You Don’t Need Motivation When You Have A Plan

Motivation is loud on Monday and missing by Thursday. We unpack why relying on hype keeps you stuck and how simple discipline, smart planning, and small cues can carry you through the days when you’d rather not change. From first-day jitters to sustainable routines, we share how to quiet the fear of being watched at the gym, replace guesswork with a plan, and build micro-habits that stack real results.

We start with the anxiety most beginners feel and a reality check that resets the room: people are focused on themselves, not on your reps. Then we get tactical. Lists, calendar blocks, and visual cues like shoes in your path and a bag packed the night before cut friction. Streaks create identity, so “I’m trying to work out” becomes “I’m a person who trains.” When motivation dips, you don’t cancel—you pivot: shorter sessions, lighter loads, or a focused circuit that keeps the routine alive.

You’ll hear practical, beginner-friendly ideas that grow confidence fast: park farther and use the walk as a decompression zone, take the stairs, keep three water bottles visible, and anchor new habits to things you already do. We talk nutrition in the real world when family isn’t on your plan, and we share stories of day-one efforts turning into 5K finishes. The throughline is simple: treat training as self-respect, not punishment. Discipline isn’t harsh; it’s a promise you keep to yourself.

Ready to stop waiting for motivation and start moving with purpose? Hit follow, share this with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a quick review telling us the one habit you’ll lock in this week. Your next workout starts with one small decision—what’s yours?

Transcript

Motivation Myth, Discipline Truth

John 0:13

The fitness has ever felt intimidated, or you're starting over. This is your show.

Don 0:19

Hi, I'm Don, just a regular guy starting after letting life, work, and excuses get in the way.

John 0:25

And I'm John, the trainer who helps people start, not chasing their perfect bodies or impossible routines.

Don 0:32

And on today's episode, we're going to talk about how motivation is a myth and discipline is the secret sauce, right, John?

John 0:39

Yes. Sauce, habits, systems.

Don 0:42

Systems, yeah. You know, I have a system. Would you like to hear what my system is?

John 0:46

Yes, please.

Don 0:47

So whenever I'm on the stairmaster or the treadmill or the bike. And you're complaining? I well, the other times when I'm not complaining. Now, what I like to do is I like to turn the fan wide open and it makes me feel like I'm going really, really fast.

John 1:04

Right. And your hair blows.

Don 1:05

Yeah, yeah, it does. That's how fast you're going. Yeah. You know, even though the treadmill is like, you know, two and a half miles an hour, it just makes me feel really cool.

John 1:13

Yeah, I mean, but if we go back to from episode one, day one, walking on the treadmill was not the easiest thing for you to do.

Don 1:24

The treadmill was not horrible. It was the stairmaster that really killed me.

John 1:28

So I I know you like the bike.

Don 1:30

Yeah, I like the bike. You did like the bike. And you biked before you even came into hiked.

John 1:36

You're a hiker.

Don 1:36

Yep, I'm a hiker. I try to be a hiker.

John 1:38

So I thought that's why I was like, oh, he likes to hike. And if you remember, it's all coming back to me now. My memory's sharp tonight, unlike episode one. Um, you were working out because you were gonna go climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

Don 1:54

Your memory is a little faulty, wasn't Kilimanjaro. We were going hiking in Utah, and and that trip unfortunately got postponed.

John 2:01

So but that was the that was the goal. The goal was hey, we're gonna get you motivated so you can knock out this hike in Utah, Kilimanjaro.

Don 2:13

Yeah, I do you do you actually know where Kilman Kil Kilmanjaro is? I I hear people talk about it. Yeah, cool. There you remember Toto, they sang a song about it. Kansas?

unknown 2:24

No.

John 2:24

Oh, Toto, the group.

First-Day Jitters And Gym Anxiety

Don 2:29

You mean Dorothy? No, Toto. Yeah, Toto. No. Yeah, okay. I'll let you figure that out. I remember the group, Toto. Yeah, that's good. I'm glad. I'm glad. Well, do you want to now I people want to know the name of the song? It's Africa.

John 2:45

Oh, so A Kilmanjaro's in Africa. I knew that. It's a volcano. No, it's not a volcano.

Don 2:50

I don't I don't know that it is an exit.

John 2:52

It's the one where people climb up and they die. Mount Everest?

