As a personal trainer I am often asked how I stay motivated. The good news is that there are multitudes of ways to keep motivated and help motivate others.
Personally, the way I stay motivated to keep fit is I believe I have to practice what I preach; I have to look the part. Nobody in his or her right mind is going to hire me if I look like I don't take my own advice. Sometimes if I feel I need to nudge my training a bit, I'll enter an event like a triathlon or a century. This ensures that I will train hard enough to, at least, not embarrass myself during the event. Also, food is a huge motivating factor. I love to eat food - but not at the expense of my fitness. I will exercise to match what I ate or I will eat to match my activity level. More activity = more food. Simple. But I also use the prospect of food, like a carrot on a stick, to get me through a long, grueling workout.
I'm not going to lie and tell you that it's always easy to do what I do. This time of year, for example, it's winter, it's cold and windy outside, and I'm toasty and warm in my house with a cup of tea. I think I'd rather go to the dentist than go to the gym right now. However, I know I need to do something. With my dog looking up at me, I get the boost I need. She needs to go out anyway so I will take her on a hike. A hike is fun and it's great exercise for both of us, especially when I run to the top of the hill. Communing with nature and the magnificent views make it all worthwhile. This is the feeling I capture and call up for the times I don't want to exercise.
I admit I could go a day or two without a workout and I'd be okay. But the trend that this would initiate would not be okay. I could skip a day or two for any number of reasons, but what about the third day? It would be much easier to skip that day because of the new pattern developing. Besides, I want to save my non-workout days for something more important to me than just a cold, windy day. Many of my clients get caught in this "snowball" effect. For one reason or another, sometimes quite legitimate like illness, they skip a few days then have an increasingly difficult time getting back into the habit of exercise. The days they miss "snowball" and before they know it, it's been a week or two. If exercise is going to contribute to lifelong fitness, it must be ingrained as a daily habit like brushing your teeth or taking a shower.
In cases like today I will improvise my workout and find something more fun and interesting. Even if what I choose to do isn't that much fun, the fact that it's different is enough to keep me interested, and it keeps my active pattern intact.
Motivation is one of the most difficult and important things I do as a personal trainer. Not only do I need to motivate myself (who I know pretty well) but I also have to motivate strangers. Little did I know in college how helpful my psychology classes would be.
Motivation in its most basic form comes down to pain verses pleasure. It's as simple as that. Find out what brings a person pleasure and pain, and to what extent, and you can motivate them to do just about anything. For example, "Jon" finds pain in being overweight, but he finds more pain in exercise. So he does nothing. He finds pleasure in watching TV and eating chips, but he later feels pain in this when he finds he's gained more weight. Eventually this pain will reach a point where he will be fed up enough to get off the couch and do something about it. Then he will receive pleasure from satisfaction and eventually from his progress.
Here are the basic points in improving one's motivation, making exercise a habit and improving discipline:
- Goals and challenges
- Make it worth it, rewards
- Journal writing
- Remember the feeling
- Self-control, will power and discipline
- Make it fun
- Habits, patterns
The first thing I do with clients is we set goals. Through our discussions we find out what their main, long-term goal is SPECIFICALLY and write it down. Then I put it away for a later date so they are not focusing on it too much; they may become discouraged. Next I help them develop multiple, easier goals, which will be used as steps to the main goal. This is where I want the focus to lie. Make sure these goals or challenges are realistic, obtainable and very specific. Depending on the client, these goals may have to be real simple, basic, baby steps, or they could be broader challenges. Each situation is different. As they accomplish each goal, they reevaluate the path to determine if any adjustments need to be made. We increase the size of each step and build new goals until the main goal is near. At that time I refer to the first goal, the main goal, and we are ready to focus on that. This is the plan of attack. It can be thought of as a business plan or even a roadmap - one that should be followed so they don't get lost.
Keeping the pleasure/pain principle in mind, the person must find sufficient pleasure in achieving or even working toward their goals. If they don't think their effort is worth it, they won't do it. This is why the goals must begin small and simple and gradually build with the person's ability and strengths. Also, a person will enjoy their workout more if they know they are making progress. It's true, they may never actually "enjoy" it, but if they are making suitable progress they will continue.
Journaling is also an effective way to keep your client on track. Have them write down their goals, big and small. As each goal is reached they should write their feelings about their achievements. Track any highs or lows they experienced on the way to this goal. I find it beneficial for a person who is in a slump, to read what they wrote when they were feeling really good and strong about themselves. It's one thing for you to tell them how they felt, but quite another for them to read it in their own words. This is a very powerful tool.
In my opinion, the single strongest motivating factor to get moving and exercise is the memory of how great it will feel afterward. I don't always want to lift a piece of metal up and down dozens of times. But I know that if I do it I'll feel great, because 98% of the time that's been true. So I cling to that memory and bring it out in full force, and really focus on how great it feels to have endorphins coursing through my veins, muscles pumped full of blood and of course the satisfaction of doing something good for my body. I use this mental image and I exercise. This can be done with anything; embellish it. But most importantly, write this in the journal to remember and use later.
