Stay Motivated!

How many times have you made the grand decision to start a new exercise plan??? Or join a gym??? And yet, a month down the track the plan has gone out the window and you are back to square one!

We've all had good intentions at one time or another but the tricky bit is maintaining the motivation that is required to keep it up and not give up when things get a little hard.

To help with ideas about how to maintain motivation, I caught up with Stephen Ng, Queensland Middle-Weight Champion for boxing and Personal Trainer. Who would know more about staying focused and motivating himself and others???

Stephen says that he is a self-motivated person so he finds his motivation from within himself. He uses different thought processes to keep him going through the tough times such as:

• Family - he is really motivated to set a good example to his children and show them that he will "put in" and work hard to achieve his goals.
• Losing - He hates losing so he works hard to avoid this feeling.
• Focus/Visualisation - he keeps the "goal" in sight.

As Stephen works regularly with clients in his Personal Training business, he is also aware that most people are a little different and need additional things to keep motivation high.

"Some people like to be pushed and challenged to go harder, while others need to be treated more gently and praised for every little bit of progress that they make. As a trainer you need to get in tune with each individual client."

Stephen says that you don't need a personal trainer but you do need to know what kind of person you are and the best ways to motivate yourself.

Here are some ideas that work for most people:

• Workout with a partner. Encourage each other and be accountable to each other.
• Set small, realistic goals and recognize progress.
• Reward yourself as you reach your goals.
• Sometimes it is good to help someone else who is struggling. By helping another person get motivated (e.g. going for a jog with your friend regularly) you are also increasing your own fitness. (Sometimes it's harder to pull-out if you are letting down another person.)
• Change the routine. They say a change is as good as a holiday and boredom is one of the biggest reasons why people don't stick to an exercise regime. You need to mix it up and have a little fun!

So, the trick is to find things that motivate you and ways to keep yourself accountable and on track.

1. IDENTIFY HOW YOU ARE MOTIVATED…BY INTERNAL THOUGHTS OR EXTERNAL TOOLS SUCH AS A TRAINING PARTNER???
2. BE ACCOUNTABLE TO SOMEONE (EVEN IF IT IS YOURSELF…YOU CAN KEEP A DIARY TO TRACK YOUR EFFORT)
3. SET REALISTIC AND ATTAINABLE GOALS
4. REWARD EFFORT AND PROGRESS
5. KEEP IT FUN

Good luck and let us know what works for you!!! E-mail me with your ideas!