How should I stay motivated every time I have a workout session? [closed]

Question

I have begun to be feeling demoralized and I have trouble keeping my workout sessions. I'm doing a basic workout like:

1. 50 push ups
2. 30 dips
3. 15 pull ups
4. 20 diamond push ups and
5. leg raises

Sometime I added additional weight. Any tips?

Answer 1

You might want to watch this video from Elliot at Strength Camp, entitled "Motivation is Bullshit".

Honestly, you're not going to be motivated every day that you need to work out (or do anything else). What you really need is the discipline to stick with your program when you feel like crap, have skipped a week, feel fat, feel weak, etc.

If I could distill fitness down to two things, it would be this:

1. Use a good program.
2. Adhere to it. When you fall off the horse, get back on.

If people just did those two things, the entire world would be phenominal athletes in ripped shape running around with washboard abs high-fiving each other.

Good programs are a matter of putting your ego in check and following the science, and sticking to the program is a matter of self discipline and good life choices.

From Wikipedia:

Discipline is the suppression of base desires, and is usually understood to be synonymous with restraint and self-control. Self-discipline is to some extent a substitute for motivation. Discipline is when one uses reason to determine the best course of action that opposes one's desires, which is the opposite of fun.

Answer 2

There are lots of ways to stay motivated, and it all depends what is right for you! Everyone is different, but I can at least tell you a few of the things that have worked for me.

Personally, I've found each one of these things to be helpful to varying degrees when trying to stay motivated:

• listen to a playlist of your favorite music: maybe have a couple different playlists with different song selections to help keep it interesting
• keep it interesting and switch up the workout routine: the same exact thing every time gets very boring very fast
• reward yourself after a workout by doing something fun: but remember you're still an athlete so take care of your body even when you're not actively training
• find a partner to work out with: having the motivation of someone else with you is one of the best motivators for me and it helps both people
• measure and keep track of your progress: this can be a fun little side hobby to working out and is very rewarding when you can see your progress
• watch motivational movies or listen to motivational speeches

In sum, whatever you can do to make your workouts fun and engaging will keep you coming back for more! Be creative and have fun with it.

Answer 3

Tell yourself do you want to age faster, your body breakdown faster, have less energy, etc if you don't stay physically active?

Try and keep a log of your exercises and weight, you'll see and enjoy your progression to keep you motivated to go even further. :)

Answer 4

Music can help keep you motivated. Something up tempo and upbeat.

Watching motivation films or video clips can also help you to change your mindset. The mind and your thoughts are your strongest motivator.

Question whether or not you really want it, and why you want it. You are doing it for a reason, and remember that reason when you feel like you are giving up.

Another good way to stay motivated is to bring a buddy. It can become fun talking to him/her during rest and helping you to drain out every last rep.

What's getting me through nowadays is heartbreak and making sure she will regret missing out :(

Answer 5

The external things mentioned above might help in a pinch, but if you want the real, scorching kind of motivation you need to look inwards.

1. Progression is the ultimate motivator. As a former athlete who trained 10+ times per week (swimming) I can tell you that burnout is misunderstood. It's not from exhaustion, but from a lack of improvement and progression. This means you should be setting goals and targets for your time in the gym.

2. Be realistic about what you hope to achieve. Unrealistic expectations are the worst. Not only do they set off a negative feedback loop that teaches us we can never achieve our goals, but they are simply not grounded in reality. Tracking your workouts is one way you can see how long it takes for you to actually improve.