Five Best Strategies To Stay Motivated

​Since I started my blog and then turned it into a newsletter I have continuously put out content that is geared towards bettering training performance. Whether it was mobility, form and technique or properly warming up, my goal has been to help all of you with some of the more prevalent questions and issues I see arise in this industry. However, this made me think, and I quickly realized that none of this information is useful if you are not motivated to get to the gym and train in the first place. How can you utilize my favorite lower body stretches before your workout if you do not actually work out consistently? How can my advice and guidance on bench press form be of any use if you never actually get to the gym and bench press?  So, this week I give you some tools that will tie all this together and help put you in a position to really utilize all the information from my past blogs.  Here are my five best ways to keep yourself motivated with your training!
 
Plan Your Training For The Week
 
            Every Sunday I will sit down and plan my training schedule for the week. I use excel to help organize my exercises and will put my individual sessions together. In addition, I place a date next to each individual workout so I not only know what my schedule is, but it holds me accountable to complete them on the days I have planned. Doing this will keep you organized, and also give you a legitimate purpose when you head to the gym to train. Instead of deciding what you’re doing when you arrive and adding exercises at a whim when you get there, you will have a consistent plan that is mapped out beforehand and holds you accountable to finish all your exercises.
 
Set Goals
 
Another key to motivating yourself is to have goals that you can aspire to obtain. Think about it. How much more motivated would you be if you saw yourself slowly creeping towards a goal you have been working at achieving? These goals are even easier to track when we consistently follow my first tip and plan for our training every week. With that being said, here are my four recommendations when it comes to goal setting. The goals must be:

• Measurable (We’ve covered this. Make sure you can track your progress and also make sure you can actually measure what you are trying to accomplish and they aren’t just arbitrary goals)
• Specific
  • Your goal shouldn’t be to just “get stronger” or “get leaner.” Have a bench press or squat PR in mind or set a goal level of body fat percentage you would like to reach.
• Attainable
  • Make sure your goals are attainable so you do not get discouraged and just quit all together. Push yourself, but do not be unrealistic
• Time-Bound
  • Set limits on your goals and have set times where you will test yourself to see if you have reached them

Find a Training Partner
 
             A friend or training partner will help keep you in check and make sure you do not skip sessions or coast while you train. You would be amazed at how much someone else can push you and bring out your competitive nature.
 
Develop Routines
 
            For beginners, having a routine is crucial. Those of us who are very into training can find the motivation to train anytime of day, but it is not always this simple. Having a set time each day (whether morning or night) when you know you will train everyday can help you develop habits that will eventually transform into lifestyle changes.
 
Keep Your Diet In Line
 
            Your training and your diet will go hand in hand and feed off one another. If you eat poorly you will feel sluggish, not achieve your body composition goals and thus lose motivation to train. Think about it this way. These all tie together to lead to achieving your goals, and goals are the main cog in the machine that is motivation.