Motivation Series Part 1: Workout Motivation
Welcome to Live Well Eat Well by Kimmy's Motivation Series.
If you ever want to know how people truly look at you, ask your significant other, or a friend. When I asked my significant other, Bobby, what he thought of when he thought of me (at first I got some wild answers... but then he eventually gave me an honest answer) he said my motivation. He told me he loved how I am always so motivated and I am always getting things done. (I encourage you to ask others what they think of when they think of you because it can give you an outside look on how others perceive us, which we might not realize!).
While I may be super motivated now, I wasn’t always. It took a long time for me to become motivated to do anything really. I used to be lazy with my body and mind, and it has taken practice and patience with myself to get where I am.
This series is all about sparking motivation in you. I hope with sharing my journey and my approach, you will find some inspiration in your life. Maybe you need more motivation to take self care seriously or to start running again.
Sometimes we talk about something we want to start or achieve, but we spend so much time talking about it... and never getting to it. Sometimes we make excuse after excuse and never begin. Sometimes we try something, see no results, and quit. Sometimes we think things are impossible. Sometimes we are afraid to start because we are scared to risk judgement. Sometimes we have no idea how to get started. And sometimes we are just lazy! What we really lack is the motivation! Motivation is the key to beginning anything.
Motivation by definition means: the reason one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.
Motivation is your "why". Throughout this series I hope to help you discover your "why". I ask that you keep in mind that my "why" might not be the same as your "why". While I offer my journey, try and use it as an example! We are all unique, and your "why" is most likely different than mine.
To kick off the motivation series, I offer you some workout motivation.
The most common thing that I hear is the lack of motivation for people to workout. To be honest, I get it, and I have been there too. I grew up never really playing sports, I was never really active. Of course I rode my bike, walked the neighborhoods with friends etc. But I was never athletic. When I got to high school I got so lazy! It continued for a few years too. I had no motivation to do anything. I eventually gained weight and found my "why" to workout: weight loss.
But I never really saw results. To be honest, I wasn't sure what results I was looking for. All I knew was "skinny". Being "skinny" is not a "why", and I can't believe I ever used that word in my vocabulary! But I wasn't seeing results because I had no idea how to workout, and because I was unmotivated. I had no idea what I really wanted. If I really dug deep, I probably would have found I wanted to boost my confidence, and that would have sparked a fire in me more than just wanting to fit in and be skinny. Buying a gym membership only gets you so far. Of course it is a great step in the right direction! But if you do not know why you're going, then that gym membership is a waste.
What can spark your motivation?
Social media, magazines, and tv are all powerful influencers. The influence of working out is not just on the internet or magazines, but it is all around us! We see people going for walks and runs when we are headed to work. We see gyms on every corner. Browsing the aisles at target we are bombarded with workout gear, supplements, and workout clothing (and not just at target but it seems like a lot of brands are creating their own fitness apparel). These are things that can spark our motivation. They aren't our motivators, but they help spark it! Maybe it is buying a new workout outfit. Maybe it's creating a brand new workout playlist that gets you going. Maybe it's being able to see the sunrise every morning that motivates you to get up for that run at 5 am everyday. I like to call these our "short term success motivators" . They give us just enough push to get through our workouts, BUT they are not the things that get us to our goals.
Long Term Success Motivators
While comparing ourselves to models on social media sure does make us want to be in serious shape, it is NOT what is going to push us to reach our goals. Long term success motivators are what helps us to see our goals through to the end. Why do you want sexier shoulders? Is it because summer is coming up and you want to feel confident on the beach? Why do you want to do a 5k this summer? Is it because you want to inspire your family to workout or because running helps you to clear your mind? What is the reason you want to achieve a sexier back? I am getting married next spring, and having a sexier back is a goal of mine! My why is because I want to feel confident on my big day. Finding the reason you are going to start working out will empower you to reach those goals.