Don 2:56

No, it's the big one, the big one. Mount Everest? The tallest mountain in the world? That's the one. Yeah. I thought. Oh, oh, you mean Mount Everest?

John 3:06

Yes, Mount Everest. Mount Kilimajaro. Mount Kilimajaro's in Africa, Don. Yeah. Okay.

Don 3:12

All right, cool. Back to motivation. I'm glad we got there. Speaking of motivation, let's talk about some of the experiences you've had based on some of the conversations we had last week, where we talked about those first day jetters. And you have some real world experiences here.

John 3:30

I did. And just to backtrack, when Donovan and I were talking last week, we were talking about his own intimidations and factors. And it even at the time when he was telling me, like, John, I feel like, you know, you're putting me through these stations. I feel like people are watching me. And do I have those turquoise green shorts on? And what people are going to talk about my outfit. So we talked about that. And then I had three three brand new training sessions this week. I'm not going to use names to protect the innocent. All three people said to me, I feel like people are watching me. And I said, Let's go over to do the bench press. I I want to have you here because I feel like people are watching me. And I want to be up, make sure I do it right. I took them through these sessions where they had to do push polls and pliometrics, and they're like, I feel like people are watching me.

Don 4:27

I'm like, So, how did you combat that? What did you do to kind of bring them into reality, I guess?

John 4:33

So here's what I would tell people who feel like people are watching you. I have them sit down. Yesterday I'll give you an example. I had a guy sit on the bench, because we're in the weighted, weighted weight area, and I said, Look around. Look around the room. So he he pauses and he looks around the room, and there's this guy and his girlfriend. One's on the hip abductor and one's on the leg extension, and they're they're gazing into each other's eyes. And I said, Okay, do you think they're looking at you? I think they're looking at each other. There were three guys on the treadmill, they all had headphones on. Nobody's paying attention. They're focused on themselves. Then we look over at the guy doing curls who's watching himself. I said, see that guy? He's more concerned about himself. That's it. I I challenge everybody who's listening who feels like somebody's watching them. They're not. Like I said to you earlier, the only time people are watching you is when you're at Walmart and they want to see what you're wearing.

Don 5:44

Turquoise shirts.

John 5:45

Right. And they're and people are going to make comments. But at the gym, everybody's focused on themselves and getting themselves right.

Don 5:52

Yep. And I appreciate you bringing up the shorts. I just want to let you know after my wife heard the episode last week, she sent me a text message explaining what the blue-green color was, and she called it turquoise just as you did. So now I'm my marriage is saved, thankfully, for for at least another week.

John 6:12

Right. And I like to tell people that, you know, turquoise or salmon, and we can go right into that color.

No One Is Watching: Reframing Fear

Don 6:18

Yeah. Well Salmon is it's kind of a pink red.

John 6:23

Pink, but people don't say I don't I'm not wearing a pink shirt, I'm wearing a salmon shirt. Yeah, yeah. For those people. Okay. Segwaying back to the episode two.

Don 6:33

So what is the takeaway that you have when it's it's fairly common that people are very conscientious or of people watching them starting out on their on their fitness journey, right?

John 6:52

So it's not all about clothes. Think about yourself. When you get down to those the weighted area and you grab the 10-pound weights to curl. Oh, yeah.

Don 7:04

Five pound weights. I'm not barely even there. Yeah.

John 7:07

You don't want to go over there next to that hulking guy who's got the the ones, the weights that are at the very end of the contraption there because the stand, because he's got the 75s, and you got to 10.

Don 7:21

Yep.

John 7:22

But again, everybody has to start somewhere. And we've all started at the beginning to get to you know bigger and better things. So it's it's day one in the gym. You're what lifting weights. Who cares? You got to think about yourself, your own self-worth. I worked out today with a with a young lady who I hope down the road we'll have her on as a guest. And nine months ago, if she walked a quarter of a mile, exhausted, dripping sweat. Today, she's two weeks away from her second 5K.

Don 8:04

Wow.

John 8:04

And today she's she's running, you know, running miles.

Don 8:10

That's fantastic.

John 8:11

So day one, she was embarrassed to get to the gym, to walk on the treadmill, and now she's running and doing 5K's. Day one, Donovan on the elliptical, not the elliptical, but the stairmaster, five floors, you're like, I'm pooped. That's it. I can't go anymore.

Don 8:29

Two minutes was like pushing it. Yeah.

