It happens to everyone at some point, some more often than others, but it’s inevitable. We all have bad days at the gym. We have talked extensively about how the gym makes you feel better and how peaceful it can be, but every once in awhile no matter how hard you try to avoid them, bad days do happen.

A bad day at the gym can take on many different forms on the outside but tends to feel the same internally. I’ve experienced a bad day when I psych myself up to reach a new max or just maintain previous weight I'd been lifting, to such an extent that not achieving my goal deflates me. My mentality for the rest of the workout is then evaporated leaving me mindlessly doing exercises not feeling any gains. Regardless of why you are having a bad day at the gym, there are certain things we recommend to help you battle the “bad day blues” that every person eventually goes through.

1: Work through it

It is a lot easier said than done, but just continuing your workout may be the best thing to do. Sometimes you will begin to feel better after continuing your workout and doing a different exercise. There have been times when I won’t reach my goal benching and feel deflated, but I continue and find myself feeling good at the end because I know I got a good workout at the end of day. When you can battle through a workout, put your troubles out of your mind and just focus on what you are doing in the present. Having a gym buddy is great for this simply because they can help you stay positive and keep you motivated. There have been numerous times when Ben has helped me clear my mind and kept my thinking positive.

2: Take a deep breath/ Find your ‘Happy Place’

Taking a deep breath can be crucial. It helps allows you to clear your mind and relax if you feel you are starting to tense up and get upset with yourself. Sometimes in the process of pushing ourselves, we forget to breathe and then we lose ourselves. By taking a minute to calm yourself and breathe, you are proving to be in control and will feel better. If anyone has seen Happy Gilmore you can understand a happy place and the significance it can play in succeeding. A happy place is a mental mindset where you imagine a place where you are happiest, make yourself believe you are actually there. It’s like meditating but very brief, so that when you come out of it you feel rejuvenated and relaxed. I have used this strategy right before I lift a large amount of weight, because it relaxes me and calms my nerves while preventing myself from overly psyching myself up or psyching myself out completely.

3: Stop working out, tomorrow is a new day

While I recommend the other two options first, sometimes the only thing that works is ending your workout before you hurt yourself or make things even worse. Working out on a different day may be the best solution. Many coaches have said that you can analyze and obsess over anything, but the next day it needs to be forgotten; this same approach can be applied to the gym. You can be upset and angry but that should only last for a few hours at most. When the next day comes, everything that happened the day before should no longer matter. I did this a few days ago because I found myself getting very angry and nothing I did was helping, so I stopped my work out. Ultimately it was the best solution because I was able to calm myself down both physically and mentally, and start fresh the next day.

With these tips we hope you can work through your next bad day at the gym in whichever way works best for you. Ultimately remember that it is totally normal to have a bad day at the gym. If a bad day turns becomes more consistent, you should try a new routine. Always remember that working out should be a stress reducing experience, and should be something you enjoy doing. Don’t let it get you down, you are a strong person just for being there.

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Phil Biancuzzo