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Notes -
Different things work for different people. Like any other behavioral change, it's nearly impossible to have a single across-the-board strategy that is going to work for everyone. Some that I've heard of or have worked for people I know:
Pick a gym on your way to work (if you're lucky and have one available), so if you take a shower there, it at least cuts out the extra driving time, and every time you drive by, it's a reminder
Spouse or other training buddy; some people like the 'accountability' of committing to meeting with someone else at a particular time
The various suggestions around turning something into a 'habit'; I know a bunch of people who like the whole 'atomic habits' thing
Similarly, whole groups of folks like SMART goals; there are various ways to track your numbers, and you can pick a method that helps you get a 'win' nearly every time you go
"Change your identity"; I've heard that various folks feel like they just have to change their self-perception. "I'm a person who does X."
Rational analysis of costs/benefits; they say that if exercise were a drug, it would be the single most effective drug we've ever had at increasing a whole slew of health measures; a particular one that some people care about is old age quality of life, they really want to be able to play with or pick up their grandchildren or whatever
There is some research on this, and people have tried to put together some conceptual scaffolding; might be worth checking out. I learned about some of it here and here; I'd also pay attention to the discussion on flexibility and versions of "slack"
Obviously, life is full of tradeoffs, but instead of looking at the next highest value use of your time, think about how you could identify and trade off some of the lowest value uses of your time
A training buddy or a spouse would fix the problem entirely, because I like talking a lot and you can talk all you like during a lifting session. I think, also, if I had a home gym, there would be no problem either because there would be no or very little wait and you could put on a podcast or some music or an audiobook (or fall back on conversing with your training buddy) and you would be in your house after the workout instead of having to drive home. Another way to solve it would be to have an actually fun hobby for resistance training like rock climbing. With rock climbing, every session can be something to remember. But lifting weights at a gym alone is the worst, most boring time sink to me in a way that cooking, doing flash cards, reading, flossing and brushing my teeth, or showering is not. Even mowing the lawn is more compelling. Jogging on a treadmill is more compelling, though not by much.
I wear headphones at the gym and always have a podcast on. When my wife first started coming with me, I didn't wear them, because we were talking more, I was teaching her, etc. Now, we still talk a bit here and there, but I'm usually listening or doing flash cards or something on my phone between sets. She literally brings a laptop and sends work emails or reads books or whatever between sets. It does help that it's not a super high traffic gym (and we go when it's lighter in the morning), so there's not a lot of pressure to hurry. I've seen people who seem to be on actual voice phone calls, which is mildly bad gym etiquette, but they've all talked at low volumes, so I haven't really minded much.
I would observe that these are pretty mild concerns in my mind. Like I said, we go in the morning, and for me, it's almost as much time for my mind to wake up and just get my body going for the day. Would I instead be sitting around, having a cup of coffee, reading something, and not really doing much while I'm really just sort of slowly getting my mind awake for the day? Why not have a cup of coffee at the gym, listen to something, and also move my body/get some exercise in instead? By the end, I'm alert and ready to go for the day; in fact, I kinda feel less good during the day if I don't go to the gym in the morning. Exercise literally is a hellova drug, just one that is really really good for you.
I really feel like these mild concerns can be pretty easily overcome, even by just finding a training buddy... at least, once you've decided that you are going to incorporate it into your lifestyle. The much bigger barrier is, "Am I going to do this?" not, "How am I going to slightly improve the quality of this?"
You're right, the continuous decision to dedicate yourself is the bigger barrier. When I find a new job, I will consider it after I've settled in and everything.
You use headphones, not earbuds? Wireless, I take it? Does the sweat ruin them? Do you ever do aerobic activities wearing them? How much did they cost, and how often do you charge them?
My ears struggle with earbuds; I've tried several over the years, and I have particular features that make them hard to work for me. Both earbuds and headphones are commonly seen in the gym. Yes, mine are Bluetooth. I haven't noticed the sweat cause any problems, specifically. I've had them for several years; actually got them for free. I did replace the pads on them not too long ago (~$10 on Amazon), but I don't think sweat was significantly accelerating their deterioration. I do wear them when on a bike or stairmaster. I don't run much, but I can imagine that if you don't have a good fit, they might move around a bit when running. I do see other people running with headphones, so it seems doable. I usually charge them with my phone every night. I know I don't need to charge my phone every night, and I don't think I've ever run out of battery on my headphones (even when using them for a lot more time just doing stuff around the house all day; maybe when I was traveling and just never remembered to plug them in). I just have a habit of doing that every night, since we started keeping our phones outside of the bedroom at night, we just stash them away where they charge before we're getting ready for bed.
There are a couple exercises where I'm reaching overhead that they kinda almost get in the way, but it's almost never a problem that I can't easily manage. That reminds me, you talked about having to wait for equipment. There are a lot of strategies for that, but just having some basic flexibility in what you're doing is super helpful. As you learn more, it's easier. Pretty sure you have no chance of getting a squat rack for a long time today? Ehhh, just do split squats today and come back to what you had programmed for squats the next time (massive aside, but I preach front squats over back squats). I know some people are overly anal about their programming, but that's pretty pointless unless you're competing. It's probably better to have a variety of sort-of-similar exercises in your toolset anyway.
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