John 8:31

Day one, we've all been there. We've all been there. We've all been embarrassed. But it's a it's a self-confidence thing that you have to work through. Focus on you. That's all that matters. Look yourself in the mirror.

Don 8:44

That's very important. It it's not about it, what everybody else is doing, it's about you and you making that personal choice to be there and the reason why you're there. And it kind of brings us back to what we're going to talk about this this week is, you know, motivation is part of the of what we want people to do, but it really comes down to discipline. You can be motivated to come to the gym. You can walk in the door and you can turn around and walk back out. It's having the discipline to stay and do what you came there to do.

John 9:19

Yep. And that discipline and motivation, if you combine them, but getting through that door is the battle. And once you're there, just do it. I mean, I'm not trying to sound like a Nike commercial, just do it, but you you're there. Let's go.

Don 9:36

But we are open to sponsorship opportunities.

John 9:39

For rest, yes. Nike reebok. We, you know, K Swiss, Puma.

Don 9:43

Yeah. So Skechers.

John 9:44

Skechers slip-ons.

Don 9:45

Yeah, yeah. Or what about the Crocs? I I would do I'd go for Crocs.

John 9:50

So I work at a gym and we don't judge. We don't what am I trying to say? Not judge. We don't have rules on what you can wear. But a guy wore Crocs today.

Don 10:01

There's no no appropriate footwear.

John 10:03

And I know I just went into this whole rant that nobody judges you when you come to the gym, but this guy wore Crocs, and I saw him and in my head, people don't wear Crocs when you go to lift weights.

Don 10:14

Unless we're sponsored by Crocs. Crocs. Right. Then we're going to bring in a whole new perspective. Well, the left one will be John and the right one will be Don. We'll have our own brand. Yeah.

John 10:25

I think that's I think I like that.

Don 10:27

We're on to something. Yeah. One would be salmon and one would be turquoise. Going back to just getting in the door. I mean, even today, I would I if I was relying on motivation to get me to the gym, it wasn't going to happen today.

John 10:45

So you need to you need to hire me again because you're like, darn it, I'm paying John. I need to get there.

Don 10:52

I'm just waiting for you to start paying me for the podcast.

John 10:54

Oh, that's okay. Moving on. Sponsors.

Don 10:58

But but seriously, I if I was relying solely on motivation to get me in the gym today, I would not have come. I had so many other things that I excuses? Excuses and I'll say this in air quotes needed to get done, but it was more important for me to get to the gym and and take care of the stuff that I needed to take care of. Once I was through that door, and I was like, I'm here, I got a job to do, and I'm gonna get it done.

John 11:30

I I I struggle, you know, and I struggle with some of this stuff because I've been involved in sport. I I had a great, I had great parents, I had a great upbringing, great motivators that showed me the right way. And I get it. There's people out there that didn't have, you know, parents that said, hey, we're gonna go shoot baskets, hey, we're gonna go take a jog. You know, my dad ran marathons until he was 78 years old.

Don 11:58

Oh wow.

Discipline Over Motivation In Practice

John 11:59

So I, you know, and he we did whitewater kayaking when he was 79 and climbing mountains when he was 80. He was golfing up until the day he died. So I I come from that background of fitness is your is your lifestyle. You do it. You you do it for yourself. And I and I struggle when I hear guys say, Yeah, I don't want to go to the gym. If I don't go to the gym, I am not a happy person. I had a conversation with my son this morning. Dad, work has been so crazy. I have not been able to get into the gym because unfortunately, my son is growing up the way I did because I'm a fitness fanatic and we go to the gym and we do things and we're active and involved. So he has that same mentality at 25. Soon to be 26. I want to just say that happy birthday, John Michael. Dad, I haven't been to the gym. I'm starting to get really irritated. He's got a very important job and it's taken up a lot of his time working from 8:30 to 9 o'clock at night. But darn it, just like you, Don, and everybody else out there, what is an hour?

Don 13:13

Right.

John 13:13

So you had an hour to scroll on your phone today, right? I bet if I grabbed everybody out there's phone right now, I can look at your data as Don moves his away. Go look up your data. How many times how many minutes were you on scrolling? Because it'll show you, you know, Facebook 34 minutes, whatever. Sure. Instagram. You had time to do that. Right. You can't take 45 minutes to go to the gym, get 20 minutes of cardio in it, 20 minutes of weights. And if you're lucky enough to come to my gym, get five minutes of conversation with me.

