It’s Friday afternoon at 4:30 and the clock couldn’t be moving any slower. It’s been a long week and you’re more than ready for the weekend to begin.

The only problem (besides the last 30 minutes feeling like an eternity) is you haven’t had your workout yet. You’re thinking to yourself, “I’m not in the mood to workout”, and it’s the last thing on your mind with the exciting weekend you have planned. In order to avoid skipping the gym, put a few of these motivational ideas to good use.

Take a pre-workout supplement
A lot of avid gym-goers that are faithful to their workout routine take a pre-workout supplement before every workout. Pre-workout supplements enhance your workout with ingredients such as caffeine and creatine, which give you a boost of energy and help you maintain more mental focus.

When looking for the right supplement for you, consider one that’s fast-acting so it will absorb immediately into your bloodstream ,therefore creating rapid energy results. Products can come in powder form and are then mixed with water, while others come in pill or tablet-form. One tablet that I’m a personal fan of is called Chilli-Slim. It contains caffeine and will give you the motivational boost to get started.

A pre-workout supplement should be taken about 30 minutes prior to a workout. If it’s a drink, make sure to finish it before you begin. Sipping on it during your workout will defeat the purpose.

Eat right
About 1-2 hours before you plan on hitting the gym, make sure you get a small-but-decent meal in your system. The meal should include a lean protein, an essential fat, and a slow digesting carbohydrate.

Working out on an empty stomach is NOT healthy. This meal will also provide energy for your workout. If it’s been several hours since you’ve last eaten, be careful not to overeat on this meal. Do not try and makeup for any meals missed for the day – your body is like a funnel and can only handle so much food at one time. If you give it more food than it can handle, that’s when the food begins to store as extra fat.

The 1-2 hour timing guideline is very important because if you eat too soon, you’ll run out of energy before you even get to the gym. Similarly, if you’re eating too close to your workout the nutrients will not have enough time to get into your system therefore you won’t be receiving the energy you were looking for soon enough.

Getting yourself to the gym when it’s the last thing you feel like doing can be tough. But by following these simple steps, you’ll not only increase your chances of getting yourself to the gym physically, but mentally