Awww....you know just what to say to help me get my ass into gear :)

It's 5am - you're alarm goes off. Time to hit the gym before work. It's a lonely dark path there - it's cold. It's certainly not your bed with your fluffy down duvet cover. So what is getting you there? Better yet, once you get there, what is the motivating factor to not only keep you there, but to keep you moving at a strong enough intensity to actually make progress to see the changes you want in your body?

As said by Psychology Today 'Motivation is literally the desire to do things. It's the difference between waking up before dawn to pound the pavement and lazing around the house all day.' For some people they have an inner drive that just won't quit. But for others it takes a little bit of additional encouragement from the mouths of others.

I'll get a bit personal here (because according to the blog stats for some reason you readers actually like seeing directly into my brain sans filter...who knew?). When it comes to business, relationships with others and learning new things, I'm on top of it - motivation is never lacking. But when it comes to the gym, I need more than just me talking to get me there. I have two general hurdles I encounter:

1) getting there

2) once I'm there, making sure it was worth the effort of putting my shoes on.

Getting there: I have this thing....when I'm sitting at my computer or in the kitchen working on a new recipe I'm happy there. It's really hard for me to throw on my shoes and get out the door knowing how tough my workout program is and what I'm going to be putting my body through. Once I'm motionless, it's hard for me to gain momentum to get moving. That's not to say I'm lazy. Or that I'm a bad trainer. Not in the slightest. It means I'm human. But that beign said, I'm lucky to have read enough psych textbooks on changing behaviour that I know that the more times I get to the gym, the more easily I'll get there in the future. (I actually wrote about it way back at the beginning of the blogging days in this article about changing habits and getting moving).  I know that if I'm in a grumpy mood or feeling lethargic that I'll wind up coming out of the gym actually feeling MORE (not less) energy and happier than before I left.

But once I've conquered that hurdle I almost always have to face the second roadblock.

Making it worth it once I'm there: I like lifting heavy stuff and throwing it around - kettlebells, dumbbells, tires, sandbags - whatever - I like it all. But I DO NOT enjoy all-out sprinting, jumping or any burpee-esque motion. I know if my program has the former in it I'm fine to motivate myself, but if it's comprised of the latter, there is no way I'll get as good of a workout if I'm on my own. And since I'm a solo gym goer I face a problem. And here enlies the crux of this post:

We all know the benefits of working out with a buddy - primarily, it will get you to the gym!! But its more than that. Don't accept just anyone to be that person for you. You have to FIND SOMEONE WHO KNOWS HOW TO PUSH YOUR BUTTONS! And no. Not in a bad way - but in a way that pushes you and brings out your maximum effort. Everyone will be different. Some people need positive cheerleader-esque motivation. While for others, maybe its a little friendly competition or perhaps its tough love that gets them moving with the most intensity. What's most important is that you figure out what exactly 'makes you tick' and you find a gym partner who knows how to give you what you need.

For some of you, it may be a friend you go to the gym with and encourages a little friendly competition. For others maybe it's your spouse at home cheering you on in a positive way 'go get 'em' way. Or just maybe, it's your trainer. It took me a while to figure out how I worked - and for me motivating wise, I need someone who sees something in me that I can't necessarily see. Over the years that has manifested itself in a few different ways. First, as tough love with one of my first trainers - I was using battle ropes for the first  time and I remember him yelling across the gym at me saying that they were the slowest moving ropes he'd ever seen and that it was pathetic. Now he wasn't being mean. He just knew I had more in me than that - he saw something I didn't - and he was right. Even now, with my current trainer Blaise, he pushes me beyond what I think I'm capable of. Yesterday was a prime example. For the first time in my life, I actually almost quit a workout. I actually almost said "nope....not going to happen'. It had all the things that I find challenging - agility work, sprinting, LOTS of jumping.....my body didn't have much left to give and my mind was almost throwing in the towel. But he was there telling me I could do it - and now I'm at the point with him where if he says I can do it, I believe him.

Moral of the story? 1) Don't lost momentum - if you stop moving its much harder to start again. Get active and it will be easier to stay active and 2) Take a look at who your gym motivator is - and if it's not you going solo, take a good hard critique of them. Are they pushing you in the way you need to be pushed? Are they making you 'better'? If not, get out there and find a new friend or new trainer who knows just what to say to get your ass into gear. You'll thank yourself for it.