Motivation… The Key to Success

Common sources of motivation:

• Health reasons – Following a healthy active lifestyle to prevent illness and improve general wellbeing. For instance, being told by a doctor that you are at a risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

• Your appearance – This will be the most familiar motivating factor, particularly with the rise of social media. Those who are unhappy with their appearance may be more driven to implement changes. We’ve all been a culprit of wanting the “bikini body” or to be a “hunk in your trunks” in time for summer.

• Role model – Remember who’s watching! If you exercise regularly and live a healthy, active lifestyle, it will encourage your kids/partner to do the same. Behaviour is often learnt!

• Sports – Training regularly to perform at your highest level.

On a personal note, when I was at my heaviest weight of 108kg and at my most self-conscious, I printed out an unflattering picture of myself and placed it next to my bed. Although this may seem drastic, every morning I was inspired to eat well and exercise regularly; allowing me to become the healthiest version of myself, thus ensuring I no longer looked that way.

“I need to change, I will change, I am changing”

I would only recommend this as a technique if you are mentally strong, as it is crucial that you don’t become disheartened by the picture and give up entirely! Remember, what works for one person, may not work for another.

Setting Goals

Before you consider changing your lifestyle, you should establish clear goals. These goals are YOUR goals, so don’t compare yourself to what others want to achieve. Everyone is different in terms of their needs, preferences and experience level. Therefore, individuality is crucial to effective goal setting. Good goals = good motivation = good results!

Goals can be defined by their duration. Short-term goals refer to those that are based over 0-8 weeks. Long-term goals look at the bigger picture, think 3-6 months, or longer. To set these goals, work backwards, setting the primary long-term goal first, followed by the short-term goals, mapping the way to the long-term goal.

As personal trainers, we use the acronym SMART to ensure the goals we agree upon with clients are:

Specific – What in particular will be done – “I want to lose weight”

Measurable – Make it quantifiable – “I want to lose 5kg”

Achievable – You have the appropriate tools for the job – E.g. understanding basic nutrition

Realistic – Don’t be silly – E.g. You’re not going to lose 20kg inside 2 weeks.

Time-bound – Put an end date on it – “I want to lose 5kg by the 22nd July”

I would suggest having a reward for each goal. These rewards are usually tangible, for instance if you manage to lose 5kg by 22nd July, your reward might be:

• To buy a new pair of trainers,
• To have a meal out somewhere nice.

Now… how do we prevent ourselves from re-entering bad habits? For each habit, we are faced with several ‘choice points’; points at which we can stop ourselves from performing a bad habit. The choice points for this goal would be:

• Deciding which shop to travel to.
• Getting in the car to go to the shop.
• Deciding the product, you wish to purchase.
• Taking the product to checkout.
• Deciding the snack that you would like to have from the cupboard.

At all the stated choice points, it is possible to prevent yourself from giving in to temptation. This is how we break a habit. For instance, if there are chocolate/crisps in your household you might put a note on your cupboard saying, “Are you sure?!”, then another note on the banned food/drink saying, “Don’t do it!!”. This will trigger you to have second thoughts, reminding yourself why you put a ban on it in the first place.

Support Network

Never take for granted the power that a strong support network can have. When you are physically and mentally tired or weak, your support network can be there for you! Whether they help motivate you, prevent you giving in to temptation or just offer a shoulder when you’re feeling down.

Creating a “healthier you” will have its ups and downs, but it is the downs that define you! Will you take the easy way out and give up? Or will you rally together with the help of your friends and family to smash through those difficult days? The route you choose to travel is your choice, nobody else’s… Discipline!

My best piece of advice is that if you know you struggle with sticking to exercising and dieting, get a friend or partner to join you. For instance, a friend who you meet up with to exercise; or a partner who joins the diet alongside you. Discuss your goals with this person, so they are aware of what you want to achieve and involve them in it as much as possible. A problem shared is a problem halved.

Letting go of fear of failure

What if I don’t reach my goal? What if I have a cheat day? What if I don’t lose weight? These are just some questions that portray a level of anxiety and fear regarding the lifestyle change process. In my opinion, each question is completely irrelevant… Who cares if you have a cheat day; who cares if you don’t quite reach your goal! Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to experience success, but during your journey, failure is inevitable at some point, so don’t be afraid of it! Do you think Usain Bolt’s success happened over night and that he never lost? Don’t be disheartened, learn from your mistakes and set new SMART goals.

If you need any advice or want to find out more about this topic (or have questions regarding something unrelated), I’m more than happy to help! Please feel free to email me on jack.plumridge@afterburnfitness.co.uk