Like I mentioned in a post from last month, Tony Horton wrote a series of race tips for the National Press Club’s 5k “Beat the Deadline” benefit race for which he is the honorary Race Marshal – the race is this coming Saturday, July 17. I posted a link to the tips in my earlier post, but I thought it might be helpful to repost the tips here. I’ll re-post the tips each day for the next 5 days. The tips are written for the 5k benefit race, but they apply to any type of training. Read on and enjoy.
Week 1: Staying Motivated
There are several themes that rise to the surface on the P90X® Message Boards, and one of the most popular themes is MOTIVATION. How does anyone accomplish anything without staying motivated?
Getting from A to Z only comes with commitment. Being committed is one thing, but for many of us, staying committed and motivated seems impossible at times.
It’s easy to think of valid and legitimate reasons NOT to do exercise on any given day. We get sick and tired, overwhelmed, discouraged, overworked, and stressed out, and we travel too much and undersleep, and well, the list goes on. So what do we do about it? QUIT! Some of us do. What about the people who don’t quit? Why are some folks successful and others aren’t? The answer is that the successful, committed, and motivated people have tricks. They’ve found a way to do it anyway. Here’s my list that will help keep you motivated:
- Stop beating yourself up if you miss a workout! It’s OK to miss a workout once in a while. It doesn’t mean the whole thing has gone to hell in a handbasket. Life happens. Priorities shifted that day. So what? Start where you left off. No big deal.
- Don’t freak out if you don’t see results in the first 30 to 50 days. What, no results in the first month and a half? See, I knew you’d freak out. The point I’m trying to make here is that we all have a different starting point. Some will see results the first week. Based on age, body weight, how out of shape they were when they started, flexibility, athletic backgroubnd, etc., others will have to wait a little longer.
- On your most exhausting, overwhelming, lackluster days, stick the DVD in the player and see what happens. Be fully committed to having a lousy workout. You must be OK with the fact you will be weak and puny and rotten at it. Any workout, no matter how bad it is, is always better than NO workout at all. You just can’t feel bad after a workout. Ever! If you’ve got good energy and you do the best you can, you’ll have a great workout. If your energy and motivation are in the toilet and you do it anyway (even poorly), you’ve had a great workout!
- Buy a calendar and a big, fat red marker. For those of you who are having trouble with motivation, I want you to place this calendar where you see it all the time-on the front door, bathroom mirror, or refrigerator, or next to the TV, etc. For every day you workout, write a big, fat red X. You might also want to write down if it was a Sculpt or Cardio day. I still do this after 20 plus years of training. X means I showed up. No X means I didn’t show up.
- I want you to write this on your calendar: THE JOY OF DISCIPLINE OR THE PAIN OF REGRET, WHICH WILL IT BE TODAY?
Well, I hope that keeps the fire burning. We have this powerful temple called the human body. If we treat it right, the world is our playground.
Power on!
Tony H.
* Tony Horton is the inventor of the world-famous P90X Extreme Home Fitness System.
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