Tricks to staying motivated

OrangeOranges

hey,

Just wondering what peoples general tricks are to staying motivated. How to get through a week of training do everythign they set out to do at the start. how to get through a month of training ........................

Or even down to the basics. knackered in work.Raining outside........Something to do in the evening and still getting out for a 30min jog or whatever.

Also hints on when the crucial moment comes at the weekend. How not to ruin a half decent weeks work with chinese all weekend.

havent got much to contribute myself. Lets just say I am good at setting goals but im talking about getting over the 30mins/30secs of saying fck it " i couldnt be arsed tonight"!

hardtrainer

I don't have any tricks really, it's more about being dedicated/obsessed. I work out in the am, before work and there are plenty of mornings where it's bitterly cold (like now) and dark and/or raining and the last thing you want to do is get up at the crack of dawn or before (in winter) to hit the gym, but I still go. Every once in a while (maybe once every two months) I'll be tired and decide to give myself the day off, but I make up for that then during that week.

All I will say is you have to keep at it. If you are feeling tired and unmotivated, take a look in the mirror and in particular focus on whatever your goals are and ask yourself if you've achieved them yet, if not, get your ass into the gym.

So often I hear people say they're too tired/unmotivated/cold/wet etc to head to the gym. Its on those days that you really should be going to the gym. Not only will it wake you up, you certainly won't be cold once you get stuck in, you'll be wet from sweat anyway and there is no better way to put a stressful day behind you that to go hard in the gym, be it cardio or resistance work etc.

At the end of the day, you are going to the gym for you. If you really do want to achieve your goals, you MUST be prepared to put in the time and effort to get there. Too many 'f*€K it' type skipped sessions and you'll soon be back to where you started. As soon as the thought enters your head, just tell yourself that your life depends on getting to the gym that day. It gets a lot easier over time to stay dedicated and to motivate yourself, you just have to keep at it.

slicus ricus

The best way to keep motivated over a long period of time in a programme is to change it every few weeks so you dont get bored. Incorporating different stuff into your workout really brings back your enthusiasm for training when you're struggling.

Macha

slicus ricus wrote:

The best way to keep motivated over a long period of time in a programme is to change it every few weeks so you dont get bored. Incorporating different stuff into your workout really brings back your enthusiasm for training when you're struggling.

Yeah I totally agree. Gymming it can get really boring even at the best of times. I think ideally the gym should be used as an addition to a sport. In other words play the sport 2-3 times a week & go to the gym 1-2 times a week.

In terms of motivation, goals are always a good idea. So if your aim is to look better physically, make a holiday you're going on into a sort of deadline. Think how you want to look on the beach next summer, ripped surfer or beach whale?!

And if you play sport, your aims are already structured into the game, ie run faster, tackle better, shoot more goals, etc. And then you'll also have the more quantifiable goals in the gym of benchpress Xkgs this week, benchpress Xkgs next week etc.

Oh also, I cant go to the gym without my MP3 player - it makes it just about bearable!

Another trick is tell yourself that if after 15 minutes of running, etc you're still feeling unmotivated & sluggish, you can stop but normally after 15 minutes you think "ah feck, i might as well finish it now"

LegacyUser

I look at myself and say "Not bad not bad, but you can do better"....and i work at it!

I love the gym...it's great. My only problem is going to the supermarket to get the healthy food! But I am getting better at it and i do not eat **** anymore ever, i just may not get my complete amount of fruit/veg in each day but i will be getting vitamins etc to compensate.

BrianD3

I've no problems with motivation, quite the opposite in fact It's well known that exercise has anti-depressant effects and can be addictive. I find a hard weights session gives a kind of high where I feel content and almost euphoric. I've read this is due to endorphins being released. However I find that I have to do weights every day to keep this rush going. If I take a few days off I get irritable and pessimistic plus my motivation drops.

OTOH when I'm doing it every day I'm itching to get at the weights and am looking forward to it all day. I believe the key to this is to do hard, intense but short sessions every day. Also IMO it's a big help to have your own gym equipment in the comfort of your own home rather than having to travel to some overpriced gym which is going to be full of posers yapping on mobile phones, idiots hogging the equipment etc.

Cravez

BrianD3 wrote:

OTOH when I'm doing it every day I'm itching to get at the weights and am looking forward to it all day. I believe the key to this is to do hard, intense but short sessions every day. Also IMO it's a big help to have your own gym equipment in the comfort of your own home rather than having to travel to some overpriced gym which is going to be full of posers yapping on mobile phones, idiots hogging the equipment etc.

Exactly the same as me, i much prefer training at home where i feel i can train better and more effeciently than waiting for people to finish using the equipment in the gym.

