Lost the motivation.

It is gone. Ever since vacation with the misses. I have come back to Virginia to remodeling the bathroom and working outside in this nasty weather. The heat kills me,it kills my appetite. I am hoping by posting this it will push back over the edge to lifting massive weights once more. I do not want to lose all I have worked for.

Step it up buddy. Honestly I am sure every single one of the people on this board has been in that situation before. The routine we get accustomed goes just slightly ascue, the motivation goes a little bit, or the frustration sets in and it just seems easier to let things fall how they may…dont do that. Whatever the reason, you have to get back to your goals. You set them for a reason dont let them slip away or everything that you have worked for regress. Take a rest week if need be…start back slow if need be

The heat kills you? Try working out in a loft with nothing but a ceiling fan and a small window when it’s 37Celsius outside! I end up literally dripping in sweat as if I jumped into a pool. Sometimes it’s really hard to breathe and you want to give up, but giving up is for pussies :wink:

loss of routine is right on the mark. since the power outtage on thursday i havent been able to get to the gym on friday or saturday and now its sunday, my off day and i dont have to time to get in there. my muscles are dying for a workout too.

Don’t do what I did and let your motivation slip for YEARS. I was a pretty gungho lifter until I bought a house a few years ago that needed a ton of work – in a part of town that was further from my gym. I started spending so much of every day trying to get the house under control that I never felt like I had time to make the drive to the gym. Months later, they finally opened gym that was closer to the new house and I started going more regularly again. But the intensity and motivation just weren’t there anymore. I’d let myself deprioritize it to the point that I was a lazy lifter. Only recently have I gotten the fire back, but now I’m years older, the battle is tougher and I’m struggling to get back to where I was.

There’s a post from June by Magnus called “gettin’ all zen on ya” or something like that. Read that and it will help you remember the good stuff about lifting. If that doesn’t work, get your beautiful wife to withhold sex until you get back to the gym. That should do it.

I think everyone who trains for a long time goes through up and down periods, especially once you get past the college years and start your career and family.

This always gets me back on track:

join the race to 200.

Yeah, just involve solo’s girl on this deal.

Tell her to start razzing you about looking thin and wimpy, and that she wants to go for the big bulky guys instead… lolol

I lie jwrights idea also.

Tek’s right. There are up and down periods for longtime lifters.

I call them “Much Needed Vacations”. Take the time to focus on other hobbies and you’ll know when your ready to get back in the gym.

And remember that the gym ain’t the only place you need to stay or get “fit”. There are many, many options that may help you overcome the training boredom.

I can sympathize with your heat problem. This heat wave in Europe has kicked my ass for weeks, now. No appetite, no desire to even move away from the fan…
Hang in there and thanks, Tek for the link to the past. That’s gotta be the best one ever. I need to print that out and put it in our gym at work.

Thanks for the replies. Just posting on this site alone helps with the motivation.

Tek: I was going to PM you but i could not find the PM link on you. That article was good thanks for bringing it to my attention.

I’m too busy remodeling a bathroom right now, myself, solo, so I know what it’s like. Training isn’t as frequent or as furious. Life is all about balance and sometimes other things get in the way, but the scales will tip back when the time is right. Don’t force it if you’re not up to it.

TEK,

Thanks from me too for posting that link.

Printed it for future reference…just incase someday I don’t feel like going to the gym.

Get re-focused Solo!! Have your gal whack ya one if the life sans sex doesn’t do it for ya.

daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn why does tek have to go posting an article like that when i still have 5 more hours of work to go. im itchin for my chest workout today (hopefully add another 10lbs to my max!)… especially since its been 4 days since i have made it into the gym with the power outage and all. my muscles are DYING to lift… i can feel it right now. i wanna pick up this 21" monitor and start doin presses…

Glad everyone liked my link! That’s one of my favorite all time T-mag articles. Here’s another one that I find motivating - more about real life than gym life, but inspiring nonetheless:

Solojobber, I chose not to receive PM’s because I felt that feature would take away from the forum as people would talk privately instead of posting. The forum seems to be doing just fine though, so maybe I was wrong about PM’s.

I can certainly sympathize. I am just getting “back in the game” after 4 1/2 months that truly defined SEDENTARY. It all started with one unplanned eating binge, and each day that went by I said that I would start up again the next day. A few months and 35 more lbs. later I literally could not fit into any of my clothes anymore (and definitely not in a good way).

I look back and wonder what the hell I was thinking. Now I’m back in the gym and I see a lot of people that used to praise me for my condition. Now I am trying to catch up to them. It is NOT a good feeling.

Everyone needs a periodic break, but you have to be disciplined enough not to let it get out of control. Usually when this happens to me I catch myself after a couple days or a week at the most, but this time it really got out of hand.

One thing that contributed to my demise (other than my lack of self-control) were stresses unrelated to the gym. I was having major issues with work and I set myself sink into a severe state of depression. Usually the gym is my sanctuary but this time I was so out of it that I wanted to be nowhere near there. Now I am working for a different company and my outlook has done a 180.

I guess what I’m trying to say is you might want to do some self-analysis and see if there are other things going on in your life that are contributing to your lack of motivation, be it work, family issues, etc. If so, do your best to resolve them and I think you’ll find that the rest falls back into place. For me anyway, if I don’t have any other issues I rarely lose motivation. And if you do decide that you really need a break, whatever you do find other activities to keep you active. Every day that goes by where you just lay on the couch and do nothing, it is that much harder to come back.

Best of luck!

Merry Christmas Bob is the best but here’s
a link that got me going again a few months
ago.

good link mikeh, reminds me of how I once felt as a skinny bastard (still am though but the fire is burning STRONG!!)

Good to see some positive posts here.

Most of us have been there- I’ve recently moved from the Japan to the US, had to drive cross-country, then find housing and am starting a new business.

Many many days when I couldn’t train and others when it all feels too much and I don’t feel it.

Just take count of all the positives in your life. You have a family, somewhere good to live, there is food, and you CAN go workout - and use that for motiviation. Thats really helped me.

Your lovely wife and kids should be motivation enough to keep your health!

T-Mag’s got your back