Nearly everyone has that one friend who is on it. They never miss a workout, always get a full night’s sleep, and pack their lunch for work the night before. Their discipline is admirable—and almost unimaginable.

But cultivating more self-discipline for exercise isn’t as farfetched as it feels when you’re hitting snooze for the third time instead of heading out for a morning run. Keep reading to learn more about what self-discipline really is, how to build more of it, and how to lean on it to get you through those unmotivated moments.

What Is Self-Discipline?

To Peloton instructor Selena Samuela, self-discipline is “choosing to show up on both the good days and the not-so-good days, both when you’re feeling motivated and when you’re not feeling motivated.” No matter what factors or obstacles might get in your way or try to dissuade you from sticking to an exercise routine, your self-discipline is the “commitment you hold true to,” she says.

Kate Cummins, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist who works with pro athletes and coaches, agrees that self-discipline for exercise is a choice: It’s about choosing to show up for your workout no matter how you feel, she says. 

“The mind-body connection is used as a strength to push toward continued intentional choices to exercise rather than allowing emotions to change the structure of habits and performance,” Cummins says. In other words, feeling sluggish and like you’d prefer to sit on the couch isn’t a choice; getting up and doing a strength workout anyway is.

Ultimately, self-discipline—or in some research circles, self-control—is your ability to override your impulses or natural responses, says sport psychologist and professor Chris Englert, head of the Sport and Exercise Psychology Unit at Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany, who has researched self-discipline and exercise. “For instance, if I intend to go to the gym in the evening and all of a sudden friends invite me to come over to watch a baseball game, I have to shield my exercise intentions from this alternative,” he says. “The higher the ability to control these impulses, the more likely I am to follow through with my intention.” 

Motivation vs. Discipline

While self-discipline and motivation are intricately linked, they are, in fact, a bit different. Motivation is what gets you interested, and discipline is what keeps you showing up.

“Motivation is an emotional reaction or feeling—a desire or drive to act on the choice to exercise,” Cummins says. “It is not thought patterns or behavioral choices like self-discipline.” Motivation can still be a major factor that helps you stay consistent with an exercise routine, but it’s not the actual choice to put in the work, she says. 

Another way to think about it: Strong self-discipline is what gets you to your workout even when you don’t feel like it. “Where motivation ebbs and flows, [self-discipline] minimizes decision fatigue and goes off of behavioral intention rather than how one feels in the moment,” Cummins adds. 

Ultimately, your motivation is your “why”—it helps you establish a fitness goal or another concrete reason that inspires you to exercise. But self-discipline is what drives you to actually try to achieve that goal, Englert adds.

How to Build Self-Discipline for Exercise

All that said, anyone who has tried unsuccessfully to stop scrolling TikTok or turn off the TV before the next episode starts knows self-discipline and self-control aren’t endless. So how do you develop more of this mental superpower to stay dedicated to your workout plan?

1. Focus On Your ‘Why’

Zeroing in on your motivation can in turn help you develop self-discipline. “I’m not just lifting for me, or to get abs,” Selena says. “I’m doing this for my kiddos and my family so that I’m not just a sideline cheerleader in their lives but an active participant. I look forward to running races with my kids and walking and playing 18 holes of golf with them and surfing with them for as long as I possibly can. That idea alone helps light a fire under my butt and helps me stick to doing what I know is good for my health.”

This rich understanding of the value of your exercise routine “connects us to a deeper, more meaningful intention,” Cummins says.

2. Find a Form of Movement You Love

When you’re not feeling motivated, you can still flex your workout discipline just by showing up. But if you’re feeling less than amped to exercise, it helps to start with the type of movement that you’re most passionate about, Selena says. “On the days that I’m not feeling motivated, I do the thing that I like to do first,” she says. For her, that’s running. “I go for a run first and treat that as my warm-up and motivation,” she says. 

