Don’t let your training become stagnant.

Motivation. Like many things in life, it’s elusive. Some of us are born with the unbreakable will to keep going no matter what, but most of us aren’t. That doesn’t mean we can’t become all we need to be or surpass people with even natural motivational prowess, it just means it’s another muscle to work on.

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and that’s what we intend to give you in this article. We’ve collected 5 proven building blocks to help you breakthrough your plateau and reach your fitness goals.

Rule #1: Be Present

Being present is key to figuring where you are and where you need to go. If you’re not paying attention to your body you can’t get an accurate read on what your sticking points are and why you may be stopping there.

Pinpoint the problem. Are you pushing yourself too far? Are you not getting adequate rest? How’s your diet? Is your lifestyle supportive to your goals?

Take time to asses the problem mentally and physically and be precise in taking the right actions.

Rule #2: Be Clear About Your Goals

Why do you want become a bodybuilder? Do you want to be a bodybuilder at all or do you just want to become fit? Are you training for a marathon or are you training for a powerlifting event? Be clear about your goals and then figure out how to get there.

The reason this is so important is because it helps you streamline your training to take you exactly where you want to go. This is almost important so you can go back to these goals when you do lose motivation. This will remind you why you started training in the first place.

Rule #3: Write It Down

It’s proven over many studies that writing something down helps you remember and internalize the information. While it’s true that there are many different ways of learning (visual, aural, verbal, physical, logical, social, solitary), writing things down seem to work consistently across the board.

And when say write things down we don’t just mean under the notes app in your phone. Physically writing things down on paper yields the greatest link to the act and internalization.

Rule #4: Visualization

Visualize what you want and how you will get there. Concentrate on the physical and emotional details of accomplishing your goal, the feel of the bar, the roar of the crowd.

In an experiment by Australian psychologist, Alan Richardson. Richardson took a group of basketball players, split them into three groups, and assessed each player’s ability to make free throws. The first group would practice 20 minutes every day. The second would only visualise themselves making free throws, but no real practice was allowed. The third group did not practice or visualise.

The group that visualized showed significant improvement, almost as much as the group who performed the actually performed the actual task.

Rule #5: Enjoy The Process

You’ll hear a lot of successful people say that they were just as happy before the fame as they are now. While that may seem like complete hogwash to people who are hungry for success, there must be some truth to it if everyone keeps saying it.

What most people don’t realize is that the glory is only a short part of the success. In reality it takes thousands of reps, studying, and hard work to stand on the highest podium. In Malcom Gladwell’s famous book Outliers (A study of all the top minds in ever industry) he estimates it takes about 10,000 hrs of focused practice to master anything. Now that’s 10,000 hrs of your life. Do you want to spend that time just pushing through it or appreciating every moment.

Put things in perspective and realize that every journey starts with the first step.

Implement these five strategies whenever you find yourself in a rut or starting a new goal and watch the obstacles disappear.

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