You started strength training and at first you were focused, fired up, and motivated. Now you're a few weeks or maybe even a few months in and all of a sudden it's lost it's shine a little bit.
Real talk for a moment. Initially lots of folks are excited about trianing and lifting. Lots of times however that motivation and excitement begins to fade after a few weeks or months. What do you do then?
It's not that you don't have the time or that you don't know how important lifting is for your health. You clearly do, otherwise you wouldn't have even started. But how do you keep going after that intitial motivation starts to wear thin and you encounter these thoughts or feelings of just really not wanting to do it?
Let's discuss some of the most common factors which play into this as well as what we can do to adress them. We'll talk about the "why" and then "what to do."
THE WHY: "The new has worn off, it's just not exciting anymore, or it's no longer a novelty."
I'ts not supposed to always feel new, you're not always going to be excited to do it, and all of that is perfectly normal. The reason you began working out probably wasn't because you truly thought it would be fun forever, or that you would be ecited to do it every single time. You began doing it because you knew it would improve your overall health and longevity. If we're honest with ourselves we're not always motivated or energized about doing many things we know we need to do (work, parenting, etc.). But we do them anyway because we see the value in the outcome of doing them.
WHAT TO DO: Instead of focusing on the way you feel about it right now, think about how you will feel an hour from now knowing that you got your workout done today. Then think about how you'd feel if you didn't.
This is one of the most common tools I use when trying to comabt the excuses that I allow myself to make. It allows me to shift my focus away from why I don't want to do something and re-locate it to a more positive and rewarding feeling. I try to remind myself why I started a certain task, behavior, or process. Then I think about how great it feels to have that sense of accomplishment when that task is done. And guess what, the time will pass anyway. So you may as well feel good about yourself after it does.
THE WHY: "I tried working out but I just didn't get results fast enough" or "Working out doesn't work for me."
In regards to the former, no program on the planet is going to work if you don't work the program. Most of the time the individuals saying results didn't come fast enough, or at all, aren't putting the emphasis they should on their nutrition or they have an incredibly unrealistic time frame. It's almost a belief of thinking they can out train a poor diet or or that they believe results should come fast simply because they really want them to. Unfortunately neither of those things are happening. As a result, progress is delayed and frustration sets in.
Regarding the latter, you didn't become out of shape overnight. Your resting heart rate didn't dramatically increase overnight. You didn't gain a ton of weight overnight. Why would we think we would be able to swing the pendulum in the opposite direction any quicker? We didn't care about any sort of time table when we weren't prioritizing our health. Do you think it's fair to hold ourselves to one now?
WHAT TO DO: In both situations stop putting time constraints on things and start focusing on being consistent with the fundamentals.
Having goals is great! But often times putting a time limit on them ends up being more of a deterrent than a helping hand, especially in the early going. If the time table isn't met lots of folks get discouraged, think it's a lost cause, and quit. Focusing on fundamental aspects of your overall health (strength training, nutrition, daily movement, stress reduction) and being consistent with them is the "secret" to long lasting results. Ironically, when you're consistent with the fundamentals the results will come in spades.
THE WHY: I don't know what to do?" or "I don't know what is optimal for me."
In a way I kind of understand this viewpoint. Lots of companies are vying for your money as well as your attention and all of them insist their products or their services are the best. So in a world where there are so many online ads, reviews that are bought and paid for, and straight up scam artists, how do you know what really is the "best" for you?
WHAT TO DO: The answer to both of these scenarios is one and the same. Ready for it? Just do something. Literally anything. That's it.
You'll never know what is the best or most optimal for you if you don't start somewhere. You need to acquire information or feedback for yourself. Without any info or feedback you have no place to navigate from. Essentially if you don't know where you currently are, you won't know how to get to where you're trying to go. Knowledge and information are power.
The more time and experience you have in the gym the more knowledgeable you'll be about what exercises are favorable for you, and most importantly which ones aren't. This is how you gather information or feedback that is specific to you so that you can know what to do. As far what's optimal, that's gonna be up to you to figure out over time after taking action and trying many different things. But one thing is for sure, paralysis by analysis sure ain't optimal.
In closing, everyone hits these types of roadblocks after the interest in strength training starts to falter. This is extremely common to almost every lifter I know. It's being aware of it and not letting it keep you from achieving your goals that becomes paramount..
For more more information on training and nutrition don't forget to subscribe to my podcast (The Dark Horse Podcast) available on Apple or Spotify. If there's a question or a topic you'd like to see covered let me know at darkhorseperformance@yahoo.com
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