Don 13:50

So what you're saying is our premise is 100% correct. Motivation is a myth, and it's about being disciplined enough to understand that that it only is an hour. It's not a whole lifetime that you're spending. You need to have the discipline to to to organize.

John 14:11

I was telling my wife before you came over to do to shoot this. I'm like, oh man, I don't know if I'm motivated tonight to do this. And now I'm all fired up. I'm yep, I can tell. Well, it's it, it's it's it's but it's the truth. It's it's true. And I just I want everybody to grasp it that that making this part of your lifestyle, it's so rewarding.

Don 14:33

It is. I don't believe it's a good thing.

John 14:34

It's so rewarding. Look at your I mean your own results.

Don 14:38

Yep, yep. And and I think we are we are the we are representing the dichotomy of both of these positions because you were brought up in a in a environment that where that was pushed.

John 14:51

Oh, yes.

Don 14:52

And and see, and I was brought up in an environment where sports were a luxury getting to do that. Now, I was encouraged to go out and play, and I rode my bike constantly. So I was very physically active, but it was something that I enjoyed and wanted to do, not something that I was pushed to do. So now I think I'm in the boat with the majority of people is we have to discipline ourselves to make sure that we are maintaining the course, whether you know it's that day one or like I talked about last week, my day one was six weeks long.

John 15:29

Well, I know we don't have the the ability to have people call in just yet, but I I want to get to that point down the road here when people are listening, and we we're talking about this episode again, to call in and say, what what is your what's holding you back? I want to hear some excuses.

Don 15:47

Sure. And actually, our listeners can at the in the episode description, there is a button that says get in touch with us, and they can send us a message. Oh, okay. So hey, I you didn't know that, didn't you?

John 15:59

No, how do we and there was we re we will reply? Yeah.

Don 16:02

Okay and and we can also answer those questions on air too.

John 16:06

Oh, okay, gotcha. Yeah, down with the five.

Don 16:08

And that's where you know Nike and the parts, those guys can get in touch with that stuff.

John 16:12

You know, I think it's like I said, so my son finding excuses. You almost made up an excuse. But the it's the reward of getting there. Everybody I've talked to, I've heard I've heard this all my life. Oh, I didn't want to go. Oh, I didn't get any sleep last night. Oh, you know, my cat had a hairball. I got a fly. I mean, I've heard them all. Sure. And then once you get in and you get those endorphins going, and you start and you remind yourself and who you're doing it for.

Don 16:46

Right.

John 16:47

Example again with with the girl today running and doing her training. I don't want to lift the cat out of the bag if she comes and and and does an episode with us, but she lost a lot of weight. Okay.

Don 17:01

Yep. Good.

John 17:02

And she said to me today, and I said, I said to her, I said, you, without saying names, you who will not be named, have done such a great job of losing all this weight. You know, I bet you just love showing people like, hey, you're you're in an extra large shirt now, you're you're not wearing spandex, you're not wearing jeans. She goes, you know what, John, I did it, I did it really for myself.

Don 17:28

Yep.

Upbringing, Mindset, And Consistency

John 17:29

And I said, you know what? You're gonna live longer. You look fantastic. I'm so proud of you. And she goes to the gym every day. I in fact, as one of her coaches, I have to like tell her, you need to take some time off because your body's gonna break down.

Don 17:44

Right, right.

John 17:44

But her discipline is dead on because it's her health. Yep. People out there, it's your health. Discipline for yourself, no one else.

Don 17:55

That's right. It it's about doing it for yourself. If you treat it like a job, then it becomes a job. If you're working for yourself, though, it takes on a whole new meaning.

John 18:08

Yep. Yep. So anyway, I'm proud of everybody who's who's who's taken that step and and like Don included. We haven't really talked about his personal journey, but you and the other people that I've worked with. It's I'm so proud of you guys for getting in there and and doing the work and being disciplined. Because it's fun.

Don 18:29

So let's talk about what also the difference between uh discipline and motivation. What I've read is motivation tends to be more emotionally based, and that discipline is more about structure and having that structure to make sure that you're doing the doing the right thing. What what what is your take on that, John?