MartMax

my tricks :

every time in the gym, i look at the guys wt good muscles - i can do it too.

it's raining or freezing, i'm not paying €55 for nothing - gets moving.

i'm tired, wrecked - but sweating and body parts worked out make me feels better.

g'em

for me, results are the best motivator. Every time I see more muscle development it eggs me on. Every time I can put another few kg's on the bar, I tell myself, good, but you know you can do better. Plus, being (one of)the strongest girls in the gym is a title I fully intend to hold on to

I give myself a week off every 8-10 weeks- after 7 days of no training I'm dying to get back into it and I rethink my whole routine. Keeps it fresh, and my body guessing.

jman0

Motivation is not generally a problem for me. However i've inadvertantly found a new way to get my arse in the gym:
My flat is ridiculously cold, infact it is pretty much too cold to go home. Therefore instead of going home, where to go?....how about the warm gym?

Boru.

Over the years I've used and taught several techniques, the most effective of which utilise NLP. There are many really great books out there, but it always comes down to really meaning "I want this". If you want to be fit, or toned, or lose weight you'll move heaven and earth to get it. People often undersatnd that they "need" to get fitter...but what they want is to sit on the couch eating crisps watching I'ma Celebrity.

My personal motivation is expression. I can't express myself completely if my body doesn't respond to my commands. Nor am I truly experiencing the most of life, if I fail to utilise myself to the fullest. Besides if I don't keep myself strong and flexible the others will kill me.

cousin_borat

Boru, can you recommend any NLP books? I'm interested in learning some more in this area especially in relation to Fitness and Business.

FX Meister

cheesedude wrote:

I look at myself and say "Not bad not bad, but you can do better"....and i work at it!

I love the gym...it's great. My only problem is going to the supermarket to get the healthy food! But I am getting better at it and i do not eat **** anymore ever, i just may not get my complete amount of fruit/veg in each day but i will be getting vitamins etc to compensate.

You are making a show of yourself again mate.

black frog

Having spent years keeping fit and simply enjoying exercise and sport for the hell of it, after a back injury I cant seem to motivate myself to my previous level. I dont wont to commit to a gym or trainer if my motivation wont go the distance, would an on-line trainer help or would it be more trouble than its worth????

Boru.

Hey cousin borat, I'll post a list over the weekend.

cousin_borat

Cheers Boru,

much appreciated

Boru.

Wirte (get it?) the following are some of the books I have found helpful with both fitness and general motivation. Some of them are a bit weird, some are very cliched, but out of easch of the books there are at the very least some small bit of info that presneted me with a new way of looking at things. This has actually given me a good idea for a future article so thanks for bringing it up. Anyway...on with the show....

General

• The Celestine Propecy - James Redfield
• The Ten Insights - James Redfield
• Anything by Tony Robbins (my 1st intro to NLP)
• Sophie's World - Josteen Gaardner
• Self Matters : Creating Your Life from the Inside Out by Dr. Phil McGraw

Sports and Fitness Bio's (some of this stuff pushed me to completely new levels with my training) (The trick is emotional investment)

• Its True its True - Kurt Angle
• Anything about Bruce Lee, in partiular Fighting Spirit and the Art of Expressing the Human Body
• Frank Zane by Frank Zane
• Sly Moves : My Proven Program to Lose Weight, Build Strength, Gain Will Power, and Live your Dream - Sylvester Stallone (just trust me okay...its not that bad...no really....okay I'm a Rocky fanatic and don't tell me that watching a Rocky movie does not make you want to train....cause ....that just couldn't be true
  

• West Coast Bodybuilding Scene: The Golden Era by Dave Draper
• High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way by Mike Mentzer
• The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding : The Bible of Bodybuilding, Fully Updated and Revised by Arnold Schwarzenegger
• Chicken Soup to Inspire the Body and Soul: Motivation to Get You Over the Hump by Dan Millman, Diana Von Welanetz Wentworth
• Fitness Motivation: Preventing Participant Dropout by Walter J Rejeski, Elizabeth A Kenney
• Body for Life - Bill Philips

NLP

• Anything Tony Robbins
• Anything Paul McKenna (again trust me its actaully good)
• Nlp : The New Technology by Nlp Comprehensive
• Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming: Psychological Skills for Understanding and Influencing People by Joseph O'Connor

Cravez

g'em wrote:

for me, results are the best motivator. Every time I see more muscle development it eggs me on. Every time I can put another few kg's on the bar, I tell myself, good, but you know you can do better.

One of my main motivators also, also when you recieve compliments about your bigger physique, it really strives me to work harder. Also if your working out try listen to good workout music, kinda makes the exercise less tedious and boring and you kinda go with the beat and it helps your performance ( in my opinion, works for me ).

