Motivation!

I hear ya

mreik said:
signature... hate is a great motivator. when people tell you that you can't or you won't, do it to spite them.
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I totally agree with you on this one...hate, anger, rage, bitterness have fueled some of my best workouts. Emotionally charged mental focus drives me.....although it doesn't work for everyone. Some prefer more postive means of inspiration "Come on buddy, you can do that squat! We all love you at this gym!! Flowers for everyone" does cut it for me, but may work for someone else.

Spite workouts after break ups....good stuff, however being consistently angry in the gym isn't realistic for me. Sometimes, I'm just in a great mood and positive outlooks play just as an important role as the "darker" ones.

I guess it's all about balance....you don't wanna be comsumed by the darkness.
 
wow - THE SITH, thats pretty intence.
I suppose the galaxy is pretty quiet at the moment giving you time for your weight training.

I actualy look at it in a diffrent light. I wouldn't cll myself a Buddhist because I respect the religion too much, But I do follow the teachings of buddha (buddhist bible, if you like) and find my workouts quite peaceful. I find that focusing 100% on each rep is challenging but I do get a sence of tranquility, as if nothing else exists in the world, just me and the bar.

I suppose that would be my seroius answer to the original question.

As the Hindu guys would say -Only thru suffering can you find true enlighternment.

Ooo, I think Ive found my new sig!
 
I was getting dangerously fat due to being dangerously lazy.

So I shed weight, and now I'm in the position where I can train for sport.

Its also something that I have to do, I get pissed off at people far too easily so the process of honking weights up and down I find to be rather cathartic.
 
YOUR motivation...

We all get days when the workout seems a drag, and some of us have motivational aids to get us in the mood to get to work... what are yours?


A picture of yourself from when you were fat?

Some music which gets you going?

...

Personally I suffer most with Cardio, perhaps it's different for others. But good music in the mp3 player helps a lot.
 
CScheiner said:
Actually, I enjoy working out because it makes me feel better that I am getting stronger and faster then I was.
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I also tend to think this way. Well...my initial motivation was to transform myself into something more valuable. When I was overweight, I felt useless. I felt like a waste of space with no talent. So I controlled my diet and began exercising.

I was able to intensify this throughout two years, and I have to say I am very happy with what I am now. I still feel like I have more work to do. But besides that my motivation comes from becoming stronger and healthier. I want to be able to look back on my life and be proud of the person I built myself to be.
 
sebs_8888 said:
I also tend to think this way. Well...my initial motivation was to transform myself into something more valuable. When I was overweight, I felt useless. I felt like a waste of space with no talent. So I controlled my diet and began exercising.

I was able to intensify this throughout two years, and I have to say I am very happy with what I am now. I still feel like I have more work to do. But besides that my motivation comes from becoming stronger and healthier. I want to be able to look back on my life and be proud of the person I built myself to be.
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It's pretty clear that most of us are intrinsically motivated to hit the gym.

However...are there extrinsic factors which provide extra motivational support? For example, the right music can carry me a long way through legs/back days.

What about motivational slogans on tshirts? I particularly like the saying "Pain is just weakness leaving the body." Would one be inclined to wear a tshirt like that? OR do you prefer to keep your intentions private as opposed to declaring them to the world?

LEGS day today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MMMmmm..squats...
 
Well, I just got done with a hard day of bulgiarian squats while listening to oldies, with such jams as "If You Don't Know Me By Now"...

...

Music plays a significant part, indeed. lol
 
Music helps keep me motivated during a workout.

What I used to be helped me start. I was kinda chubby and REALLY unhealthy, so I know what it's like to be low. After a bit, I don't know what started inside me, but I just started lifting small weights (pink 8 lb. DBs :p) after I was searching around I found this site, read all the motivating stories, saw all the pics and said to myself "wow" so since then I got DBs and running shoes and have been happy since. Always trying to excel in what I know and what I am. So coming here motivated me too.

What continues to keep me motivated is progress. Always striving to get better. As well as a guy I take the bus with everyday. I would compare him to Lee. Actually, he looks exactly like Lee, but cut a little on the b/t's. I usually end up standing behind him, so staring at his huge traps and massiveness for 30 minutes kinda makes me want to go home and get jacked. lol
 
A few reasons...
1. More than anything, just something to do when i got home from school. I never want to do homework and really there's nothing else to do apart from sit on the net or watch TV, which there's plenty of time to do later. I stopped talking to my primary school friends for some reason and didn't hang out with them after school like i use to (we all lived really close to each other)...

2. To be huge. LOL

3. I've just realised recently that going to an all boys school might have subliminally had something to do with it. There's alotta huge dudes around me at school.

4. And well there's more reasons but that'll do for now.
 
Just curious if anyone has experieneced motivational issues in starting and maintaining diet or exercise routines. Also, if so, what did you do to overcome those issues?
 
Yep, we ALL do at some point or another, some more than others.

cheat meals help keep me sane.
set goals, and give yourself some kind of reward when they are met (maybe a cheat meal...maybe a new mp3 player or a motorcycle...something YOU think will motivate YOU)
a guy I work with did a 'biggest loser' contest at the start of this year with his friends, started on new years day (they all got wasted adn weighed in new years eve)

if you're sticking to the healthy eating and training, the results you see in the mirror should also serve as a good bit of motivation.
 
I'm having a huge problem with motivation right now.

On top of that, life factors have kept me out of the gym as well. My son had a surgery, then I had a surgery, so none of that helps at all.

It's very hard to maintain focus and discipline, I just hope I can manage to get back on track soon.
 
I usually set deals with myself and write them down, or tell someone about it.

If you talk to someone else about your goals it will help you stick to the plan.

i.e. When I was trying to quit smoking I made the deal that, I was not allowed to go to the gym within 48hours of smoking.
That helped me cut down to 1-2 every 48hours. Then I upped it to 4days which ment I could have a smoke, but would mean not going to the gym. Thats how I quit.

I usually find that if I'm too tired to go to the gym, it really helps me to walk to the shops, buy a pint of milk and a mars bar and eat it on the way home. round trip is 30mins. then I'm ready for the gym.

If I still dont feel like going I'll just go for a swim and a chat in the sauna - something is better than nothing right?
 
R.Lewis said:
something is better than nothing right?
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I'm a firm believer of this philosophy. A lot of times, you just dont want to run or whatever. Just find something even semi-active and do it, like yard work or taking a walk.

Something is always better than nothing.
 


Trawling back through six months of posts can yield interesting results.

That's by far the best site I've seen for ages, read it all.

I got news for you--you'll never be ready. You'll never be big enough. You'll never be lean enough.
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Fly said:
Trawling back through six months of posts can yield interesting results.

That's by far the best site I've seen for ages, read it all.
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Yup, check out my post over at my place....it's a quote from one of their logs...
 
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