John 18:54

Uh I think you're dead on. I think discipline, I I'm a planner. So it's it's one thing to say you're motivated. Oh, I'm motivated to get in shape, but it's that discipline that's gonna get you through the door, get you through the the the process. And like I was just saying, is I'm a big planner. And so every day, my I I don't I wake up with a plan. I don't know if any I don't know if other people have that same plan, like, okay, I'm gonna brush my teeth, I'm gonna take my dog for a walk, I'm gonna come in, I'm gonna have a cup of coffee, blah blah la. But my my my life is is planned out from day one. When I get to the gym, who if I'm gonna train, if I'm gonna train Donovan tonight, we have a plan from day one to ninth month. You I had a plan for you the whole way. Yep, you did. You did. And so you gotta have disciplined to follow that plan. You can't just willy-nilly it and go, oh, I think we're gonna do this today. That's not discipline.

Don 19:55

So tell me, when do you think motivation after a while kind of disappears or goes away? What what causes motivation to fade?

John 20:06

When you're not getting those results as quickly as you wanted, because you're probably not following your plan. Sure. Because you didn't you didn't stay on course, you didn't you didn't have a plan to be disciplined to follow Monday, Wednesday, Friday cardio, blah, blah, blah, whatever your plan is. You didn't follow it. You got off it. Oh, because you know what? Oh, Wednesday night the guys wanted me to go out and have a couple beers, so I didn't stay disciplined.

Don 20:29

Yep. What about, you know, the other thing too is, you know, if you don't have that structure, the discipline, then you have to you you sort of become fatigued about, well, what am I gonna do today?

John 20:43

Yeah, because you didn't it's it's causing you too much work.

Don 20:46

And it's like, yeah, exactly. You're you're more along the lines of, well, what am I gonna do today? Ah, I don't know what I'm gonna do, so I'm not gonna go.

John 20:55

I hope that doesn't happen.

unknown 20:57

No.

John 20:58

I'm not gonna go. Did that let me ask you this did it ever, did you ever let's just work on you as a you know, I need a example. Like, was there days that when you and I were working out that you didn't want to go?

Don 21:11

No, no, there wasn't.

John 21:12

That's darn right it wasn't because I'm exciting.

Don 21:16

There were times when I was not uh in air quotes feeling it, and I even told you when I I came in, I said, Man, I am not feeling 100% today, or I'm just I got my mind in five other different places, but still doing the workout and kind of going through the motion. I I I enjoyed it. And you felt good afterwards. Uh at the end of it, I was like, guess what?

John 21:41

Guess what happened? You started working out, and I started thinking about you stopped thinking about that bill you had to pay, the kid who's, you know, causing you grief at home, and you know, what whatever. All those other things, they go away for an hour. And guess what? They're not as stressful. I I think people miss out on that, is that when you go, perspective of things really changes.

Planning, Structure, And Fading Motivation

Don 22:04

They do, they do. And and that's one of the things that I enjoy uh a lot about hiking because you don't have to think about anything. All you have to think about is putting one foot in front of the other. Same way at the gym. It is, it really is. And it's exactly the same. What what are some things that you could recommend to people to kind of get them in that structure to help them become more disciplined to make sure that they're showing up?

John 22:32

Lists.

Don 22:33

Okay.

John 22:34

But I don't know if people do this at at work. Like, okay, hey, when I get to work today, I have to do X, Y, and Z. Do you do that with your job? Yep. And then you kind of check it off, like a little checklist.

Don 22:46

I I mentally check it off, yeah.

John 22:48

So I would say, you know, make yourself out a weekly plan at the gym. I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna do this exercise. Check, check, check. Oh, use you as an example. I I'm not really feeling it tonight. So okay, I'm gonna pivot a little bit and I'm gonna do this instead, but I'll still get the workout in, but I'm just gonna pivot. Yep. Does that make sense? Yes. And correct, help my English. No, you're not. Because sometimes I'm absolutely right. Mount Rushmore. Oh, or different Mount Remember.

Don 23:20

Yeah, Mount Rushmore has the president's house. That's right.

John 23:23

Yeah, that's right. Anybody wants to call in and tell us what all four presidents are up there? Let us know.

unknown 23:31

Okay.

John 23:32

Is there four? Yeah. Okay, I was like, oh my god.

