Stay motivated this weekend with these helpful tips.
We’ve all been there before. We’ve all had that voice in our head telling us, “Not today. You’re too tired. You deserve a day off. There’s always tomorrow…” That voice can be a persuasive one and it can be hard to shake once it’s wedged its way into your thoughts.
But you also know that in order to be your best, you have to ignore that voice. You have to always push yourself, especially on those days when you just don’t feel like it. So how do you do that? Below, we’ve listed the top 5 ways to motivate yourself and ensure that you never let negativity or laziness stop you from working your body to its fullest potential.
#1: CREATE A ROUTINE AND STICK TO IT
Consider your daily schedule and decide where you can fit in your workout. Move things around or cut out something less essential if you need to but find at least one hour a day you can dedicate to working out. It is important to work out at the same time every day if possible so that you can get into a steady routine. This way, you can never tell yourself you have something else to do. That hour is for working out and nothing else.
Once you have your routine started, stick to it and don’t make exceptions. Consistency and regularity are the most surefire ways to get results.
#2: START WITH THE HARDEST
After you’ve finished stretching and warming up, tackle your toughest challenge first.
Whatever exercise you dread the most, start there. Once you’ve done that, you’ll notice two things. One, you’ll feel great having beaten your biggest challenge. Two, the positive energy you create from doing that will give you the downhill momentum to finish the rest of your workout. End on your favorite exercise so that you have something to look forward to.
#3: SET SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM GOALS
When you work out today, try to top what you did yesterday. How many reps did you do yesterday? How far did you run? How much weight did you lift? See if you can reach a given goal for each exercise by the end of the week.
Set monthly goals too. What do you want to weigh by the start of next month? Which specific muscles do you want to see improvement with? Write down specific goals, post them in the room you work out in and check them off as you complete them.
#4: TAKE A PICTURE OF YOURSELF
Arnold Schwarzenegger said that bodybuilders are like sculptors. They look at their bodies, decide which muscles need work and then chisel away until their vision for themselves has been achieved. Take a picture of yourself and study it. What muscles do you want to chisel? Once you know where you need to improve you can begin designing your workout routine around those goals. Take a picture the first day of every month and keep these pictures in one place so you can chart your progress.
#5: CHOOSE A MANTRA
This will be the phrase you say to yourself when you’re lying in bed and don’t want to wake up and start your workout. This will be what you say to yourself when your body is struggling to do that last rep. “Don’t quit now.” “This is nothing.” “Another.” These are just a few of the mantras from our Generation Iron athletes. What’s your mantra?
Let us know on Twitter or Facebook the word or phrase that gets you going and motivates you when your body desperately wants to quit but you refuse to let it.
