How I Stay Motivated and Why
I did not feel like working out this morning. I am eleven weeks into a sixteen week marathon training schedule and I have the day off from work. A small part of me wanted to stay in bed and sleep until the sun was fully up and shining. The idea of throwing on clothes, my Vibram Five Finger shoes, and heading down to the basement for weight training did not seem appealing. The little voice inside my head told me to get up and go, so I did. I got up, surfed the web, read a few blogs/rss feeds, and planned my workout. No excuses and no bitching about it.
Looking back at my training schedule, I have missed only a couple planned workouts in the past few years. Most mornings I am totally prepared and anxious to run, lift, practice yoga, or bike. So, most mornings I am motivated. There are a few mornings where it is cold, raining, dark, or I am tired from being out late and I just don't feel like getting out of bed. It is those mornings where I have to steady my mind and really stop thinking. My brain is telling me to sleep and reminding me: how warm it is under the covers, the wife is there, the dog is there, everyone is asleep, and it is not nice out. My only motivation is shutting off my brain and focusing on the idea of movement, weight, and energy. I think of keywords like: go, move, lift, and do it. This seems like a lot of meditation, but it only takes about three seconds to go from zero to getting out of bed. Once I am up, I will be working out thirty minutes later.
I really don't know where the motivation to work out comes from; but I do know that on mornings where I am not motivated, it takes mental effort to start moving. It is this same mental effort that tells me to squeeze out a couple more reps, a few more miles, or hold a pose a few more breaths. It is not a thinking effort for me, it is something more primal. I do not like to fail, nor let myself or others down. I do not think about failing to go the distance, hitting the mark, performing the reps, or accomplishing something. I constantly visualize proper form, technique, and success in all of my workouts. I guess it can be called having a singular mind.
Most of my workouts are performed alone: no spotter, no classes, no partner. If I need instruction, I go to class until I feel I have learned what I need and then research, mimic, and plan my own workouts based on what I learned in the classroom or studio. When working out with others, I feel I am distracted; not focused. I also carry this singular mind to the movements within the workouts by not worrying about time and weight. In weight lifting, I normally perform eight to ten compound exercises that hit every muscle group for a symmetrical workout. I only perform one set per exercise to muscle failure. I am not worried about rep count, sets, and stacking weight. I only focus on proper form and using the heaviest weight I can handle to sweat-dripping failure. Nothing complex, just basic HIT principles. When running, I only think about covering the target distance and focusing inward, listening to my body's breathing and constant warning signs of exhaustion and fatigue. So I try to keep things simple, using a singular mind, and visualizing success.
Why I workout, and do so with intensity and focus, is no big secret to those who know me. Good health is a gift. Any number of things can happen and your health can be taken from you. Knowing this, it is your responsibility to be a good custodian of your body. I do this by staying balanced, eating responsibly, working out, resting, and taking care of myself medically. I had a health scare a couple of years ago and it totally opened my eyes. I now know that good health can be fleeting. I absolutely want to enjoy every minute of physical activity this body has in it. I will not take my second chance at mobility and good health for granted. Lastly, exercise makes me happy. That is all the motivation I need. :-)
