When it comes to successful training how important is exercise motivation?

The short answer is exercise motivation is absolutely crucial. In fact it is the single most important thing for the success or failure of your fitness program. Setting goals correctly will enhance your enthusiasm and keep you on track but make no mistake about it, motivation is the key to achieving your training potential.

Why is motivation so important?

Because without it, what ever program you follow you will eventually get disillusioned, fed up and simply stop training.

So for great results in training, motivation is the number one, most critical, absolute top of the tree thing required for success.

In fact if you take it to its extreme, suppose there was a magical tablet that was reasonably priced and all you had to do was take it 5 times a day to achieve the training results you wanted, I guarantee some people would still fail.

Why?

Because without self motivation there would still be some people who would lack the willingness to pay for the tablets, or have the persistence to take them 5 times a day.

Also keep in mind motivation is important because fitness and training programs are not something most of us have to do. Unlike working to pay your mortgage or put food on the table, exercise is fairly unique because as I said earlier, unless you are training to be a professional sports person you don’t have to exercise if you do not want to.

So when you are feeling tired at the end of the day, you still have things to do before the morning and your favorite program is on TV, it is so easy to think - no I wont train today, I will train tomorrow – That’s why motivation is the most important thing you need to succeed in any fitness program, which ever one you choose.

Even people who have extraordinary determination and motivation in other areas of life can fail miserably when it comes to sticking with training programs and healthy eating.

Why?

Because they lack exercise motivation, In my years as a fitness instructor I have seen many people whom I regard as driven and focused in life, unable to stick to the schedule of fitness they had set themselves and the number one reason for this was they had not placed their training high up in the priorities of their life.

As a consequence of this whenever other problems cropped up in life as they always do, their fitness program was the first thing to get dropped and once that happens it can be very difficult to get back on track.

So to succeed in your training - as I know you will - make sure you put exercise motivation high up in the priorities of your life. Remember, without your health nothing else matters.

How can you maintain motivation?

A Journal

Most important of all from the moment you start training keep a training journal. Include in it everything from how much you weighed when you began, your measurements, fat percentage level and also the exercises, number of sets and reps done.

Also, if possible remember to write down how you felt during your exercise i.e. was it hard or easy and say how you felt mentally i.e. keen or lacking inspiration. This way, not only can you see how you have progressed but when ever your motivation wanes you can look back at previous scores and see how far you have come.

One of the greatest bodybuilders of all time Frank Zane said keeping his journal was the most important key to his success. If it is good enough for him it is good enough for me. For advice on setting goals check out www.creative-wealthbuilding.com which has some good tips to help.

Photographs

Take some photographs of yourself just before you first start training and take some more once a month thereafter. Keep them in an album dedicated for your training progress and you will see how you have improved every time you look at them.

After several months of training it is easy to forget how you once were. This reminder can be a great way for maintaining your exercise motivation. If you like, you could place your photos on the wall were you train and constantly see the changes you have achieved.

Films and Books

A couple of times a week try to watch inspirational films and documentaries or read a book or article about someone inspirational.

It does not have to be about training but it should be about someone who has overcome great obstacles in there life. It’s great for exercise motivation and puts any little setbacks you have into perspective.

After training

After you have finished training try to have 5 minutes of time for yourself to think about your training and how it is changing you now and in the future.

The natural high of training

When you train you get a high or buzz when endorphins are released by the brain. A natural high better than any drug what could be better?

Go back to see the future

If you ever feel your exercise motivation is dropping, take a look at your journal and find one of the very first training routines you did. Then, for this training day only just complete the old exercises with the same sets and reps. when you have finished and realize how easy it is for you to do now what was once so hard, I guarantee you will have all the motivation you will ever need.

Visualization

I have used the following visualization method many times in the past when ever I wanted to achieve a personal best result and it has always worked.

It is a great way to improve the number of reps on a particular exercise if you have been unable to get past a certain point.

Let us say for example you continually fail at 18 pull ups and you want to get to 20.

What you do is the following. About 30 minutes before you begin the exercise, find a quit place, make yourself comfortable and start by taking some deep slow breaths.

Then imagine your whole body relaxing and almost sinking into the chair you are sitting in.

When you are ready begin visualizing the pull-ups.

Imagine performing them individually, counting to yourself as you mentally do each one.

However, some sport psychologists will tell you to imagine doing each one with no problem until you get to your desired goal in this case 20. Take my advice and do not do this

If you do, when you do them for real you will get to about 15-16 reps and you will start to feel pain but because you have not mentally rehearsed feeling pain you will then start to have doubts and confusion in your mind.

Instead

Picture yourself doing each rep nice and easy until you get to where it normally starts hurting say in this case 16 and then acknowledge the pain instead of denying it. You might even find pleasure in the warm feeling the pain brings to your muscles.

So alaways visualize the feeling of pain and work through it. You can even imagine stopping whilst you hang on the bar for a second or two before doing the last few hard reps. Remember, the goal is simply to get past a sticking point so see the pain as a friend who is helping you reach your goal.

Does visulization work?

Will it make you superhuman? Unfortunately not, it is a great tool but like all tools it has its limitations.

Fun

Finally, the best exercise motivation you can have is to enjoy what you are doing. Do not be a slave to sets and reps all the time as the most important factor is having fun and if you do that you will have all the motivation you need.

Why persistence is crucial for training success

Learn why setting goals is crucial for success

Your internal voice is the difference between being the best or a dreamer

Learn the benefits of exercise to help your exercise motivation

Forget about drugs learn about the runners high

Learn why visualizing can change your life

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