The Art of Showing Up: How to Stay Consistent When You’d Rather Stay in Bed
By Tessa — Lifting heavy and lifting you up. Strength is the whole personality. ·
Let’s Be Real: Motivation is a Liar
I’m going to start this off with a confession. Last Tuesday, I did not want to lift. Barbell—my golden retriever, not the iron kind, though he’s definitely heavier than a 45-pound plate at this point—was curled up on the rug, the sun was hitting the floor perfectly, and my bed felt like it had been custom-engineered by NASA for maximum comfort. I had a heavy squat session on the books, and my brain was whispering, “Tessa, just skip it. One day off won’t kill your gains.”
And honestly? My brain was right. One day off won’t kill your gains. But the problem is that when you start listening to that voice, it gets louder. It starts asking for two days off, then a week, and suddenly you’re wondering why your gym bag is gathering dust in the corner.
We love to talk about consistency like it’s this magical trait that some people are born with, like having blue eyes or being able to roll your tongue. Let me set the record straight: consistency isn't a personality trait. It’s a series of boring, unglamorous choices you make when you have absolutely zero desire to make them. If you’re waiting for the “motivation” to strike, you’re going to be waiting until the heat death of the universe.
The “Five-Minute Rule” is Your New Best Friend
When I’m staring down a workout I’m dreading, I use the Five-Minute Rule. I tell myself, “Tessa, you don’t have to climb Everest today. You just have to put your lifting shoes on and go to the gym for five minutes.”
That’s it. That’s the bar. If I get to the gym, warm up my hips, do a few sets of squats, and I still feel like absolute garbage, I give myself full permission to pack it up and go home. You know how many times I’ve actually gone home? Once. And it was because I had a literal stomach bug. 99% of the time, the hardest part is the friction of starting. Once the blood is moving and the music is playing, the “Hero” part of my brain finally kicks in and takes over for the “Everyman” part that just wanted to nap.
Stop Aiming for Perfection (It’s Ruining Your Progress)
I see so many of my online clients burn out because they treat fitness like a binary switch: either they have a perfect, two-hour lifting session with a kale smoothie chaser, or they “fell off the wagon” and might as well eat a sleeve of Oreos and quit until Monday.
Spoiler alert: The wagon is a myth. You didn’t fall off anything. You just had a busy day.
If you have an hour scheduled and life happens—maybe a work meeting runs late or you just feel like your brain is melting—don’t cancel. Shrink it. Can you do 15 minutes of goblet squats and push-ups in your living room? Awesome. That’s a win. Consistency isn't about doing the same perfect routine forever; it’s about doing something even when your schedule is a dumpster fire. A “bad” workout is infinitely better than the one that never happened.
Build Your Environment for Success
If you leave your gym bag in the trunk of your car under a pile of laundry, you are setting yourself up for failure. You’re making your brain work way too hard just to get to the starting line.
I’m a big fan of “removing the friction.” My gym clothes are laid out the night before. My pre-workout is sitting next to my water bottle. Barbell’s leash is right by the door so I don’t have to hunt for it while he’s doing his excited tippy-taps. When you make the act of starting the default path, you don’t have to rely on willpower. And let me tell you, your willpower is a limited resource—don’t waste it on deciding where your socks are.
Track Your Wins (Even the Small Ones)
We get so obsessed with the big numbers—the PRs, the scale, the body fat percentage—that we forget to celebrate the fact that we showed up on a rainy Wednesday when we were tired and grumpy.
I keep a simple logbook. When I look back and see that I haven’t missed a week of training in three months, that’s more motivating than any “before and after” photo ever could be. It builds self-trust. When you tell yourself you’re going to do something and you actually do it, you start to believe that you are the kind of person who shows up. That identity shift is where the real magic happens.
It’s Okay to Be Human
Look, I placed second in my weight class last year, and I still have days where I feel like I’m moving like a rusty robot. I still struggle to get out of bed. I still worry that I’m not doing enough.
If you’re struggling, you aren’t doing it wrong. You’re just human. The difference between the person who reaches their goals and the person who gives up isn't that the first person never felt like quitting. It’s that they did the work anyway, in their pajamas, on a bad day, for five minutes if that’s all they had to give.
So, what’s your “five minutes” going to look like today? Don’t overthink it. Just lace up those sneakers, grab your water, and get moving. You’ve got this, and I’m right there in the trenches with you.
How do you handle those days where your internal motivation is completely offline? Drop a comment below—I’m always looking for new tricks to keep the engine running, and I’d love to hear what’s working for you. Let’s chat!