Tag Archives: motivation

Acheive Personal Records Every Day

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In the weight lifting world you’ll hear the acronym PR all the time. PR is of course: “Personal Record”. I’ve really come to embrace PRs, not just in my weight lifting and exercise, but my overall life. I love to set Micro-PRs for things like shortest time to do a certain task in my job. Overall it makes me better and more efficient, and I can push those out over time and get progressively better in my career.

I also try to keep an eye on my negative PRs. I like to keep a lid on my longest time between gym visits, or the longest time before visiting my parents or other family. I’m also not great at billing my customers, so I keep an eye on that too. Constantly improving your positive personal records and keeping negative ones in check will consistently improve your life.

PR Every Day

Adam Glass came up with the Twitter hashtag #PREveryDay. Basically you can tweet your personal record that you set for that day and keep a record of your constant improvement.  There is even a twitter bot that you can follow that will tweet out everyones PRs based on that hashtag. It’s very motivational to follow that account, because you can see the ways in which others are making perpetual progress.

Officially Weigh in Once a Week Maximum

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Weighing yourself on a weekly basis can give you a good idea of the progress you’re making.  It will help motivate you if you’re making gains or motivate you even more if you didn’t make your mark that week.  Weight also fluctuates naturally over time, so you’ll want to maintain a consistent schedule. Remember too, that you won’t see the results of today’s diet and workout until 4-24 hours later, so if you weigh in ever day, it’s most likely you won’t see today’s results until tomorrow.

Weight Fluctuates Greatly Over Time

Weight can fluctuate throughout the day or week.  Depending on your current weight, it might fluctuate up to five pounds or more.  Things like bowel movements, hydration, and food intake can all affect your overall weight. It can be off-putting to work hard and eat right, only to gain 2 lbs. because you’re more hydrated and feel better than you were last time you weighed in.

Weighing yourself at the same time on the same day each week will remove a lot of the variables mentioned above.  I prefer to weigh myself on Wednesday mornings before my morning shower.  This is before I’ve eaten, but after I’ve gone to the bathroom.  This mean’s I’ll be the lightest I can be, only weighing my natural body weight. I also avoid the unpredictable nature of weekend meals.

By all means, weigh yourself on Sunday evening after you’ve eaten. It’s all about consistency. If you weigh yourself at the same relative time, you’ll be able to get accurate relative results. When selecting the time you weigh yourself try to select the time of week with the least variability in your diet and water intake.  You won’t be doing yourself any favors if you weigh yourself today when you’re lightest and then tomorrow after a big dinner.

Results from Today’s Exercise Won’t be Visible Right Away

Whether you’re trying to gain muscle or lose fat, it doesn’t hop on or jump off as you’re exercising.  Sure it might look like you lose weight after an exercise because you didn’t drink any water and sweated out 3 pounds, but that isn’t real.  It can play the opposite way too.  Maybe you sweat out 1 pound and drink 2.  That means you just gained a pound that won’t stick around.

As your body synthesizes protein during muscle repair and burns fat for energy your weight will change.  That doesn’t happen during the workout for the most part. It happens in the 4-24 hours afterward when you go to the bathroom.  You’ll also want to give your body some time to normalize it’s water balance after a workout. If you’re anything like me, you’ll drink upwards of 60 ounces of water during your routine.

Stay Motivated with Consistent Returns

If you don’t know where your weight really is it’s hard to know if you’re gaining or losing.  Giving yourself consistency during weigh-ins gives you a really good idea of if you’re gaining or losing ground in your efforts.

If you don’t know where you are, it’s hard to feel good about the results.  If you don’t feel good about your results, there is a good chance you’ll slip. When you meet your goals, celebrate in a healthy way, and when you don’t, try harder for next week.  You only have seven days to meet your mark.

TREKDZ76Y2QR

Looking Back: 7 Articles from This Blog

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I was just reading over at John is Fit and came across a reference to a post that Darren Rowse of ProBlogger wrote called: 7 Links for Bloggers. Basically you look at 7 posts that you’ve written that fit into 7 categories and talk about them in a summary post. It’s a great way to feature some of your best and popular work.  It’s also a great time to reflect about what you’re writing. So, here’s what I came up with:

The First Post

Getting into a Fit Mindset

This was the first post. I wrote this specific one, because I was starting my journey and I needed to do exactly what I was writing.  You see, this blog isn’t about what I’ve done.  It’s about what I need to do.  I follow every bit of advice that I write here.  I may not excel at it, but I’m trying. I wrote that and followed every word.  Looking back: it worked.

The Post I Enjoyed Writing the Most

Pros and Cons of Vegan, Vegetarian, and Omnivorous Diets

This post really started off as a quest to find out the answer to which diet I should have.  I did a ton of research while I was writing it and I just couldn’t stop writing.  Ultimately I found out that I’d be just fine as an omnivore – as long as I could control myself.  I thought I could and I did.  I’m still going strong. I still find myself referring back to this all the time.