Don 23:35

On on white Mount Everest. Oh. So one of the things that I do to kind of make me think about the gym is I put my gym shoes in the way. When I go home from the gym, I put them in the way. So I have to see them and I have to remind myself to go. If you're taking a gym bag, the same thing. Go ahead and prepare it. Prepare it. As soon as you get home, take the dirties out, wash them, and get it, get it, get it stacked. So that doesn't become an excuse. Well, I can't go because my socks aren't my my turquoise shorts are dirty. Yep. You know? Those are my favorite shorts. I really those are only ones I wear on leg day. That's right. And I have two pairs, so that's a good thing. So but what and you know, the other thing that was a big deal for me is I want I made sure that I did calendar blocks when we were working out. So I would make sure like I remember you telling me that. I would I would block that Monday, Monday early afternoon. That was our time, and and I it was like it was like a religion for me that that was when John and I are working out.

John 24:56

Motivation, discipline, and consistency. Consistency, sure. You know, consistency is is really key too. You know, I it uh you have habits. We're talking about habits here, but habits, consistency. You want to stay consistent with your workout times. And I get it. Basically times, you know, three o'clock, four o'clock, seven o'clock at night, seven o'clock in the morning, but you make it happen.

Don 25:23

That that is one thing I will tell you. I am not consistent at the time that I go to the gym. Some nights I'm there at seven o'clock. Some days I'm there at 8 a.m. Some afternoons I'll go in like today around three o'clock.

John 25:39

I will tell you from somebody who's been managing gyms and working in the athletic world for a while. That's not normal. People are such creatures of habit. They are. I when people don't show up at my gym now at two o'clock that normally show up, I send them an email.

Don 25:59

Like, hey, you're doing a wellness check?

John 26:01

I do a wellness check because they are creatures of habit. I I know I know when everybody's going to show up, and because it's just consistency, since the key topic today is consistency. It is. They're consistent at what they when they come. So I I I would encourage people who are listening to try to stay consistent and disciplined in your time frames just so it becomes habit.

Don 26:28

Yep. Okay, John, let's talk about some practical steps. You know, how how do you build that discipline?

John 26:36

So I'll give you an example. If you miss a day here and there, which is going to happen because things come up in life. I was talking to this person the other day. I said, Hey, when you're sitting in front of the sink doing the dishes and you didn't make it to the gym that day, you know what I need you to do? Do you know what I do you know what the answer is, Don?

Micro-Habits, Lists, And Cues

Don 26:58

No, I don't know what the answer is. I don't do dishes. I okay. I I have a dishwasher.

John 27:04

Let's say I do ever cut up vegetables. You stand in front of the fish. Oh, I do, yeah. Okay. Yeah. So and I've and I know I've told you this before. And I know when when I was training you, I mentioned this to you. You're riding in an elevator. What are you supposed to be doing? What are you supposed to be doing when you're riding an elevator?

Don 27:19

Trying to identify the song plane on music?

John 27:22

By Toto, Tato, Toto? Yeah. No. You're supposed to be doing calf raises. So if you miss a day at the gym, there's all kinds of practical ways to keep going and get your workout in. I don't know if you know this, but you have a floor at your home.

Don 27:39

Yeah, I've I've noticed that.

John 27:40

Did you notice that? Yeah. You know what? You could do sit-ups and push-ups there, ten of each before you go to bed. You're sitting in an elevator, do 20 calf raises before it gets to your floor.

Don 27:53

That's a great idea. So what you're saying is start where your feet are. Correct. Yeah. Yeah. So you know, one one of the things that kept me motivated and helped instill that discipline to continue coming is I would start having these tiny streaks, you know, where all right, I've I've been here Monday, I've been here Wednesday, I've been here Friday. So that means I'm going back on Sunday, and then just keeping that streak alive.

John 28:25

I remember you texting me, hey, I went to the gym today.

Don 28:29

The other thing to think about too is sometimes like you said earlier, life happens and we're not able to be as consistent as we want to be. So how would you how would you handle that? Would you like, yeah, I just blew it today, so uh I'm not gonna worry about it.

John 28:49

I don't I don't blow any days of my life, and I I it's a mindset that you really have to create of your own. So, you know, this is not you know motivational speaker, John. Listen, but you create your own mindset, just like Donovan just got in talking about getting on streaks, it becomes a mindset going to the gym. Every day is a new day to be better than it was yesterday. I know you've probably saw that on a bumper sticker somewhere, but every day is a day to be better than you were yesterday. I've I've always felt that way as an athlete, as a manager, as a father, as a husband. I want to be the best dad, the best husband that I can be, and I can be better than I was yesterday. And the same thing goes for in the gym. Push yourself to be better. I don't know how it's it it's a state of mind, and you you'll get there.

