Motivational techniques

kensutz

Hi lads and lasses,

I'm just wondering what you do to keep you motivated the whole time. Every time I seem to start to plan out what I'm going to do I just lose interest the whole time. I've decided myself now that I'm going to make a massive effort in going to the gym & keeping fit. The football season is over now so I've signed up to play for a cricket team which means I want to get to the gym for some strength training etc. Any hints & tips to keep myself motivated will be appreciated.

Thanks

Cheese Princess

The fear of getting fat motivates me....sad but true!

kensutz

I'm the opposite, I am thin and need to build myself up. I guess I just need a kick up the rear end to get me going and keep me going. I've restricted my internet access to late at night and then only for a few hours a day depending on shifts.

Money Shot

kensutz wrote:

Hi lads and lasses,

I'm just wondering what you do to keep you motivated the whole time. Every time I seem to start to plan out what I'm going to do I just lose interest the whole time. I've decided myself now that I'm going to make a massive effort in going to the gym & keeping fit. The football season is over now so I've signed up to play for a cricket team which means I want to get to the gym for some strength training etc. Any hints & tips to keep myself motivated will be appreciated.

Thanks

I think you need to find things you enjoy doing. Some guys love the gym, others hate it, and can never keep it up, but they'd happilly play five a side three nights a week. You have to enjoy doing it if you are to keep it up on long term basis.
Try lots of sports and activities, find what you like, and the motivation will take care of itself. A lot of people who want to get fit, just automatically think ' Gym ' - there are so many other ways to keep fit without even going to the Gym. I find it hard in the summer to go to the Gym as I like to be outdoors when the weather is good, so cycle a lot, a bit of running, play the odd game of footie, tennis, go swimming, lots of nice walks.

If you're not into the gym, but still want to go, don't go too often and keep it short - that way you might actually stick to some sort of a routine.

Cheese Princess

That's definitely true.

Tried the gym a few times and I just got bored.

Now I play netball, tag rugby, sometimes indoor soccer and I've just started doing some running.

If you're not doing a team sport it really helps to have a training partner. I couldn't go running on my own, have to have someone with me.

brianthebard

Definitely have to enjoy going. Even if I felt like it my stength wasn't increasing or that going to the gym wasn't doing me any good I'd still go, cause it puts me in a good mood and I enjoy going. Also helps if you have a friend to go with although that's not always necessary.

hunnymonster

I actually do less with a friend around. I must be a real anti-social git.... For me entering races keeps me motivated.

g'em

The "nice-friendly-I'm-always-willing-to-help" g'em answer to this would be:

1. Write down your goals. If you don't where where you're going how are you going to figure out a way to get there?

2. Write down the reasons why you want to achieve these goals - to make you feel healthier, stronger, more energised, to aid your sport etc.

3. Make a conscious effort to set aside x number of hours a week to fulfil those goals. If you don't make it a priority to workout, there'll always be an excuse not to do it.

4. Even when you're not feeling up to working out (not sick, or injured, but just not motivated), think ahead to the end of the session when your blood is pumping, your muscles are screaming, your endorphins are in overdrive and you have that incredible sense of achievement to fall back on. Savour that feeling and remind yourself why it's worth it going to the gym.

5. Find like-minded people to train with. Although I train perfectly well on my own, there's a group of guys I lift with that invariably bring out my strongest, hardest performances in the gym - call it friendly competition or just motivation from friends, working out with someone (even just once in a while) can add a whole new dimension to your training and it's lots of fun!!



g'em the lifter on the other hand...

Stop making f**king excuses. Either you train or you don't train, stop whining about it here. If you don't have the balls to get your own ass into the gym what kind of progress do you think you'll ever attain? If your only goal in life is mediocrity, congratulations, you've succeeded. Now either go lift something heavy or stop hurting my eyes with your incessant pathetic-ness.


My real answer is somewhere in the middle of those two only you can motivate yourself. Put the effort in at the beginning and it will become as important a part of your life as eating and sleeping - a life without training will feel... well, just wrong.

kensutz

Thanks g'em. Good post.

Dragan

G'em pretty much hit the nail on the head with her post, as usual. I will simply add my own ramble to it.

Everyone has an image in their head of what they want to look like. After that it boils down to you either being the kind of person who will chase that image or the kind of person who will make an excuse.

Sleepy

For me the best motivator is keeping things varied. Doing the same workout every time you go to the gym will make it boring... and less effective. Try lots of different exercises!

thirtyfoot

Before every session I set a target in which I have to attain in order to 'beat the session'. These can vary from running the distance in a certain time on a long run, doing a certain number of reps at a certain weight, or simply keeping my core solid, hips upright etc when tired on a hard interval session on the track. If I meet my target I win, if I don't I lose. I also log this in my training diary and this year so far I've only 'lost' 3 of the 75 sessions I've done. Anytime I lost was because I was just plain lazy and it motivated me to make it right in the next session. Just a simple thing I use and the session goal can be anything - tonight mine is to warmdown and stretch properly after my track session. It also gives a focus to each training session.

Brown_Eyed_Girl

g'em wrote:

g'em the lifter on the other hand...

Stop making f**king excuses. Either you train or you don't train, stop whining about it here. If you don't have the balls to get your own ass into the gym what kind of progress do you think you'll ever attain? If your only goal in life is mediocrity, congratulations, you've succeeded. Now either go lift something heavy or stop hurting my eyes with your incessant pathetic-ness.

Brilliant !!!!!!! Now I know why I am finally getting somewhere .......... thanks g'em

0utshined

Really agree with "nice" g'em here, especially points 3 and 4.

I now pretty much have a fixed days when I workout and I find that makes it easier to keep to it. For example if someone asks if I want to do something at lets say 7 on a wednesday I'm going to know straight off that the answers a no because I've got to get a session in. I find that helps.

The other thing that helps me if I'm not feeling up to it is thinking "right, I'll go in and do my warm up and first exercise and if I still feel crap I'll call it a day" Invariably when I get to the last set I'm in the mood to keep exercising so do the rest of the session.

HTH.

rubadub

Cheese Princess wrote:

The fear of getting fat motivates me....sad but true!

I am the same and see nothing wrong with it. Many here are into proper bodybuilding and weightlifting, I am happy being a bit stronger than average and not having a big gut.

I have been meaning to donate all my old 36" jeans and xxl tops to oxfam, then my motivation will be -keep this weight off or you will need another new wardrobe. I used to get slightly bigger jeans thinking I might get fatter, now I get ones that just barely fit knowing I will get thinner.

I cycle everywhere and sometimes time myself on my regular routes. Squats have given me leg strength I never thought I could have, I love overtaking fancy cyclists in all their spandex gear & glasses, me on a mountain bike flying up hills past them.

Froot

I used to be 23 stone, two years later I'm 14 stone.

There is no going back, so I try to remind myself of that everyday I feel reluctant.

Being honest though the majority of the time I just like going to the gym and being active.

Hanley

Why do I do it??

Because it's who I am.