Are you wanting results? Un-motivated? Don’t know where to start?
How is it that an elite level athlete can stay motivated? The truth is they don’t. They will have days where they don’t feel like training or want to indulge in their favorite foods.
Even the high achievers in your gym have the same struggles with motivation that we all face.
The key ingredient? They know how to get motivated through employing the following tactics even when they don’t feel motivated at all!
Here is how to unlock the same strategies that will give you the same consistency as an elite level athlete:
1. Get a coach.
Ask yourself this question? You know that exercising is going to improve your health, fitness and happiness right? And is most likely the key to getting you to your goals. You start each week strong with your goals in mind but then come the end of the week motivation has gone and you feel deflated and frustrated with yourself? Go on a mad one and actually make the situation a lot worse for yourself. Sound familiar? – So why do we find it hard to stay consistent? The main reason is accountability. Having a coach to keep you focused and accountable to your goals and actions is super powerful. They want you to succeed more than ever, it’s their job to see their clients thrive and become the versions of yourself you have always wanted to be. They will be the positive, non judgmental support you require to succeed through:
· Removing the guesswork
· Fast tracking your results (more detail on this next)
· Added accountability – It’s psychologically harder to cancel on appointment
· Financial penalty – Your intrinsic motivation will increase when there is a financial value for paying for a coach
2. Get a really fast result.
When we don’t see results quickly our intrinsic motivation reduces very quickly and quite often we just give up because it’s hard. The fact is there will be times when things are hard and it will feel super overwhelming but that’s why you have a coach to keep you on tack and remind you of how far you have come so far! It’s vitally important to celebrate the small wins and victories. Our brains are hardwired to recognise and zone in on the faults, but having a coach reminding you of your wins will keep you focused and on the roadmap to success! Here at Primal Mvmnt we call these Bright Spots, what is your bright spot today.
3. Set up a short-term “kick start”
To get motivated… but have a plan for after the challenge ends.
A kickstart is a short-term period lasting 6-12 weeks. Your motivation increases when you are nearing a goal. Picture running to a finish line and you are only 100m away? Now picture starting a marathon? Which one do you think you will be more likely to start and achieve?
It’s important to know your long term goal, however, breaking that goal down into manageable chunks keeps motivation high, we refer to these as milestones. Our coaches at Primal Mvmnt use S.M.A.R.T goaling to help determine these milestones, which stands for:
S-pecific – Be specific with what you’re doing.
M-easurable – How can you measure it? That way you will know your progressing.
A-chievable – Be honest – Is it achievable? Unsure, then seek a professional for advice.
R-ealistic – Is it attainable? What are you comparing it to? Unsure, then seek a professional for advice.
T-ime bound – When do you want to achieve your goal by?
A 6–12-week sprint is great for motivating yourself. But have a plan in place to follow it. At Primal Mvmnt our members sit down 1-2-1 with their coach to rebuild their plan aligned to their specific goals every 12 weeks.
4. It will eventually become a habit.
The rule of one.
We call this habit stacking, focusing on one habit change at a time until it becomes “just what we do”. This can normally take 2-4 weeks per habit. Our partners HSN (Healthy Steps Nutrition) research suggests that if you focus on one habit-based approach at a time you have a 90% chance of maintaining that habit in a year’s time. Focus on 2 habit changes at once that your likelihood of succeeding drops to 30% and 3 or more habits at once, it’s as little as 5% or less success rate.
5. Track everything.
What you track gets managed. Considering tracking the following areas:
· Measure workouts – Duration, reps, sets, weights. This way you can measure improvements and celebrate your PR’s.
· Record your bright spots – Looking back on these will show you how far you have come!
· Track your nutrition – We suggest My Fitness Pal, but you can start with a simple diary.
· Analyse your sleep – There are many sleep tracking apps out there. We can recommend a few. Start by focusing on quality of sleep, then duration.
You will notice that when one suffers the others suffer too. If I have a bad night’s sleep, my nutrition is poor the next day. If I eat poorly then my motivation to workout reduces. Then I get more stressed. The stress reduces my sleep….see where I am going with this?
6. Use your tools to plan.
Planning ahead saves a lot of headaches. Try this for a simple exercise, when cooking your evening meal double up the portions so you can take some for lunch the next day. Whilst your cooking prepare 1-2 whole-food based snacks. You can check out our recipes with easy to use portion gauge on our website www.primalmvmnt.com/recipes
Now you are all set for the next day! Trust me it’s less time consuming and saves you money – win, win!
7. Check your progress.
Consistency is king! The people that show up and give 50% are the people who tend to consistently crush goals. Of course, people who “sprint and crash” get short term results, but they will end up right back on the starting line again, most of the time in a much worse place than they were before. Strength may have been built but injuries will occur if too big of jumps are attempted.
The truth is you’re not going to have a personal best on every workout. But that matters zero percent. What really matters is consistency. People who show up every day, even if they put out 50% of their best effort, get better results than people who crush it once a week and they still walk away with a big smile on their faces.
The people who just show up for their appointments get strong, lean and happy for life.
Just remember this – It’s the days where you feel least motivated that are the most important. When you rock up and still finish the workout, or make the choice to eat your prepared meal over a chocolate bar – That is what counts and will have the biggest impact on your progress.
As a true leader once said ‘Consistent, imperfect action always wins’ Inspiration provided by Chris Cooper.
Here is the article that inspired me – https://catalystgym.com/how-to-get-motivated/
If you are struggling with any aspect of your training or need the help to get motivated and need that reset button to be hit for you? Then all you need to do is the following:
- SCHEDULE A FREE INTRO WITH ONE OF OUR PROFESSIONAL FRIENDLY COACHES
- DEVELOP YOUR PERSONALISED TRAINING PLAN
- START. KICK BUTT. FEEL BETTER.