What Motivates You?

Hey everybody! Hope you’re doing well. I had a hard time motivating myself to go to the gym today. That’s what gave me the idea for this blog post.

The hardest part about getting back in shape isn’t the workout or the nutrition (although resisting these absolutely delicious chocolate can be tough!). It’s motivation. You can have the best workouts in place and the best recipes for a clean diet, if you are not motivated enough you will never have the endurance to achieve your goals. So here are a few things that keep ME motivated:

1. I always break down my long term goals to achievable short term goals. You want to lose 25 pounds? Instead of focusing on these 25 pounds make it your goal to lose 1-2 pounds per week! This way you get a sense of achievement every week!

2. I have a workout partner. She keeps me accountable and makes me feel guilty if I cancel a session with her. Find somebody who has similar goals or get a personal trainer (even I use a personal trainer from time to time) join fitness or boot camp classes. Workout is more fun when you have somebody who suffers with you ;)

3. As mentioned before I am a real chocolate junkie and I can get pretty cranky if I can’t have it. So make sure that you have a cheat meal (or even a whole cheat day if you follow a strict nutritional program the rest of the week) once a week. You have something to look forward to and it’ll make it a lot easier to eat clean for the rest of the week.

4. Music is a BIG part of my life. While I horribly failed learning to play an instrument (tried the piano and that didn't last long. Anyways, I loooove to listen to music. The great thing about have a gym in my basement is I can blast the music so loud and that really get me and my clients motivated. Also, thats whats so great about taking a class. Music has the power to bring you in a totally different mindset from one second to the other. You don’t feel like working out? Plug your IPod in and listen to your favorite genre of music. A great program is pandora you can mix it up and get all your music for free, its just like a radio. I guarantee you got a pair of dumbbells in your hands before you even realize it!

5. I ALWAYS have a plan. Okay, I have to admit that I am pretty OCD when it comes to making to-do-lists. I’ve always been that way. But in small doses plans are good to keep you accountable. Make a schedule for the week and write down when you will do your workouts and what you will eat.
I would love to hear what your tricks are to stay motivated. Leave a comment below with your favorite motivation technique.

BTW: I used trick number 4 today ;)