You're not a failure. You're just broken.

Every so often many of us get tired of gaining weight and join a gym. We pay the membership fee and the $10 - $50 starts coming out of our accounts automatically, pretty much forever. Then after a few months we grow tired of the gym routine and settle back into our previous lifestyle. Most people that do this think of themselves as failures...

Good news! You're not a failure! You may be broken. But you are NOT a failure. There's a difference. 

There are very few people out there that mindlessly go to the gym (or run) every day for the sole purpose of 'working out'. They're out there for sure but there are less than you think. Those people are called 'gym rats'. The person that has always gone to the gym 5-7 days per week just because. 
This isn't normal human behavior. It's not bad if the person enjoys it, but it's not normal. Neither is sitting on the couch all day, watching TV and eating pizza. 

Both the gym rat and couch potato have some sort of wiring problem in the brain...
Here's something to think about. Have you ever known somebody that seemingly out of the blue started working out or exercising and is somehow passionate about it? Maybe you've seen their posts on Facebook or Twitter. Or maybe you noticed that for the first time ever they stuck with something. What in the heck happened there? How did this person go from a couch potato to fitness buff? Much of the time the exercise/working out part becomes secondary. What happened was that they found something that they enjoyed. And it worked, for them. 

When people are looking to get in shape they often look based on price or convenience. That generally doesn't work. Neither does joining a typical big box gym (it does sometimes, but not usually). 
Here is what people 'find' when they find it. It's also what we all should be looking for when looking to make a lifestyle change and to get into shape. 

1. Measurable/documention - Whatever you do, you must be able to measure it and write it down. If you're joining a gym, you need to have a program and you must document your progress/results. This goes for just about any fitness program except for sport. More on that in a minute. 

2. Competition - Competition drives us. It's just who we are. Nobody wants to be beaten/passed/shown up. Some may say they aren't competitive...that doesn't mean they want to lose. So for me, any successful fitness program should have a competition component. If you play a sport, you're good to go. Obviously a sport is competitive by nature so - if you play hockey/basketball 3- 5 nights a week during the winter and baseball 3 - 5 nights a week during the spring/summer you're probably good to go. Playing regular sports is also about the only time skipping #1 is okay. That and MMA/grappling/BJJ etc. 

3. Community - You need help. We all like to do stuff in groups anyway, it's part of who we are. It's just more fun and an important component for long term success. Being a part of a group will also make you happier and help you live longer. Group fitness classes are a great way to achieve this without being a part of a team (sport). Disclaimer. Group fitness classes must be regular. And it must be with same people. Going to a group class 3x a week with a different group each time won't work. 

4. Effective - Why do we exercise? To feel good right? Look good? Maybe we want to run a 5k? Whatever we do obviously needs to be effective and help us reach our goals. Using #1 effectively will help us to determine if our program is effective and if it's not. We should adjust. 

5. Fun. We have to look forward to what we do. Fun doesn't mean easy. It means we need to enjoy the entire process. Following steps 1 - 4 will make #5 more likely. 

Most people that find something and stick with it long term find these 5 things. They may not have been looking for them, but they've found them and you should too. Start searching and keep searching until you find what you are looking for. 

Well there you have it. See! You aren't a failure! You were just broken...and it wasn't even your fault.