Eye of the Tiger!!

One of the biggest obstacles to getting and staying in shape is putting off workouts. I know life gets in the way, but if you’re serious about making changes YOU’LL FIND TIME. Yes, that could mean 6am workouts. Get your butt out of bed if it’s the only way……. When it comes to fitness, telling yourself you’ll “do it later” will sabotage your progress and hold you back from reaching your goals.

Yes, I’ll repeat myself. You NEED GOALS! The urge to procrastinate can be a daily struggle if the motivation you have for working out is too broad, unspecific or unattainable. An example of a great goal is getting in super shape for a Wedding that’s a few months away. Here’s the opposite of that, I want to workout to be alive to see my Grandkids get married, that’s great, but the goal expands so far into the future that it’s easy to say, “what’s one missed workout? I’ll do it tomorrow.” Think of Apollo Creed yelling at Rocky in Rocky III, “there is no tomorrow!” “there is no tomorrow!”

But if you have that shorter term goal, that’s another story, you’ll know that a missed workout is a missed opportunity and could result in a setback. I’m not saying it’s the end of the world if you miss one or two. I’m talking about continually blowing off workouts for no good reasons. Bottom line, if you have a more pressing reason to get to the gym, you’ll be more likely to continue going on a daily basis.

Once you establish a reasonable goal, you may still have trouble sticking to your program. Ask yourself why you REALLY work out. What is your primary motivation? To be honest, I miss an occasional workout, like I said, “Life happens.” But here’s the thing, I work out because it keeps me centered and positive. I notice that when I miss a workout I feel less calm and many times I don’t sleep as well that night. For me, I love that feeling of working out hard. Yes I do enjoy it, that’s another key. Finding something you enjoy physically and you will continue. Everyone has their own reasons for working out that don’t necessarily involve what your doctor tells you, i.e. exercise is important for bone density and longevity, etc.

One way to motivate yourself to get to the next level is to visualize what you want. Imagine yourself already having the energy you want to have, the shape you want to be in, or riding that 100 mile bike ride you’ve always wished you could complete. Whatever encourages you immediately is the key to your fitness success.

And sometimes we have those days that it’s not going to happen. No motivational trick will get you to where you’re supposed to be. I’m not talking when you’re sick or injured or totally exhausted. You know what days I’m talking about. Basically, you’re very comfortable and looking for any excuse to not workout. On those days, you just need to step it up and do it anyway. That’s what commitment is about–you do it no matter what. Pretty much everyone who’s ever done a workout out of sheer focus and determination would agree that they’ve never regretted it. Even if you limit your exercise and maybe walk, you’ll be surprised how quickly you may change your tune!

Procrastinating will always hold you back from reaching your fitness goals. Don’t let this be you. Regretting. Putting yourself in a position where you’re looking back and realizing you could have been farther along if you had just done the workouts you decided to miss. Time is passing by anyway.

You can either be in better shape in a month, or you could be the same depending on the decision you make today. And I don’t want to have to quote Adrian in Rocky III, don’t make me go there!!

Keep Training!!
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