Every year we see a vicious cycle where athletes let their fitness and training consistency slide through the cooler months and then have to play catch up in the warmer months. Not surprisingly it is often these same athletes who’s improvements in fitness don’t seem to keep up with those who are more consistent with their efforts.
Regardless of how far you are into your athletic journey, motivation is something that all athletes have to work on – it certainly doesn’t happen by accident. Everybody has natural cycles of enthusiasm and if you’re in tune with your body these can be a great way of building some periodization in to your intensity. If you’re not that well in tune however, a natural low point can quickly turn into a total lack of motivation with potentially disastrous effects on your fitness.
In the perfect world the weather, the amount of daylight, your personal life, work, injuries etc. would not interfere with training and we would all be nipping at Rich Froning’s heals to win the CrossFit Games.
Unfortunately it is not a perfect world and the rest of us need to work on staying motivated by employing strategies to ensure our continued success.
As silly as it may sound, the simplest way to stay motivated is to plan to stay motivated. If you leave it to chance then it’s likely that the rest of your life will get in the way and you could end up being one of those people who is stuck in fitness ground hog day.
Here are some tips:
– Attend or compete in a competition: If you’re going to work on being really fit, then give yourself a chance to use this fitness. Let’s face it, few of us have lives that are that unpredictable that we need to be walking around with an animalistic level of athletic readiness to survive our day and without the opportunity to use this fitness it could be seen as a waste of time. Regardless of how you perform, competitions are a great outlet for your increased abilities and provide unbiased feedback on the true state of your fitness.
If you’re not ready to compete, simply attending an event is amazingly motivating. Just being around greatness makes you want to be better and could be the trigger you need to get back in the gym and start smashing it.
– Look back at your training archives: If you’ve been training for a while the days can tend to blur into each other and you may not realise how much progress you’ve actually made. While it’s great to be constantly looking towards new goals, our memories have a way of sugar coating our previous self and taking the time to reflect on your journey can provide a great boost of motivation when you see the reality of how far you have progressed.
– Watch inspiring videos: Something as simple as sitting down in front of the computer and watching some inspiring stuff can be amazingly motivating. I can’t tell you how many times I have watched the Sisu documentary. It doesn’t matter what it is that get’s you going, just find something that motivates you to get into the gym and be better.
– Get the rest of your life in order: It may be that you give it your all when you’re in the gym but if the rest of your life is filled with poor nutrition, alcohol, late nights and negative influences then it’s unfair to expect motivating results. Surround yourself with people who inspire you to be better and you will be.
