Exercise experts tell us how to maintain a workout routine

If you find it difficult to go to the gym, it may be time to talk to your doctor. I’m not talking about your local doctor. Instead, look to Dr. Jordan Metzl, who has made a career out of helping people overcome self-imposed barriers to getting and staying active.

Metzl is a New York-based sports medicine physician, triathlete columnist, and author of many books, including: Push: Uncovering the Science of Fitness and Motivating You to Embrace Health and Longevitypublished in February. A marathon runner and triathlete, he practices what he preaches.

The mission that moves us is important, but difficult to solve. According to a 2025 study conducted by YouGov for Uscreen, 30% of Americans struggle to reach their fitness goals, citing lack of motivation, access, and time as key inhibitors. Work is a nightmare, it’s too hot or too cold outside, there’s a new series you want to watch on Netflix, you know the situation.

There are endless excuses for not going to the gym. So rewiring your brain requires some serious effort. We recently spoke with Metzl about how our brains get in the way of healthy habits, strategies that have worked for clients, and the three key ingredients to building and maintaining motivation over the long term.

InsideHook: Even if we know that going to the gym is beneficial, why does our brain prevent us from exercising?

Dr. Jordan Metzl: There are many defenses built into why we don’t do it. In this book I call it the “big list.” That’s a lot of reasons we tell ourselves, which can result in us working against our best interests. It could be our own biases or ingrained patterns of behavior from the past. Thoughts like “Everyone in this class is criticizing me” or “I’m not good at the exercises.” To overcome this, you need to examine these preconceptions and realize that they are not necessarily true. Once we understand that, we tend to get out of our own way a little more easily.

Do we need to trick our brains to build healthy habits?

Rather, it’s important to uncover patterns of behavior that allow your body to get used to endorphins and brain chemistry that make you feel good. When that happens, my desire to do more becomes stronger. The more you do it, the more you want to do it. By doing so, your “actions” will turn into useful habits.

Is building a habit just about repetition?

To some extent. I was simply with a client who was striving to become more active and healthy. She just didn’t feel like doing it. And suddenly she joined a group class. Now she’s looking forward to it. She has been doing strength training and feels better. There’s a whole process of getting your brain used to exercise. In this case, if you do the same thing several times a week, skipping class can start to feel like you’re actually missing it.

Many people are too tired to feel like exercising. How can I avoid that?

A man I worked with had this exact problem. He couldn’t go to the gym. But he had a pair of high-end running shoes that he loved. All he does is go to the gym on his way to work at 6am and put his shoes in his locker. He went to work knowing that if he didn’t pick up his shoes by the end of the day, the padlock would be cut and the staff would throw away his belongings. So he had to go to the gym on his way home. Once there, he realized that it would be better to do some light training. He took the time to intentionally change his behavior patterns and in doing so, freed up his own motivation. The value of the shoes was more important to him than feeling tired, and over time, training became a reward in itself.

Knowledge, emotions and beliefs play important roles push. What importance do they have in terms of motivation?

Knowledge means “I know what I should do.” When I wrote my first book, Exercise therapyin 2013, many people didn’t understand the impact exercise had on heart health, brain health, and metabolic health. Today, the average person knows much more, and at least most people understand that they need to exercise for good health.

The second is emotion. It’s like, “I feel like I have to do this.” We want to get to the idea of, “I feel like doing this. It feels like what my body is telling me to do.” There is an emotional component to everything we do. When I run, I feel so much better afterwards. Understanding your emotional self and learning how to disentangle your emotional connection to tasks is essential to forming habits.

The third part is belief. “I believe I can do it again.” If you’ve been to the gym once, you know you can go again. If you’ve run a marathon once, you know you can run it a second time and it brings back memories of that feeling of accomplishment. Focus on these three elements and you’ll be able to unlock motivation for any task.

What are some simple tips to stay motivated and on track when it comes to fitness?

Learning how to channel motivation into healthy behaviors is the key to success. It can be as simple as buying your favorite workout clothes, leaving them out the night before you want to wear them, or remembering to pack them. Or you have to pay upfront for a session with a personal trainer and actually go to the trainer. You may join a running club or strength training club that expects outsiders to join, especially if you sign up with a friend. All of this can make a big difference in reducing the cost of action and actually getting you to take action.

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