Motivation

Motivation is described in almost every dictionary as the desire or will to complete. For many they begin a quest or a task with an idea, after this seed is planted motivation is generally at its highest however motivation is known to quickly fade unless certain experiences occur or things are put in place to spark that desire and keep it burning.

 Many people go through spates of training 3-5 days a week then they will stop for a month and repeat this cycle over and over again whilst no or very poor results are achieved.

I had a client of mine ask me how I stay motivated, what I think about and what drives me day in day out, and this made me think.

As you read in my “About me” section of my blog I have always been lifting weights competitively from a young age and what came with that was some very intense training also. Looking back now it was quite intense for someone of my age. I personally believe this taught me from a young age to be very determined as often I was training for competition 12 months away and I always had to break my goals down into monthly goals and weekly goals in order to reach my main goal of winning the desired competition. I have managed to link this to my body building in the same way.

 In my office I have three on boards, one has pictures of my friends, my family, my girlfriend and a whole host of fantastic memories, these are the people and memories I love which keep me motivated as I hope to make these people proud come the next time I compete. On the next board is a host of motivational quotes I have collected over the years that remind me of things that relate to me. On the third board are pictures of body builders I desire to emmulate,  these body builders are not just chosen on their size, symmetry or condition, They are all gentlemen of the sport, they are great role models and they train hard. 

Every day I also take the time to remind myself also of why I started training in the first place too, we often forget this over time but it’s important to never forget what got you started in the beginning. For me it was a desire to push my body and my mind and will power as far as possible and be the absolute best I could be whilst also finding it great fun!. The secret is to keep a blue print of those goals in your mind every day, you need to know detail behind the goal, you need to visualize yourself winning, you need to visualize yourself reaching that goal and the amazing feeling you will experience when you have achieved whatever it might be. You need to imagine your family and friends looking back at you proud and you need to imagine how you will feel inside when you prove to yourself you can reach your goals. 

When I am in the gym under a big squat or bench press, or when I am curling up some heavy dumbbells I think about my next competition and I imagine myself on stage and I imagine my body and the changes I will be making. I think that this session will be the one that makes or breaks it and I need to put 120% in and it has to be done, no compromises!

Practice this every day and you will be motivated every day, one last tip! Make sure you spend your time with motivating people. Not people that will drag you down.