A Post that had Great Discussion

Synthesizing Protein Build Muscle

This blog is fairly new, so discussion is a bit sparse.  Still, this post got two comments and is thus the most discussed.  People were able give me additional information that I could research, and it ultimately lead to a few more post ideas.  I hope to get more discussion in the future, but this is a start!

A Post that had a Title I was Proud of

Weight Loss Isn’t Everything

Not only did I like the title of this post, I really enjoyed reading it.  I wrote it after a female friend of mine was talking about how she lost 27 pounds in 3 weeks.  That’s just not healthy. She was starving herself and didn’t feel very good a lot of the time.  She was getting sick a lot too. Weight loss really isn’t everything. Being fit is everything.

A Post on Someone Else’s Blog I Wish I Had Written First

How to Wake Up Inspired

Think Simple Now is a relatively new blog to me.  I started reading about two months ago.  Inspiration and motivation are really the backbone of being fit and I realize that more and more every day.  This post really just hit home for me.  I wish I had thought of it first, let alone writing it first.  Very, very inspirational words here.

A Post I Wish More People had Read

11 Simple Tips to be More Fit

This post really sums up how to be successful in your fitness goals.  It came during a lull in readership, but I really think its gold.  It sums up everything you need to do, and I always go back to it to stay motivated and on track.  As a matter of fact it also inspired many of the posts that followed it, including one great one that’s coming up soon.

The Most Visited Post Ever

Supplemental Reading: Great Fitness Blogs

This post easily received twice the traffic that the next most visited post, but I think that’s for a few reasons: 1) it’s the latest post and I’ve grown quite a bit since the beginning of this blog, 2) it featured other people who in turn sent their readers here, and 3) it’s really a great post to launch from.  I think a lot of people are recommending it.

Give it a Shot

If you do a 7 link challenge post in the fitness realm, I’ll link it up here.  I’ll also be posting other ones I find.  It’s really a great way to get a cross-section of someone’s blog fairly quickly.  It’s also a blast to write, so hit me up with what you’ve got.

TREKDZ76Y2QR

11 Simple Tips to be More Fit

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Looking back at what’s been done so far, I thought I’d give you ten easy tips that will help you be more fit:

  1. Be in the right mindset. Getting your mental game together will go a long way in improving your physical performance.  If you’re not where you need to be, identify the problem and neutralize it.  You mind can be the biggest hurdle in making yourself better.
  2. Drink enough water. Water is the thing that gives all things life.  It cleanses your system of toxins and allows you to extract energy from your food.  If you’re dehydrated, you’ll feel horrible and perform even worse.
  3. Work out. Really? Exercise is the basis of being fit coupled with a good diet. Get into a routine of working out at least three times a week for at least a half hour.  That’s a minimum.  If you can do more, do it. If you don’t exercise, you’ll never gain muscle and always be low on energy.  Don’t just exercise your body either.  Make sure you exercise your mind daily.
  4. Only eat carbs for energy and don’t over-do it. Having too many carbs will promote fat growth, but having too little will leave you starved for energy during your workouts.  You need carbs to build muscle.
  5. Use biofeedback to get the most out of your workout. Listening to your body is the best way to increase gains when you’re working out. Do range of motion tests before each exercise in your workout and you’ll get maximum results.
  6. Pick a diet that works for you. I’m talking about vegan, vegetarian, and omnivorous diets here. That whole South Beach, Atkins, Peanuts Only thing is just a gimmick.  Pick the one that fits your lifestyle and is the easiest for you.  I’m an omnivore myself.
  7. Eat high protein foods before and after you work out to build muscle. Get those proteins three hours before you work out and three to four hours afterward.  You’ll get maximum synthesis then and see excellent gains in muscle growth.  Of course only do it if that’s what you’re going for.
  8. Vary your workout to give tired muscles time to rest. If you give tired muscle groups that time to rest you can keep your heart rate up and give them some R&R at the same time. That will maximize your time to gain ratio.
  9. Don’t just worry about weight loss. Keep your mind on fitness, not weight loss.  Unhealthy weight loss can cause health problems later. Don’t sweat it out or starve it out.  Earn it.
  10. Cut out the alcohol. This is the single easiest way to lose weight and feel better. Alcohol dehydrates you and adds a ton of extra carbs and calories to you body that you don’t need.
  11. Strive for perfection and perpetual progress. This is the most important point.  Striving for daily perfection is what will keep you going forever. This will keep you from slipping back into your old habits. When applied to other facets of your life, you’ll only see positive things.

If you exercise (hah, see what I did there) those ten tips every day you will be well on your way to becoming more fit.  What tips do you have?

