We’re almost mid-way through the year now, the sun is shining on us a bit more, Memorial Day is around the corner and your local swimming pool is opening up. You’ve presumably stuck to your New Year’s resolutions, hitting the weights hard, eating right, doing your cardio, and taking your own steps towards fitness success. Right?
So how can you keep this momentum going? How do you avoid hitting a plateau?
Remember first and foremost, that this commitment to health and fitness is a lifestyle. It’s important to consider that you set goals in both the short-term, so you have measurable milestones you can achieve and keep you going, but also ones for the long-term. Both strategies are important and now I want to give you some of my favorite tips for staying motivated.
Tips to stick with it:
1) Set mini, measurable goals that you achieve. Say you can bench press 45 lbs for 8 reps and you want to get stronger. Every week, every time you slide under the barbell, add a little more weight (you can safely add up to 2% from your previous lift) or see if you can complete one more additional rep. Either way, it’s measurable success, and something you can safely build upon.
2) Set long-term goals, and make them concrete. Create the bigger picture of where you see yourself in a few months or a year. Maybe you want to be able to slip into a size 34 size pant (guys) and you’ve got 6 inches to lose from your waist. Go out and buy those pants NOW and every month, measure yourself to make sure you’re reaching a consistent monthly reduction in inches off the waist. Pair that strategy with activity and a sensible diet!
3) Reward yourself. Treat yourself for a milestone reached. Get a massage, schedule a vacation, pedicure, a new pair of shorts, go see a movie, buy a book, take a mental health day off of work (you know really you want that), or maybe indulge in that cupcake you’ve been eyeing. Whatever it is, you deserve it for your hard work!
4) Make sure you take breaks. Even elite athletes and bodybuilders take measured rest periods after hard training seasons, and you should too. Rest helps rejuvenate your muscles, and it’s when they grow. Some people need breaks every 6 weeks, some 12 weeks, and some can go a little longer. Either way, your body will likely protest if you’ve been doing the same thing for too long. Your progress stalls, you hit a plateau, and you no longer feel the same level of motivation when you head out the door for the gym. Both your body and mind need the break. Circumvent that by taking rest periods, lasting 4-7 days after 12 weeks of hard training, in general.
5) Choose an exercise program you can stick to, and designed for you. It’s easy to lose motivation if you select an exercise program that isn’t suited to your level of fitness. You pick something you might have seen in a magazine, or order some DVD you saw on an infomercial, try it out, only to injure yourself. Choose intelligently designed exercise programs (and trainers!) who understand how to periodize programs for your level of fitness. That way, you stay safe and motivated.
6) Find training buddies at the gym or office, become someone else’s role model (you are!), and inspire someone else to achieve. Lots of my clients are frequently asked what they are doing (to get fit) and how they did it. Like it or not, you might now be someone else’s positive role model. Inspire them to achieve and maybe pickup a new training partner. When you know someone’s waiting for you at the squat rack, you can’t let them down.
And that’s that, six of my best tips for staying motivated in the long run. If you have any other great tips, please share them in the comments section.
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