What motivates you?
No doubt there are many layers to that onion.
There is always a balance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation needed to sustain healthy habits. This will shift depending on your goals and experience.
Popular “fitspiration” memes (and now whole Instagram accounts) attempt to appeal to both sides of the coin with
1) Hot models
2) Get-off-your-ass motivational quotes
How effective is this for actually getting you off your ass 4 days a week for 6+ months? I’m not sure, but I’d wager not very.
Consider that you’re looking at an electronic screen (probably something we should all be doing less of) with a picture of someone you don’t even know. If a picture says a thousand words, how many paragraphs would be needed to explain the role of drugs, lighting, and photoshop?
There exists another source of motivation that I’ve seen work very well first hand. One that is decidedly organic.
Friend-spiration.
This is drawing motivation from a fellow workout buddy.
You see their work, and share the successes and struggles and friendly competition of the gym.
As a trainer, I’m realizing more every day that my job is not to simply give clients motivation, but rather to discover and support ways they can express their best, strongest selves. Offering friend-spiration to each other is a big part of that.
Speaking of having fun with strong friends, we are quickly approaching the Spring Strength Challenge!
Click here for details and registration.
