Beautiful Booty!

If losing pounds is as easy as journalling about what you put in your mouth, can you use the same technique to help you stick to a fitness routine?

Dieters who keep a food diary lose twice as much weight as those who kept no records, according to a recent study by Kaiser Permanente’s Centre for Health Research. But while keeping a journal holds you more accountable for how you treat your body, sticking to a fitness routine is different from sticking to a healthy eating routine. Personal trainers we talked to recommend these tactics to keep you motivated and inspired to work out.

1. Change Your Perspective

Shift your thinking from couch potato mentality to thinking like an athlete. This may sound like a big challenge, but it’s not as big a leap as you think. Essex, Massachusetts mother April Bowling, 33, stopped using her busy life as an excuse not to exercise. After the birth of her children (now ages 5 and 3), Bowling started viewing exercise as a way to set a strong example for her kids.

Bowling started thinking about her workouts at odd hours as a blessing rather than a sacrifice. She also found inspiration in others, looking outward for extra motivation. “Take inspiration from everyone you meet."

2. Set a Goal

There’s nothing more motivating, sometimes even scary, than that first 5K looming in bold letters on the calendar. Register early and commit to an exercise program that will get you in shape by race day.

“Set realistic goals that include clear milestones, and as you progress toward your goal, you’ll find a ripple effect occurs and things fall into place in your work, home life and health,” says Stacy Fowler, a Denver-based personal trainer and life coach.

The goal doesn't even have to be an organized race. Maybe it’s a mission to fit into that bikini by the annual beach vacation or that old pair of jeans buried in your closet. Whatever it is is, define it, write it down and revisit it daily.

Make sure it’s realistic and you can actually adapt your life around meeting the goal, says Philip Haberstro, executive director of the National Association for Health and Fitness in Buffalo, N.Y. 

3. Schedule a Regular Workout Time

Some of the most committed exercisers do it every day before the sun comes up or late at night when the kids are in bed. Sit down with your weekly schedule and try to build in an hour each day to be good to your body.

Tamira Cole, 24, a graduate student in Clarksville,Tenn., was motivated to exercise regularly by the energy boost it brought to her day. “It’s easy to stay in bed. But you have to set an alarm and take the extra initiative,” she says. “Then you’ll find you have more energy and can be more efficient throughout the day.”

If you convince yourself you’ll fit in a workout some time after that last meeting, once the kids go down for a nap or when your spouse arrives home on time, failure is certain. Chances are a last-minute invitation will come along; weather will foil a bike ride; or the kids won’t nap. Write your workout on your calendar, set up daycare, and rearrange things around this one hour as if were any other important appointment you have to keep.

4. Think Fun and Variety

By nature, humans need change and variety to stay motivated. We also need to have fun, even while we’re working hard. 

Whether it’s a toning and sculpting class that changes choreography every week or a trail run that changes scenery every season, design your exercise routine around a variety of exercise methods. Make sure you include activities you truly enjoy and look forward to doing. Think movement that's more like recreation and makes you forget you're working out, like dancing, hula hooping or playing sports with family and friends.

Workout variety also challenges your body in unique ways, which may introduce you to new muscle groups you didn't even know you had!

5. Reach Out to Others for Support

In America, some tend to have trouble asking for help, says Bowling. Yet in order to stick to a fitness program, we need buy-in and encouragement from other people.

“Exercising is built into our family life," Bowling adds. “We view it as a necessity. Sometimes it takes the place of watching TV together.”

For others, it’s finding a friend with a shared zest for running, and planning scheduled workouts together. It’s easy to hit the snooze button when it’s just you, but much harder to leave a friend waiting at the track.

Consider joining a social networking site or on-line community with fitness trainers and nutrition experts, and support from other people trying to lose weight and maintain healthy eating and exercise routines. People who get this kind of on-line support are proven to lose three times more weight than people going it alone.

So start thinking of yourself as an athlete, and not a spectator. Set a goal, enlist a friend, mark it on your calendar and have some fun. You’ll be setting yourself up for a lifetime of better health, more happiness, and more energy for everything else in your life.

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MOTIVATION

MOTIVATION = SUCCESS

The hardest thing about motivation, is keeping it.