Don 29:52

That sounds good. So when we're building these habits, I think it's real important that we don't kind of like what we talked about in day one. One, you know, do that ten minute workout, getting over that first stage jitters. I think it's important that when we start building these habits to make sure that we're only trying to develop a habit, one habit every week. Get that one done. Do you not get overwhelmed? Right. You'll be discouraged. Very quickly. Yeah. Very quickly. What is it you have to do something 21 times before it becomes a habit?

John 30:31

Right. So there's Baskin Robbins has 31 flavors.

Don 30:38

52.

John 30:39

Oh, oh, you've counted, you've you've experienced all 52 countries.

Don 30:43

I have, I've tried most of them. And some combinations there of so and I think the the the key to building those habits is to make sure that you anchor them to something you're already doing. So, like maybe you're walking the dog. Yep. And maybe it's a one time around the block, is what your normal route is.

John 31:06

Now we're up to two. Let's do two. And instead of trying to get that excellent parking space at work that's right by the door, maybe you put push yourself a little bit further back into put in the parking lot.

Don 31:19

Absolutely. It's a great way to get steps in and to build that habit of being more physically active, even when it's kind of a mindless activity, right?

John 31:31

So I sometimes I pull up to different gym locations and it's so funny. It is. Right? Where everybody's crowded, the parking lot's huge. Nobody's taking those extra steps to get to that front door, are they?

Don 31:45

No, no, they're not. But it starts there. But they're but they walk in and then they, you know, walk for 20 minutes on the treadmill. Right. They're like, oh, I'm exhausted. But I did my 20 minutes. That's right. That's right. God forbid you do any more. So what are some things that you think we could do to help us stay motivated when we're tired? It goes back to discipline.

Streaks, Setbacks, And Mindset Shifts

John 32:12

You motivate yourself because you want to look good, you want to feel good, you want to live longer. And it's it's a discipline. I it becomes a habit. 21 days in a row going to the gym, day 22, you keep going. You do not want to miss a day, a step, a rep, just like the motto says in our in our opening credits. It's habit for me. Like right now, right? Right. A year ago, you weren't that guy.

Don 32:43

No, I wasn't.

John 32:44

And now if you're not at the gym, you're doing something else to make up for it, right?

Don 32:51

Yeah, absolutely.

John 32:52

So just make it part of your life. It's a it's a cultural shift for yourself and your family and you. I mean, maybe your family's not in not working out. I I met a guy last night. We talked about personal training, and he was 250 at one time, and now he's down to 210, and he wants me to help him get to 185. And I said, Okay, so what what other things are you doing for nutrition and things like that? He goes, Well, you know, I after I leave here tonight, I got to go to McDonald's. I ate a crispy chicken sandwich from my son, and my wife wants a spicy crispy uh sandwich. And I said, Well, wait, wait, wait, wait. How are you going to get from 210 to 185 if you're eating McDonald's? And this is like seven o'clock at night last night. He's like, Well, no, no, no, I don't do it, but I, you know, the people in my house, they're not, they're not on board with my habits. So what I'm getting at is you have to focus on yourself. Nobody's watching you at the gym, and at home, when they're eating stuff that's probably not the healthiest for protein and your diet, it's okay. Let them do what they want to do, but think about you. Just like this girl I was talking about today that went from X weight to B weight and now was running, you know, couldn't run and now can run. Focus. It's all this journey that we always use, the word journey is about you and what you want to do to feel good about you. So make these habits happen.

Don 34:30

Yeah, it it comes down to discipline is more about being respectful of yourself, self-respect.

John 34:39

Love yourself.

Don 34:40

And and it's not a punishment. Going to the gym and and doing the right thing, eating the right way isn't should not be seen as a punishment.

John 34:51

No, so I'm not gonna take you into my cupboards and my refrigerator. Okay, I'm not gonna do that. But I will give you an example tonight. I came home from being at the gym all day, and we're gonna shoot this episode tonight. And here I in my cupboard, there's some potato chips, there's this, that, and the other thing. What I didn't I didn't have any chicken, I didn't have anything thought out like I normally do. Right. I was a bad planner. And I tell talked about a while ago how much I planned. But you know what I had for dinner? I made some rice and I had some vegetables. So I made it all together. I had some rice and vegetables, that was my dinner. I could have easily grabbed the potato chips and done that.