Weight Loss Isn’t Everything

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If you’re only on a fitness kick to lose some weight to look good for the summer, then your thinking is deeply flawed.  Being superficial about your health and wellness and doing it to look good will only get you so far. I will admit though: that’s better than not caring at all.

There is so much more to fitness than the finite goal of losing 5 or 10 or 100 pounds.  If you only strive to reach that goal you have a pretty good chance of falling back into old habits and losing everything you gained.  You need to get into the mindset of caring about your body and going beyond visible results.

Building Muscle

Building muscle will actually make you weigh more, but has added long-lasting effects beyond shedding fat.  You will feel better and have more energy, which if you haven’t heard – is a good thing.  Having more muscle also increases your metabolism, allowing you to enjoy those tasty foods you enjoy.  Don’t go overboard though.

Focusing on losing weight only could also come in the form of losing muscle, which you don’t want.  Reducing your body fat should be the only way you lose weight, otherwise you should be gaining weight in the form of muscle growth.  If you’re overweight now, don’t focus on that.  Focus on being healthy and growing muscle.  Everything else will fall into place.

Unhealthy Weight Loss

Losing too much weight too fast can have detrimental effects on your health.  Sweating out pounds or fasting for extended periods of time deprives your body of much needed nutrients and will cause health problems later. I always feel sorry for those Mixed Martial Arts fighters that have to sweat out pounds to meet their weight.  Couldn’t we just promote healthy sports?

Losing 25 pounds in 2 weeks isn’t something to be proud of if you only weight 150 pounds to begin with. A lot of that was probably water or muscle, and now you’re dehydrated and weak, leaving you susceptible to illness or worse. Being emaciated and tired isn’t what life is all about.

Christian Bale in the Machinist - Being emaciated and tired isn't what life is all about.

Let’s face it: if losing weight was all that mattered, we could all just pick up a nice healthy heroine habit and the pounds would just fall off.  Yeah.  That’s good for you.  If you didn’t pick up on the sarcasm there, I’m sorry.

Perfection in Both Mind and Body

Fitness isn’t just about a flat stomach.  It’s about striving for perfection both in mind and body.  Every time you reach your goal, set a new, more ambitious one.  Reach that goal too.  Getting into the mindset of perpetual progress will keep you healthy for years to come and spill over into other facets of your life in a positive way!

Striving for perfection is no easy task, but continuous growth will only lead to great things.  What seems hard now will be a breeze when you look back at it.  Remember when you couldn’t bench press the bar? Now you’re doing 265 pounds?! What?!

Please: tell me what your goals are.  Don’t just limit them to your own health and wellness.  Let’s talk ambitious life goals too!

Getting into a Fit Mindset

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Ok, so 90% of getting into shape is motivation.  There are a few different points of motivation where people tend to stumble.  You need to go to the gym, push yourself, and then go home and still have the willpower to eat healthy and stay away from food that is going to drag you down.  If you can’t get motivated to do all three of those things, there is a good chance you will fail.

I don’t want to start this post off by immediately saying you’ll fail, but I don’t want to feed you a bunch of high flying ideas that will get you motivated and then blow up in your face.  Being fit is hard work, and it doesn’t stop.  You need to be committed for life.  This isn’t a diet.  It’s a way of life.

Here are some techniques for overcoming those stumbling blocks at each of those milestones during each day:

Getting to the Gym

This is the one I have the hardest time with.  It’s really easy to get sucked into a project or just feel lazy and not go.  You need to commit to going to the gym on a regular basis and commit to it like it’s the most important thing in your life – because it is.  If you’re not already going to the gym or working out at home, just committing an hour one day a week is better than what you were doing.  I personally go to the gym for an hour and a half 3 to 4 days a week.  I don’t change the appointment for anything.

Pushing Yourself While Working Out

The next easiest thing to fall short on is pushing yourself while working out.  It’s really easy to knock the speed down on the treadmill or stop a few reps short because it’s difficult.  Get over it by focusing on micro-goals.  Keep an eye on the clock while you’re running and don’t stop until you make it to the end of the minute.  Once you make it to the end of that minute, take some pause for thought and go fifteen seconds more if you think you can handle it.  Give yourself rewards for setting personal records.  Try to set a personal record every day.

Eating Healthy

This is a double edged motivational hurdle.  You need to do two things: eat well and not eat crap food.  That means have salad and don’t have a sundae afterward.  I personally love food, so this is the hardest for me.  I love chicken wings, so what I do is go all week eating well and then have ten chicken wings on Friday night with some friends.  If you can go all week eating well, you can indulge a little bit, but the real kicker is making sure it’s only a little bit.

Conclusion

Remember: any improvement in your fitness over what you were doing is a positive gain.  Everyone should have a fitness goal, whether it’s to lose weight or gain muscle.  If you don’t have a goal, it is really easy to cheat.  When you cheat, you start to lean towards failure.  How do you stay motivated?