in your faded cotton Y-fronts lads – or bra and knickers girls. Unless you want banned from your gym for life. Or a wee trip to the police station. No, make sure you have another set of clothes ready so you have no excuses to miss your next workout.

#5  Always pack your gym bag the night before. If you leave it until the morning there is a 64.3% chance you will not make the gym that day. Clearly that statistic was made up on the spot, but I can still safely say the odds of you getting your stuff together are reduced in the AM.

Higher on your priority list is sorting out your morning breath, scoffing your breakfast, and putting the least amount of effort into anything else until you properly wake up an hour or two down the line.

Scrambling around in the morning trying to pack all your gym gear just isn’t an appealing proposition when you’re still half sleeping, so best doing that task the night before.

#6  Leave your gym bag at the front door. Okay, so you’ve taken the advice above and have your gym clothes and trainers all packed in a bag. If you plan on heading to the gym before or after work there’s still a fair chance you’ll walk out the door without the bag.

Here’s a situation – starring me – that was played out approximately 96 times when I was in my 20’s. Sleep in for work >> rush about house getting clean, clothed and fed >> rush to car >> rush to work >> realise halfway down motorway that I never grabbed my gym bag. Answer – sit the bag directly at the front door at night. This way you’ll not forget to take it with you when you leave in the morning.

#7  Keep a spare set of headphones in your gym bag. Good music can be the thin line between a garbage, uninspired workout and setting a few new weightlifting world records. There is no worse feeling than getting changed and being all fired up for your workout – then realising you don’t have your headphones with you.

This scenario usually pans out two ways. A) You get annoyed at yourself >> motivation slowly drains out of you >> you head into gym anyway >> two Justin Bieber songs comes on the music channel within 15 minutes >> you leave in a rage.

B) You get annoyed at yourself >> motivation slowly drains out of you >> you walk/drive all the way home >> get even more annoyed at yourself >> you put off your workout till next time ‘since you’re already home now’ >> your progress goes into reverse >> which annoys you.

So, basically to avoid an all-round annoying episode pack a spare set of headphones in your gym bag.

#8  Download the Rocky IV soundtrack to your music player. And no, I’m not kidding. I’ve had this album on my old MP3 player, then my iPod, and now my iPhone for over 10 years. If you’re struggling through a workout and all else fails, some Sly Stallone sounds will supercharge you.

And if you haven’t watched Rocky IV the movie yet – the greatest film of all time – then you need to have a serious word with yourself. And possibly reassess your whole life. 😉

#9  Stick to the plan. One of the main reasons I always recommend that people always use a training diary is that when you have your workout all written out it’s much more likely you will stay committed to it. No skipping any exercises, or even any single sets of any exercise, because you cannot really tick off your training list without feeling some guilt.

You may end up a bit frustrated if you walk into the gym and cannot get started on your first exercise because someone is already working on that piece of equipment. That doesn’t need to hold you back, just simply change the order of your workout and then get back to anything you have missed a bit later.

These are my nine simple – but super effective – strategies for staying on track with my workouts. Have you got any other decent ones? Leave a comment and let us know.