Sangre

The Celestine Prophecy is without a doubt the worst book I've ever read.
Terrible structure, flow, story and involvement. Think it was the like the 2nd book I've never finished.,....*shudder*

Boru.

Like I said, some of them..well they're not good books. The writing may be bad, the story may suck...but each of the above jems and disastors had something in them that helped get me to another level. And as much as I would like to deny having read some of them, I did and found something useful. Even if you hated a particular book, think of it this way...man, in the time I spent reading that I could have put another inch on my biceps! (or lost an inch off my waist)....right then off to the gym! (see even bad things can motivate, its all in how you see it)

PJG

I have read a lot to the Robbins series and other life and business coaching’ stuff, not everything in the books suits everyone.

Its about the selecting and using the pieces the suit you from each book and applying them in your daily routine, it certainly works for me.

You could also try reading sports physiology books –

One book I find very good is Mind Gym : An athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence. It’s full of short stories about true life examples of how coaches and athletes use sports physiology to improve and maintain performance.

Boru.

Couldn't agree more. Haven't read Mind Gym yet.....on my way to the bookshop.....back soon.

MOH

taconnol wrote:

Another trick is tell yourself that if after 15 minutes of running, etc you're still feeling unmotivated & sluggish, you can stop but normally after 15 minutes you think "ah feck, i might as well finish it now"

I agree with that - it helps if you can lie to yourself convincingly. Convince yourself that if you make the effort and go to the gym, when you really don't feel like going, that you'll let yourself off with a light circuit than normal. Then once you're there, start off e.g. aiming to spend 70% of your normal time on the cross trainer, and as you get to the end keep telling yourself "just one more minute", until you find you've actually done more than you normally would.

(I've been trying all day to convince myself to go tonight, and now I'm worried I might cop on what I'm up to )

Agree MP3 player = major help too.

the whole year inn

I find an ipod a great help really takes your mind off the boredom.

I find I like going to the gym, one of the main reasons is the good feeling you get after you are done and your sitting in the sauna relaxing , and you come out of there fully refreshed. I go four times a week and I think if i do this I can go to the sauna and get that good felling.

LegacyUser

Let's face it, how can you not love the gym? you are going to make yourself look physically excellent. Think about it, it's exceptionally important for your self-confidence, well for me anyway.

RPGGAMER

in my experience performance based goals keep people motivated better than aesthetics. it just means that they can forget about what they look like for awhile and keep going on a performance measure. then they dont get amotivated and quit you see. now that goes from people training to lose weight, look good to the athlete.

incisor71

Things that keep me motivated, in no particular order:

1. Setting a specific measureable target - my current pet project is "13%bf by 1st March 2006" - and making whatever sacrifices are necessary to achieve it.
2. A new routine every 4 weeks - is essential to have something different to look forward to, as well as avoiding the dreaded plateau.
3. Getting the full value out of a gym membership by going 6 times a week - rather than signing up with great intentions and then passively contributing to the gym's sales income.
4. Finding that my clothes fit better as the weeks and months go by.
5. Noticing little things, like the extra bit of toning in the stomach area, or the first signs of a vein along the bicep, and striving to further enhance that.
6. Pushing past the pain - accepting that the burn is necessary during exercise, and not avoiding it, but also knowing it's not going to last.
7. Knowing that I've earned the self-administered pat on the back once the workout is over, knowing I pushed myself hard.
8. Proving to myself that I don't have to condemn my body to Blob City just because I'm lacking competitive instincts or "natural sporting talent".
9. Utilising musical distractions for what I'd consider repetitive activities, such as rowing (so much easier with a good beat pumping in my ears). MP3 player = essential kit.
10. Being able to raise more of the weights stack with each session.
11. Having the lingering feeling of muscle stiffness during the day (sounds masochistic, I know)... each workout pushes me onto another, infinitesmally higher plane.
12. Making up for lost time - in my case, my relatively idle teens and 20s.
13. It's a major boost for self-esteem .... and a steady escape from Blob City, a place of self-loathing that I'd really rather not return to.
14. Getting the day off to a good start (I do my weights in the mornings before work).
15. Having useful everyday strength.. my latest trick seems to be to tilt the workplace snack machine forwards to free stuck chocolate bars (bought by someone else for someone else, naturally )

I rarely chicken out of doing a workout any more (except if I'm sick, which is a perfectly valid reason) and if I do I'll make up for it later on that week. It's tougher getting up early on these cold miserable mornings, but then you can congratulate yourself on your level of resolve.

Yes, I think I'm starting to get hooked on this whole gym thing!

Apologies for the crowded appearance of the list, btw.