We all have bursts of enthusiasm or feel "really motivated today", but it's the people who keep going to the gym, no matter what the weather is like or how tired they are feeling, are the ones who truly motivated.

Don't let your motivation slip, when you feel tired think why you started, think about how far you have come and how far you are capable of going.

It's too easy not to bother today, it's too easy to make excuses, at the end of the day when you are laid in bed you will know that you "gave in".

What a total waste of time, money and effort! You are better than that, if you feel tired workout, I guarantee you will feel revitalised and refreshed at the end of the session.

Stay motivated and prove to yourself that you can succeed and change your life......  

How To Get Motivated For Exercise

Imagine if you had a routine that could pull you into "exercise mode," no matter how little motivation you had at the start.

If you look at top performers in any field, you'll see similar patterns all over the place. NBA players who do the same thing before every free throw shot. Comedians who recite the same words before they step onto stage. Corporate executives who follow the same meditation sequence every morning.

Do you think these people always feel motivated? No way. There are some days when the most talented people in the world wake up feeling like sluggish lard bombs. But they use their pre-game routines to pull them into the right mental state, regardless of how they feel.

 How You Can Do It

Step 1: So Easy You Can't Say No

A good pre-workout routine starts by being so easy that you can't say no to it. You shouldn't need motivation to start your pre-workout routine.

For example...

My weightlifting routine starts by putting on my lifting shoes. So easy, I can't say no.

The most important part of any task is starting. If you can't get motivated in the beginning, then you'll find that motivation often comes after starting. That's why your pre-workout routine needs to be incredibly easy to start.

You could create an exercise routine that starts with filling up your water bottle. That way, when you don't feel like working out, you can simply tell yourself, "Just fill up the water bottle." Your only goal is to start the routine and then continue from there.

Step 2: Get Moving

Your routine should get you moving toward the end goal.

Most of the time, your routine should include physical movement. It's hard to think yourself into getting motivated.

Here's why...

What is your body language like when you're feeling unmotivated or lacking energy?

Answer: You're not moving very much. Maybe you're slumped over like a blob, slowly melting into the couch. This lack of physical movement is directly linked to a lack of mental energy.

The opposite is also true. If you're physically moving and engaged, then it's far more likely that you'll feel mentally engaged and energized. For example, it's almost impossible to not feel vibrant, awake, and energized when you're dancing.

While your routine should be as easy as possible to start, it should gradually transition into more and more physical movement. Your mind and your motivation will follow your physical movement.

Step 3: Do It Even When You Don't Have To

You need to follow the same pattern every single time.

The primary purpose of your pre-workout routine is to create a series of events that you always perform before doing a specific task. Your pre-workout routine tells your mind, "This is what happens before I exercise.

Eventually, this routine becomes so tied to your performance that by simply doing the routine, you are pulled into a mental state that is primed to perform. You don't need motivation, you just need to start your routine.

This is important because when you don't feel motivated, it's often too much work to figure out what you should do next. When faced with another decision, you will often decide to just quit. However, the pre-workout routine solves that problem because you know exactly what to do next. There's no debating or decision making. You just follow the pattern.

Make Excellence a Routine...

You can train yourself for success just as well as you can train for failure.

Today you may be saying, "I need to be motivated to get anything done," but I guarantee that it doesn't have to be that way. If you've taught yourself to believe certain limitations, then you can also teach yourself to break through them.

The patterns that you repeat on a daily basis will eventually form the identity that you believe in and the actions that you take. You can transform your identity and become the type of person who doesn't need motivation to perform well.

This is the difference between approaching life as a professional or an amateur.

If you only work when you feel motivated, then you'll never be consistent enough to become a pro. But if you build small routines and patterns that help you overcome the daily battles, then you'll continue the slow march towards greatness even when it gets tough.

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How To Keep Motivated To Exercise

Keeping motivated to exercise effectively is an obstacle that many people fail to over come. 

 There are many different reasons for this, some are genuine problems (injury or illness) but the vast majority are excuses or the simple fact that the person just doesn't want to change their life style.

