Motivation is by definition the act or instance of motivating, the state or condition of being motivated or something that motivates or induces incentive. In the fitness world motivation is a physical, mental or visual stimulus that drives you to push yourself toward your goal or the next level. This is the stimulus that gets you out of bed and into the gym on the rainy day when you could stay in and sleep. The question is what gets you motivated or why are you doing this. Here are some ways to move yourself closer to your goals and keep your motivation up.One of the first ways you can get started on your goals is to write them down. By writing down your goals first in the short term and then in the long term will make these goals more realistic. First start with your short term goals, make them realistic and achievable. These should take about a month or two to complete. They could be as easy as “make it to the gym five times a week” to as complex as “I want to lose five pounds”. Write down some of the ways that you will achieve these goals. By writing each of the short term goals you will be giving yourself no excuse to be lazy or miss a workout. As for your long term goals, these should be more in depth and a lot harder to achieve. The time frame on these goals should be six months to a year. Write down when you achieve each of the short term goals and feel comfortable with a small reward when you achieve a goal. This does not mean have a chocolate blowout, but buy yourself something special. Rewards are part of the process. Also you should feel comfortable amending your long term goal. This does not mean make it easier, this means if you are reaching your long term goal earlier than you expected, you can make the goal harder.The next step is to plan ahead. A business statement is “when you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. What this mean in fitness is, walk into every workout with a plan. You should walk into your training session with a preplanned workout. Use a workout you got from a friend or your trainer and have it written down. By doing this you will not have down time in your workout. You will have a clear direction of what you need to get done, and what exercise you will have to do within that session. By having a plan you will also go into the training session with an attitude of what you need to accomplish. The last part of planning is that you will have an idea of how much time the workout will take. This will eliminate the excuse of not having enough time for the session or leaving early because time ran out. Make sure you use your trainer to help set up a program that is both achievable as well as pushes you towards your goals.Another major part in achieving your goals and motivating yourself to push yourself further in your goals is to get on a good nutrition plan. Nothing damages your motivation more than not having energy, not hitting short term goals or having to eat the same boring foods. Are you going to want to diet when you are always eating chicken grilled and salad dry? Of course not. Work with your trainer to get on a meal plan that will include nutrition and flavor. When you are excited about a meal you will be more inclined to eat it and not cheat. A trainer will come up with foods that will include herbs and spices, as well as proper nutrition. By adding herbs and spices to proteins you can add all new dimensions to ordinary foods. By doing so your metabolism will be turned up and you will burn more fat. This meal plan should also include a cheat meal. Some trainers say you should have a cheat day, but a meal is where you should stop. This is usually something that you always crave and would really enjoy, but will not over do. Sushi is a great cheat meal or a slice of pizza. Start with great nutrition and meals and you will be well on your way to achieving your goals. The next way to motivate yourself is to keep a journal. You should start your journal with your goals both long and short term. Write them in the first few pages of your journal. Make sure you leave yourself an area to add new short term goals. These journals should also include everything from what supplements you are taking, what meal plans you are using, and what workout you are doing each day. With each workout you should list what exercise, how many reps you are doing and what weight is being used. When listing meals plans you should include what you are eating, the weight and calorie intake. You should also include changes in your body weight, your measurements, your body mass and body fat percentage. The reason behind keeping all of these items in the journal is, again, to make things more visual. If you lose ten pounds or increase your bench twenty pounds, you are not always going to see the change. By keeping it in a journal you can look back at where you started and see where you have gone. It will also give you a chance to see what else you have to do to get to your next goal. The last part is one of the most important points to keep you motivated. Reward yourself. Whether you choose to use a small reward or a large reward, make sure there is a reward for each goal you achieve. For short term goals use a pair of shoes or a nice outfit. Make sure that the cost of this reward is not excessive or it will become hard to reward yourself often. For the more long term goals you should choose something more substantial. This could include anything from a new piece of jewelry or even a vacation. Rewards can be something simple or even more exciting depending on what motivates you. Just make sure it is something that will be a reward for you and keep you motivated. Keeping ourselves motivated is hard at times. You have your friends, your family and most of all your trainer to keep you in the game. There is no quick fix so push hard and keep going. 2009-05-03T23:17:32-04:00 133 Daniel Frey