10
Nov
2014
2014
4 tips to sky rocket your motivation
You we’re on a roll, working hard at the gym, prepping your meals and not letting anything get in the way of achieving your goals. You were noticing physical changes, things were starting to fit better, people were complimenting you on the way you look and your commitment. Within a few months, work and other events got in the way and you noticed you started to skip the gym for a few days, then it became a few weeks. Not only that but you’ve been over indulging in wine and appetizers after work so the scale has gone up a few pounds. For most people, staying motivated is the hard part, its easy to start for a few weeks but to continue pounding the pavement and lifting those dumbbells can be a hard task.
So what is the solution? How can you make your motivation sky rocket? By incorporating some of these strategic motivational tips to keep you top of your game all year round
- Focus on the reward – You’ve arrived at the gym after work and you just don’t feel like doing your planned out chest and back workout, you have no energy and could really care less. What should you do? Focus on your goal, what did you promise yourself? Don’t focus on how much you don’t want to do push ups or pulldowns , take a minute and focus on why you are there in the first place. Remember the only bad workout is the one you didn’t do! Once you start to workout your energy will rev up so just get into it.
- Keep a journal – When you’re frustrated with your workouts and schedule the best thing to do is to write in a journal. Keep track of your daily workouts, food log, how you felt and also writing down the small improvements you’ve made from the week before. Its important to celebrate the small accomplishments in order to keep you motivated and wanting to continue.
- Revamp your workout – Nothing can kill your workout buzz more than a stale workout routine. When you’ve been doing the same exercises and order for the last month you know its time to change it up. You’re routine should change every 2-3 weeks in order to challenge your body and avoid hitting any plateaus. Another way to spice up your routine is to change the order of the exercises, change the grips or try different tempos with your exercises. When it comes to cardio, don’t just go for the elliptical or bike every time, try a group spin class, a bootcamp, or sprints on the treadmill to keep it exciting.
- Set progress and performance goals- Setting progress and performance goals is good because it allows you to focus on both areas and will keep your motivation high. By setting a performance goal it takes your attention away from focusing on the weight or inches all the time. A performance goal would be to do 10 push ups, to get there you might have to start from the knees and might not be able to go all the way down but after time you will be able to complete it. You could also want to run 20 mins without stopping, write it down and work towards that even if it means running for 3 mins and walking for 1 until you reach 20 mins. Progress goals focus on the things you do to reach you goals such as your food logging, doing 3 cardio and 4 weights a week, aiming to eat protein with all your meals, getting enough water ect. Both are important in order to attain your goals and stay motivated!