Finding your TRUE "WHY"
Picture your goal. Again, NO JUDGEMENT here! Maybe you picture a tighter toned booty, maybe you picture yourself crossing the finish line at a half marathon. Meditate on the image. And I mean truly sit with this image in your mind. How does it make you feel? Is someone there with you? Do you feel happy? Do you feel confident and radiant? Do you feel unstoppable? Do you have more energy? Think about why this image is making you feel a certain way. When I picture myself on my wedding day, I picture a tight and toned back and arms. When I think about the day and the moment in my dress, I feel confidence. That is my "why". That is the reason I get up every day and crush my workouts. You can also try journaling. On one side of the paper write down how you feel now (inside and out). On the other side, write down how you want to feel (they may change or they may stay the same). How you want to feel is your "why". And if we can learn to connect our heart to our “why”, that will get us on our way. We have all heard the saying “if you believe it, you can do it”. Same goes here too! If you believe in your goal and your “why”, then you can do it! We all want things in life, but we all need our motivator to push us to get there.
Once you discover your "why", it is time to start your action plan!
Here are the steps to achieving a goal:
- Discover your goal
- Find your "WHY"
- Create an action plan
- Gather the tools needed to reach your goals
- Begin putting your action plan to work
- Maintain or maintenance
- Discover your achievable goal! What is it you want to achieve? Do you want to get more toned, do you want to lose weight, do you want to be more flexible?
- Discover your "why"! Why do you want to reach your goal? This is your motivator. This is what is going to push you and hold you accountable.
- Create an action plan! Write it out from start to finish. At the bottom of the blog, you will find a sample action plan to help guide you to creating your own. But when you write out your action plan, take these questions into account:
What tools do I need to achieve my goals?
Do I have the time to reach these goals?
What type of schedule do I need to create?
Can I achieve these goals doing workouts that I enjoy?
Do I need to spend money on equipment or a program or membership?
What is my budget?
Do I need workout clothes?
Is there anything that might be an obstacle in reaching my goals? (Stress, injury etc.)
Do I have access to the right workouts?
Will I need transportation to get to my workouts?
Will I be able to get my results at home?
Do I need to set a more achievable goal?
Do I need smaller goals to reach my big goal?
Do I need support from family or friends?
How much time do I need every day?
Do I need more sleep?
Do I need to adjust my sleep schedule to reach my goals? - Gather the necessary tools needed to reach those goals
- Begin putting your action plan to work, consistently!
- Maintain or begin maintenance. If you are beginning to see results, CONGRATS! Keep it up and maintain what you are doing. If you've remained consistent for a while and aren't seeing any results, it is time for some maintenance. DO NOT give up! Instead, go back to #3 and adjust your action plan. Go back to the questions I provided. Check and see if your action plan is working with your lifestyle. Maybe you started running and wanted to do 5ks over the summer, but you can only run a mile and it has been months of training. Ask yourself: have I been consistent? Have I woken up every morning for my alarm to run, or have I been pressing snooze and leaving myself no time to run? Am I running enough? Would things work better if there was another time in the day and week to getting in my run time? Maybe you are stressed and that needs to be addressed first. Remember it is okay if you need a new plan, but do not give up on yourself!
Example Action Plan:
Goal: Tone up my arms
Why: To feel more confident on my wedding day
Tools needed: Free hand weights, upper body workout guides, before pictures of upper body, yoga mat, fitness journal.
Step 1: Set up a workout space.
Step 2: Begin going to bed 10 minutes earlier every night, and waking up 10 minutes earlier everyday until I have an extra hour to workout in the morning. Set alarms to get to bed, and set wake up alarms. Set my phone outside the door at night so i don't have an excuse to press snooze in the morning.
Step 3: Schedule workouts
7 am M: Chest and biceps + hiit
6 am Tues: Back and tripceps
8am Wed: Core and cardio
6 am Thurs: Pushup challenge and cardio
7am Fri: Shoulders
10 am Sat: Yoga
11 am Sun: Yoga sculpt
Step 4: Track my workouts everyday in my fitness journal
Step 5: Take progress photos weekly
Step 6: Check in on week 8 to see where I am at in reaching my goals
Remember that a goal may be reached, but there are always goals beyond those goals. Your "why" can change with the seasons of life. Every time I reach a fitness goal, I find myself reaching new ones. I find myself with a new "why" every so often.
What motivates you?
I can’t wait to hear your goals and your achievements!
xoxo,
Kimmy