Hi and welcome back,
Early this week I spoke about how to keep motivated when it comes to sticking with your plan and gave you a few ideas how to achieve that. Now here is the second installment.
5) Track, Measure, Repeat.
Ok so that just sounded cool in my head, but there is some practical application behind it.
I had a client recently who first came to me saying he wasn’t getting any results from the gym and long story short he had no structure to his workouts. He would come in 2-3 times a week and just do a few bicep curls, some squats and perhaps some sit ups. So I sat him down, found out his goals and wrote out a program for him.
6 weeks later he comes back to me and his first words ‘I’m not seeing any results’ so I asked if he had been following the program. ‘No.’
Tracking your workouts is key to seeing results. You can’t expect to just go to the gym, do whatever you want and see awesome results. If that were possible, Personal Trainers wouldn’t exist! Following exercises on a program is one thing, then writing in what weights you used, rest periods you had and total time taken can all be used as measuring points to improve on for next time.
• Can’t lift heavier weights? Have a shorter rest.
• Can’t recover quickly enough? Try harder! Ha just kidding.
If your recovery isn’t getting any easier you may be overtraining. Give yourself 1-2 days rest then come back and see how you feel, I’ll bet your recovery times improve that very day 🙂
This method also applies to your food intake. Writing down what you eat is a huge motivator in keeping yourself on track. Eating it is one thing, then seeing it on the paper can be a nice kick in the pants to stop eating those bad foods you know you need to avoid.
Losing fat and eating healthy all the time isn’t a walk in the park and there is such a thing called life. Hey, even I’m not perfect!
If you’re just starting out and feeling overwhelmed, don’t be. The best place to start is going day by day, what happened yesterday can be your benchmark for what happens today. If you did no exercise yesterday, go for a 20-30 minute walk today. There you go PB for the day done.
Small changes = big results
Insider tip: When you write down your food you can also use an ‘energy gauge’ to work out how much energy you had before/after each meal. Why? To tell you which foods work best for yourself.
6) Exercise in the Right Environment with the Right Person
Personally, where I work out doesn’t matter to me – my house, an empty gym, a full gym, with a partner, without one… as long as I have my music I’m good to go.
Of course, having a training partner will most times help you train harder, but music can set the environment. Pick yourself some of your favourite tunes, (even if they are cheesy pop songs as only you can hear them) whatever works to get you pumped up and motivated.
As mentioned, working out with the right person can be a huge benefit. They can help motivate you to do better by the simple fact of them being there, or they are doing an exercise just that little better than you so you’ll get all competitive on them and beat them! Win win, right?
They can also hold you accountable to the workout making sure you complete every exercise and every rep. While music is my main motivator I’ve certainly had some earth shattering workouts with a partner.
7) Do Active Stuff That You Like
It’s pretty well known that the gym isn’t everyone’s favourite place to be. If you want to keep fit and hate the idea of working out at the gym, find an alternative. There are plenty of exercises you can do from your own home so you never have to walk into a gym.
If you’re not enjoying what you’re doing then the results aren’t going to come. If you enjoy what you’re doing it means you’ll do more of it meaning faster, better results.
So go out and find an activity you love doing and the results will come 🙂
8 ) Give Yourself A Reward
Now, just to clarify ‘reward’ doesn’t mean a donut or Maccas run. I’m talking about buying yourself a magazine, the new jeans you can now fit into, some new music or even just finding a little extra time to have for yourself.
Spending that hour by yourself to watch a show you missed out on, or hang out with a friend/family can be just as rewarding if not the most rewarding thing you can give yourself for achieving your milestone.
Of course there are two sides to this. Rewards are great motivators to stay on track, so are punishments! So if you slip up go ahead and punish yourself by putting $20 in a jar which goes towards household needs or something like that. Just make sure your partner hides the jar!
And just remember, the hardest part of a workout is often just getting your butt into your workout clothes and down to your workout area. When I used to struggle with consistency, I would tell myself that I was going to work out for only 5 minutes, and then I could quit… I never did.
Once you get started, and once you get through your warm-up circuit, your mind and body will be up for the challenge of completing the full workout. Next thing you know, workouts done!
9) Set Goals & Review Your Goals Frequently
Goal setting should be your number 1 step when you set out on achieving whatever it is you want. Without a goal in place – actually written and posted on your wall with a deadline, achieving it can be very difficult.
I use a goal setting system with my clients which works wonders as it goes into great detail about why, when, how and what they want. Works a treat every time!
Be as specific as possible when setting your goals – I want to lose weight, that’s not specific enough.
– How much weight?
– Why do you want to lose it?
– By when do you want to lose it?
– Is it just for you, or is there an external factor involved?
And then each and every night, make sure to review your goals to help keep you on track.
Keeping your goals fresh in your mind will help you stay motivated. In fact, you should print them out and carry them with you at all times. Plus, you can use what is called a Vision Board, and cut out photos of your dream body and paste them on this board to remind and motivate you at all times about your fat loss goals.
So there you have it, 9 tips on keeping you motivated while achieving your goals.
To a fitter, healthier you
Andrew Zagami
P.S – in my upcoming program I’ll give you the number 1 way to keep yourself motivated all the time!
– No more making excuses
– No more missing workouts because you’re ‘just not feeling it’
You’ll have the ability to get yourself in the mood whenever you need to, it will be as simple as clicking your fingers.
Here’s another way you can keep motivated