Another suggestion for the journal is to write down why they want to improve their health and fitness. I like to remain fit so I am never limited on what I can do by my fitness level. My skill-level may be the limiting factor, or my bravery, but not my physical conditioning. I also have a plan to live to be 100. But I don't just want to see that birthday; I want to be fit and well. I don't want to spend years laying in a bed with tubes poking in me.
In order for the goals to be compelling, there must be an appropriate reward. Even if that reward is as simple as praise, it needs to be there. The reward needs to be proportional to the goal and suitable to the fitness lifestyle. An ice cream sundae is not a suitable reward for losing 5% body fat. For example, a client of mine recently hit his major goal and set off to buy himself a new mountain bike.
Another important factor in motivation is enjoyment. Help them find some sort of activity that they enjoy; be it a game like tennis or basketball, a solitary sport like skating, biking or whatever. It doesn't matter as long as they enjoy it. Skating could even be a reward for a strength training session.
At some point, a person is going to be in a battle with willpower, or self-control. "Should I workout? I know I should, but I don't want to. I want to relax on the couch. I know I'll feel better if I workout, but…" I think there's a battle like this in everyone's head at some point. Who will win? Id, the child? Or Superego, the parent? It all depends on the discipline established between the two.
A person is not born with a lot of discipline. In fact, a person is born with none, that's why the Id is the child. But the Superego, the parent, can teach the Id discipline. Discipline is learned, like anything else in life. I didn't have very much by the time I turned 18 so I got help. I joined the military. They taught me plenty, but I also taught myself.
Here's how you do it. It's similar to the goal list discussed earlier. Choose a goal for yourself; say, "I will drink two liters of water today." And do it! No matter what! Even if you change your mind. Even if you have to drink tap water. Do it. Why? Because you said you would. You need to build your discipline "muscle". It's like any other muscle in your body, it needs consistent exercise to become stronger and stay that way. The second day say "I will drink two liters of water and walk one mile." And do it. The third day say "I will drink two liters of water, walk one mile and not eat any candy." Do what you say you're going to do and don't do what you say you're not going to do. We are trying to develop a pattern here. When you say you're going to do something, you do it, even to, and especially to, yourself. Stick to every word. Do this for one week. Congratulations, you just strengthened your discipline.
It's not over yet, that was just one week. How long it takes depends on how old the person is and how much discipline they were raised with. Try a new set the following week, and the next and the next. Try it on a daily basis in other ways, just to reinforce your discipline. If you love candy, try carrying a candy bar around with you for an entire day - don't eat it. When the day is over and you've been successful, throw it away and congratulate yourself. If you haven't been successful, go for a run. This may not be easy, but in order for them to workout instead of loafing on the couch they will need some self-discipline no matter how well they remember the endorphin high and no matter what the reward is.
I often speak with people who tell me they are great starters. They start a new diet or exercise routine in full force and do really well - for a short period of time, then fizzle out. Many are older and have been in this pattern most of their lives. This basically comes from a lack of discipline and the desire for instant results. This is quite natural in our modern world of instant gratification: food, entertainment, transportation, et cetera. But fat loss and fitness, like fat gain and poor health, cannot be instant if it's going to be permanent and healthy. There is a huge portion of the health and fitness industry that is doing very well because of people stuck in this pattern.
It takes a strong will and a lot of determination to stick to a healthy fat loss program. A person is usually in this situation because their eating and/or exercising habits are poor. For that person to turn all that around requires a great amount of strength discipline and planning. It's crazy to think that one can repeat the same old pattern yet expect different results. It doesn't work that way. Change your pattern, change your results.
The most dangerous time in the path to a goal is the middle. This is when the person feels comfortable and is more likely to slack off because they feel they're in control. The snowball effect can set in and now it's harder to get back on track than it is to stay off. It is imperative that once a goal is set and a routine programmed, the person sticks with it. Don't let them feel lost in the middle like a cork floating in the ocean. They will need more guidance and encouragement to help them stay on track. This time may also be the hardest. They may put up a fight and argue that they are in control, but stand your ground and follow the plan.
It is possible for a person who has never stuck to an exercise program to do so. Even if they think they are weak and incapable of accomplishing anything difficult, they still can do it - with the right tools and guidance.
Motivation is a tricky thing - it must be dealt with using care and finesse. Each person is different and they respond differently. One might respond to the hard-core drill sergeant approach while another responds better to reverse psychology. There is no rulebook, only ideas. I have found that these ideas work best for me and the people I work with, but occasionally I have to improvise or invent a different approach or techniques. Everyday I learn more.
Glenn Johnson
Motion Works Fitness.com
