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Another topic I get asked about a lot is how to stay motivated in your fitness journey. Sadly there is not a single answer for this question that works for everyone. You need to ask yourself why you truly want to get fit in the first place before you can answer that question. My personal answer is “I don’t want my kid growing up thinking I am anything other than superman”. OK, maybe not that extreme, but I am doing it for my kid and for my own vanity and longevity (kind of a mashup of reasons – just like most of you). Kids are brutally honest little buggers and they won’t be afraid to tell you how they really see you, this can be a powerful motivator if you dare ask.
Are you doing this for vanity? It’s ok, we all tend to have a little vanity when it comes to our body image. Who doesn’t want to look good naked, shirtless or fully clothed? If so, the only motivation you will need is a mirror. Once you start making progress you will see changes in the mirror, slowly but surely. In fact, chasing those visual changes can become fairly addicting. Vanity is not a “bad” reason to get fit. Many people struggle with their body image and the way they look and feel. I will admit that vanity is PART of the reason I love fitness. I love the high you get when you reach a goal or start to feel good about your progress and the way you look. When you look better, you tend to feel better. You have a better approach to life in general and tend to be happier with yourself and everything around you. Another motivator for the vanity department is finding something to compare yourself to. I know this goes directly against a previous statement I made in my body image post, but as long as you aren’t nitpicking yourself and trying to become that person in picture then a little visual aid can be a powerful motivator. Just don’t let it get out of control because your body, even at the same body fat percentage and amount of muscle mass, is going to look much different than anyone else you could be comparing yourself to. That is why the best person to compare yourself to is YOURSELF. Improvement is the goal here and feeling sorry for yourself because you don’t look like this person in the picture yet is only going to hinder your progress by creating negative emotions. Just make me a promise that you won’t utilize these people for anything more than visual motivation. See my body image post regarding how famous influences are not the best people to take fitness advice from.
Are you doing this for your overall health? This is the most widely admitted reason people get into fitness. However, I think vanity is up there, but people are just ashamed to admit it sometimes. For me personally, this is the leading reason I am into fitness, with vanity being a very close second and a happy byproduct of the process of becoming healthy. I originally got into fitness after my father passed away from poor fitness and obesity related issues. I told myself “I’m not going out like that” and “I will not do that to my future kid(s)”. The only motivator you’ll need if this is your reason is a simple reminder. When I feel like skipping the gym or I fall off the wagon I will remind myself that I am doing this for my longevity (since my genetics aren’t on my side here). I am doing this to be able to see my future child/children grow into adulthood and maybe even start to raise a family of their own. I am doing this because I don’t want my kid(s) to go through the same pain I had to go through when my father died far too young. Simply thinking of that pain usually makes me get off my booty and get moving.
Are you doing this for your child/children/grandchildren? Parenthood is a powerful motivator. Throughout the years of parenting we have eye-opening moments where we realize how much our kids are actually absorbing by watching us. They pick up our habits (good and bad), our mannerisms and speech patterns, our quirks and even our eating habits. Sometimes we have eye opening moments where we realize a child has picked up a bad habit from us (or a bad word – which I tend to laugh at). I am staying fit to try and set a good habit and have a healthy fitness mentality instilled in my child from a young age. Kids are generally super energetic little things and I also want to be able to keep up with them. If a child grows up with you having generally healthy eating habits and fitness mentality then they will have a good base established when they get into their teenage years or adulthood. With childhood obesity running rampant these days, the earlier we can instill these habits the better. Plus, if you don’t buy and/or eat crappy food, then there will likely not be much unhealthy or crappy food in your house for your kid(s) to get into. On that same note, its never too late to show your child/children the right way. My dad had a small heart attack prior to the one that ultimately killed him. After this he, with my moms help, changed his diet and started exercising almost daily. He lost a lot of weight and his health improved dramatically. This only lasted a few years before he fell off the wagon and fell back into old habits. The weight came back and so did his heart attack risk factors. However, I remember how hard he worked. I remember how proud I was of him. And some of the healthy habits he formed during that period of fitness are still instilled in me today. This is proof that it’s never too late to show your child/children the right way.
In the hospital I see young parents with strokes or heart attacks and they wish they had done something about it before it was too late. Don’t be one of those people. Everyone thinks “it won’t happen to me”, but I am here to tell you “it does happen to you”. I see it all the time. Your health and fitness is not something you can ignore until something happens, because that “something” may just leave you bed-ridden or even worse. The older we get, the harder it is to reverse the damage we have done to ourselves and the harder it is to help your child/children develop healthy habits. No matter the reason you are getting into fitness (or simply thinking about it), this is the motivating factor you need to get up and go. You don’t need to subscribe to a single reason above, you can be doing it for all of the reasons above. Whatever your reasons are, just use the above information to help motivate you. Use your kid’s (or grandkid’s) view of you, think about your kid’s future, use your vanity, use your longevity/health. Use whatever motivates you best to get off your butt and go do something about it. Sometimes watching a movie can be enough motivation for a week. Try to tell me a guy isn’t going to be more motivated after watching Rocky/Creed or 300.
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