Don 35:38

Absolutely.

John 35:39

But what am I doing? I'm just I'm polluting myself.

Don 35:42

You just threw away whatever you whatever good you did during the day.

John 35:46

So don't do that, people. It's it's it's discipline, discipline, discipline. And you're gonna feel so much the reward is is right there at your grasp.

Don 35:55

So let's challenge the listeners this week to try and lock in one good habit. So one of the ones that you said, I think is a great one is park further away from the front door. When you go to the office, don't try and vie for that front parking space. Uh park a little bit further away. Enjoy, enjoy the walk, enjoy your time where you can kind of decompress from the stressful drive that you just had coming in to that front door where a whole new level of stress starts. And and I think if you look at it like this is my decompression zone, it becomes a lot easier to start developing that habit. What are what are what's another habit that you could suggest?

Everyday Choices: Stairs, Parking, Water

John 36:38

An easy one is we don't drink enough water. Okay. So a habit you can start doing is leaving three bottles of water out a day. And you know, leave them out, take them with you. And I'm the biggest culprit. I do not drink enough water. So I take three bottles of with of water with me when I go to work. And if I bring two home, I know I did myself wrong. Yep. But that's an easy habit. Water, yeah, parking, like you said, walking. Very good habits.

Don 37:10

Absolutely. And another habit to lock in is maybe your office is on the third floor, or your doctor's office, or or your apartment is on the third floor. Instead of taking that elevator, take the stairs. Yep. Yep. It's amazing what that little bit, what a big difference that would make.

John 37:30

Are you doing that now since you were have conquered the stairmaster?

Don 37:34

Yes. On a fairly regular basis.

John 37:37

My wife and I went to Lincoln, Nebraska, and we went to a Nebraska football game, and we were on the ninth floor of this hot Hilton Hotel, and I made her take the stairs. I didn't make her, because if she hears this episode, she's like, I'm the one that does more walking than you.

Don 37:54

Absolutely.

John 37:54

So, but yeah, do the stairs. It's fun. It is fun. And it's always good to know where the exit is so you can get out just in time.

Don 38:00

Well, you know, sometimes when you take the stairs down, you're really surprised where they lead out to. Yeah.

John 38:06

Get off level one, usually don't go to level zero. Yeah, that's we don't want to go down there. No, no, no.

Don 38:13

Well, John, I appreciate your time tonight. And I think we had a good episode talking about how motivation only is part of the puzzle. And really to be successful with this, it takes discipline.

John 38:26

And I'd like to hear back from the listeners too. Like, call in, let us know what your habits are, your struggles are when you go to the gym. I would really love to hear some of the things that people are are having to cope with and get you over that hump so you don't feel that phobia.

Don 38:44

Yep. And and until we get that number set up, you can always send us a message in the show description. It says get in touch. Just click on that and send us a message. We'd love to hear from you. So what we're going to do is we're going to go ahead and wrap up this episode and get ready for episode three. It's talking about walking into the gym, into the gym without fear, basically creating an environment of confidence for yourself. And a lot of that starts with what we've talked about this week about being disciplined and having that plan of action before you walk in the door.

John 39:20

I'm excited to be a part of that episode.

Don 39:23

Well, good. I'll invite you back, I promise.

John 39:25

Okay. Well, thanks for uh I'll enjoy having you back in my home.

Don 39:29

Yeah, I appreciate that too. Uh goodbye, everyone, and we'll see you next week.

John 39:41

What's that song? What was that from? Uh uh. Was that Johnny Carson? Yes. Yeah, that was Johnny Carson. On Mount Kilimajaro?

Don 39:48

Before he got his head put on Mount Everest. Okay. Yeah. That's the fifth head? That's the fifth head. Okay. That's the fifth head. All right. Name the five, four people. I think it's four people.

John 40:00

Teddy Roosevelt.

Don 40:01

Teddy Roosevelt, that's an easy one, right? And then uh Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln is an easy one. Jefferson? Washington is one. And Jefferson. And Jefferson, yeah. I think that's right. What do you want, girl? Oh my gosh. You really, really. Appreciate you putting that paper back. That was important. What do you need?

John 40:23

What is just a thousand? Hang on.

Don 40:28

That's the deal.