For some of you, the enthusiasm and excitement of starting and staying on a fitness course that you began this year, may have gone way off track.
You are simply not as motivated at this time of year as you were at the start.
Motivation is the most powerful thing when it comes to reaching your fitness goals.
Have you ever gone through a stretch of time when you were super motivated in the gym and ate clean? Do you remember how quickly you saw progress during this time?
Motivation is a funny thing for most. It’s usually a bit of a rollercoaster journey with your fitness goals. I have an interesting take on motivation and wanted to share it with you.
Here are some tips to stay motivated:
1) Workout with a motivated friend or someone in better shape than you
I’ve had my days when I wasn’t that motivated, and I have seen firsthand how quickly it can turn around when I train and go out with my “most fit” friends. Seeing someone up close who is in incredible shape and who is super motivated is an energy catalyst.
Fitness is all about who you surround yourself with. Try to find someone to be your fitness mentor, or even better your workout partner, who can lift you up on days when you aren’t at the peak of your personal motivation.
2) Obsess over progress, not perfection
You know what the number one dream killer is? Lack of progress! Perfection is for losers; progress is for winners! The people who achieve the most over the course of a few years make steady progress day in and day out.
Each day getting a litte better will translate into an amazing fitness transformation. If your goal is weight loss and you lose 0.3 pounds of fat per day, that may not seem like much per day, but if you do the math that can help you lose 50 pounds of fat in just 6 months. Seek progress, not perfection.
3) Have a cheat meal per week
Don’t obsess over eating perfectly. It’s not realistic to go the entire year without any cheat meals. Have some sort of calorie tracking system in place and you will have no problem rebounding from a cheat meal, regardless of how caloric it is.
If you are working out regularly, a single epic cheat meal won’t hurt you, just like one perfect day of eating won’t help you all that much. It’s all about what you do consistently.
4) Focus on the day to day instead of the end goal
All you have is each moment and your decision in that moment. If you become obsessed with always thinking about the end goal and getting impatient you will lose your focus.
Be obsessed with staying in the moment and improving each day instead of getting overwhelmed with your overall fitness goal that you want to reach in one to two years. The more in the moment you are, the faster you will reach your goal anyway.
5) Never compare yourself
The only thing you should be comparing is how your momentum is from day to day. Never fall into the trap of comparing yourself to other people and having negative emotions attached to it.
Guess what, we all have different genetics, different lifestyles, and different fitness goals. There is no better, and you are falling into a dangerous trap when you start comparing yourself to other people and trying to figure out if you are better or not.
Who looks better is the most subjective thing in the world anyway. The most ripped and muscular person in the world will look bad to many people, so realise that there is no ideal look to a body.
I hope these tips will help you channel your motivation
Cheers to staying on track with your fitness goals this year end!