The first, and in my opinion the most important hurdle to face on your weight loss journey is, mind set.  If you don't change your mind set through the process of self analysis, then there is little hope of success. Everyone who hopes to lose weight, has some area in their life that they must change, in order to reach the goals they hope to achieve. This could involve any or several of the following factors:

Exercise - Diet - Alcohol - Sleep

Until the above factors are considered, and any problems addressed, and changes made there is no point in trying to lose weight over the "long term". The correct mind set requires a person to self analyse, identify the problem and change it! This is a black and white fact! Cutting down or reducing is simply not good enough if you are serious about mind set change!

The video below illustrates exactly the attitude and mind set that is required to succeed and change your life. Motivation can be found in many places, but it is all worthless unless you have the correct mind set, to listen, read or watch and then take that inspiration into the gym, and drive forward ignoring the pain. 

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You know that you want to look and feel fitter and healthier. 

You know that you will feel better after a workout, yet you just can't bridge the gap between lying on the sofa, thinking about exercise and actually doing it. "Knowing what is good for you and wanting to do it is, alone, not sufficient to make sustainable behaviour changes," says Dr Falko Sniehotta, a psychologist at the University of Aberdeen. "The proverb, 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions', is backed up by science. There is often a substantial gap between our intentions and our behaviour."

The problem for many of us is that exercise is not a habit or routine but an obligation or a chore and for that reason is readily pushed off the agenda. "The hard part about getting fit is starting," says Amelia Watts, an exercise coach. "Once you get into a rhythm of regular exercise, it becomes a habit and you just get on with it." A study from the University of Alberta found just that: people who exercise regularly don't spend time weighing up the pros and cons of a workout.

It also helps if the activities you choose are easily accessible. Sniehotta says: "Planning is one of the most important strategies in instigating behaviour change. Planning in advance and in detail when, where and how you will exercise, and implementing coping plans (how to deal with setbacks and obstacles, such as bad weather) will increase the chances of successful behaviour change." Simple strategies, such as laying out your running kit or packing the gym bag the night before, can help. Some studies have shown that people who exercise in the morning are more likely to stick at it than those who leave it till later in the day, when there has been plenty of time to talk themselves out of it. Plus a recent study by Glasgow University found that morning exercise enhances mood 30% more than evening exertion. Exercise at any time of day, though, is better than none, and consistency is important. "Try to schedule your workouts for the same time each day,' says Dr Costas Karageorghis, reader in sport psychology at Brunel University. "We are creatures of habit and having a regular routine is important."

Stimulation and variety also help. "Working out on your own all the time is not a recipe for success," says Karageorghis. "A training partner fulfils a basic human need for socialisation."

One study at the University of Florida found that exercisers who repeated the same workout over and over were more likely to quit than people who rotated three varied workouts each week. "The gym can be a very sterile environment," says Karageorghis. "If yours is part of a chain offering nationwide access, why not visit a different branch occasionally, for a change of scene?" he says.

Watts suggests: "Cycle one of your running routes. Go to an open-air pool instead of the indoor one. Drive somewhere beautiful to run or use a machine you've never used before at the gym."

While you may not have your sights set on a marathon, it is still important to set goals. "A goal doesn't have to be a race or reaching a specific weight," says Watts. "It could be to complete three workouts a week." Writing goals down to record how you progress is a useful strategy. Watts also suggests recording evidence to show how your body changes as you get more fit: taking measurements, for example, or even photographs.

 Top Tips To Boost Your Motivation

 Make a deal with yourself to do 10 minutes and you will probably end up completing a full workout.

Get your kit on Get up or go home and put on your workout clothes. Once they are on, you'll feel you may as well make use of them.

Psych yourself up Listening to uplifting music before and during exercise can be beneficial.

A workout buddy gives you a moral obligation to turn up, introduces an element of rivalry to push you harder and offers feedback, support and fun.

Focus only on the moment and before you know it, you'll be cooling down.

 Visualisation is a very powerful mental strategy, but be careful. "If you see yourself sprawled on the sofa, feeling guilty about not being at the gym, your mind will take on board those negative feelings," says exercise coach Amelia Watts. "Better to visualise yourself exercising and feeling good. See yourself on the home stretch of a run - imagine how good you feel, what you might hear, smell and see when you put your key in the door."

Bribe yourself, set yourself rewards for achieving goals & targets along the way.








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