Get Motivated!

Since I've started writing this blog, I've had quite a lot of questions about how I keep myself motivated and keep working harder and harder without giving up. The short answer is that I've drilled the motto into myself that giving up is not now, nor will ever be an option. Everyone will find different ways to motivate themselves, because lets face it, we've all had days when we know that we should go and work out, but just can't find the motivation to get out of bed. I've had those days, and personally I feel like absolute shit at the end of the day because I know that I could have tried harder. At the end of the day, by being too lazy to do something that you thought was important to you - all you're doing is letting yourself down. One of my personal favourite ways of motivating myself is simply just taking a look at myself in the mirror and seeing the changes that my new lifestyle is bringing. One of the best feelings in the world in any area, is working fucking hard, and seeing that hard work pay off over time. However there are so many ways to motivate yourself, maybe pick someone that you'd like to model your body on, or inspire yourself with some words of wisdom; even listening to music that really lifts your spirits is a brilliant way to get motivated. In fact, I find that listening to music whilst working out definitely helps my performance and will to go on.

Getting motivated is all about finding what works for you. You definitely need to find a workout that you enjoy doing, I mean, who wants to do something that they don't enjoy? Find a workout or exercise that challenges you, but isn't so hard that you want to give up halfway through it. Its always good to push yourself, but be careful how far you push. If you've got the right balance, then you can push yourself, and beat personal bests - which feels absolutely amazing because you know that you've made a lot of progress. However if you push yourself too far, it can lead to injury and low morale after working out, no one wants to feel like that. When you first begin your training, write down all of your stats - what weights you can lift, cardio times and records, bodyweight etc. Then work to improve them gradually, with a final goal in mind - keep that goal in your mind, and remember why you want it so badly. The more organised that you are with your training, the more that you can monitor your goals and use them to motivate yourself. My point here is, that to really gain motivation, you have to dig deep within yourself and get serious about your training. Yes its supposed to be fun as well, but just because you're taking it seriously doesn't mean that it can't be fun.

So don't just give it a go for a week and give up, don't let yourself lose focus of what you want to achieve. Get yourself out of bed in a morning, look yourself in the eye through a mirror, and tell yourself that you can do it, that you won't settle for anything less than your goals; and as you begin to see results, keep telling yourself the same things, any progress is good progress. A huge tip that I can't express enough is be patient! You won't see results overnight, but if you stick at it, and work hard then you will definitely see results. After all, you'll get back exactly what you put in when it comes to effort and results. Its just like EZ (Of Fitness Made EZ) says - 'Whilst perfection may be unattainable, we all have the ability to strive for excellence'.

I hope that what I've written here for you is of some use for your training. No matter how hard it gets, just keep training and keep moving towards your goals, because when you reach them you will look back on your efforts and realise that they were all worth it. However, when you get to your goals, don't stop putting the effort in, even if its just to maintain yourself. If you've got any questions, suggestions or just general feedback then please feel free to comment under this post or follow and tweet me @_Bazinga_Punk_ . You can also find me on Facebook under Alex Wright. If you haven't already, I'd urge you all to Like Fitness Made EZ on Facebook and follow him on Twitter - @FitnessMadeEZ - After all, he's the most motivational source that I know of. Let me hear some of your suggestions for future topics and please keep sending your feedback.
Keep testing the limits!
Alex.