With that boost, she’s better able to follow through on the rest of her planned workout for the day, even if it doesn’t feel quite as exciting. “Find the thing that is fun for you that you love, and use that to help get you into doing the things that may not be as easy to start,” she says.

When you enjoy what you’re doing, exercise will feel less demanding on your existing self-discipline. “Forcing yourself to go to the gym even though you don’t enjoy it requires a great deal of self-control,” Englert says. “However, the more I enjoy the respective exercise, the less self-control is required because I don’t have to force myself. Therefore, it is highly recommended to try different types of exercise to figure out what you actually enjoy and want to do.” 

Not sure what to try? The Peloton App is full of different workouts for every fitness level, from running and walking to Pilates and yoga to dance cardio and strength (and much more).

3. Build up Gradually

When you’re just beginning to develop your workout discipline, don’t overdo it. “I tell people to start with something digestible: Commit to 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, then work your way up from there,” Selena says.

“This creates realistic expectations that will help you not burn out and align with joy as you continue to hit your goals,” Cummins adds. Over time, you can start to craft loftier benchmarks—for example, “Six months from now, I want to be working out daily,” she says. “This gives you momentum that feels exciting.” 

4. Schedule Your Workouts

Setting and sticking to a routine is another helpful way to build workout discipline. Selena says she’s a fan of calendar invites to block off the time for exercise and hold yourself accountable. Peloton also has a helpful scheduling feature that sends you a notification when it’s time to get moving. You can even set alarms if you have to, Cummins adds. 

All these scheduling tricks may make you less likely to blow off your workouts by giving them an officially scheduled time, as if they were work meetings or doctor appointments.

5. Track Your Progress

Keeping a log of your workouts over time can help you stay accountable, build up gradually, and feel proud of your fitness accomplishments. “Celebrate the small and big wins, and link positive emotion to your success as much as possible,” Cummins says. This will help bolster joyful emotions when you think about exercise, which will help fuel your motivation and your discipline.

6. Lean On Helpful Tools

Peloton features like Programs, Challenges, and Personalized Plans can all help you build discipline and motivation.

For starters, the built-in routine can help you stick to your workout schedule, Selena says. Programs take the guesswork out of creating a guided training schedule—and having one less to-do on your list can help free up the mental bandwidth to stay disciplined. Personalized Plans also give your routine structure by delivering weekly workout suggestions customized for your long-term fitness goals. Meanwhile, Challenges encourage you to work toward various movement-based goals alongside other Peloton Members. 

7. De-Stress

Even with all these helpful tips in mind, exerting self-discipline can be mentally taxing. You’re less likely to exercise when you’ve had to tap into your self-discipline or self-control a lot over the course of the day, like during a stressful day at work, Englert says. So try your best to give yourself time to recharge.

“Relaxation techniques or mindfulness exercises can help us to mentally recover from previous self-control demands,” Englert says, like taking “short mental breaks during the day at the office.” For example, sneaking in a 5-minute meditation is a great way to quiet your mind and stay present. 

8. Keep It Up

The relationship between self-discipline or self-control and exercise actually goes both ways: Research suggests when you exercise, you feel a stronger sense of self-discipline afterwards. So it’s possible that simply showing up for your workouts routinely will help you flex this mental muscle.

Plus, the more discipline you build, the less effortful sticking to your routine will feel over time. “The goal should be to establish exercise habits,” Englert says. “If I am used to exercising on a regular basis, I do not need to set explicit intentions anymore as the behavior gets triggered automatically. This automaticity also means that self-control is not required in these situations.”

The Takeaway

Self-discipline is like self-control; it’s a choice to follow through on behaviors that help you achieve an established goal. This is different from your motivation, which is the desire that helps you create that goal to begin with. You can use self-discipline to stay on track with exercise even on days when your motivation is lacking. 

Workout discipline takes effort, but you can build more of it. Managing stress, scheduling workouts, and finding a form of exercise you actually enjoy can all help reduce the mental burden and free up brainpower to stay dedicated. Building up gradually and finding ways to hold yourself accountable helps too.