I think that everyone (especially the guys who have been lifting for years +) have times when the motivation for working out is a little on the low side. So, I was just wondering what everyone does to sike themselves up everyday? What kind of things get you motivated/energized to kick some serious ass in the gym?
I know personally that intensity is key, but its not always so easy to be 100% at 5am everymorning.
I figure this could be the time for everyone to reaffirm why we do this shit everyday, and can also serve as inspiration to others out there who might be feeling more like an E-Man than a T-Man>
Thoughts??
To be honest…its just my lifestyle to go to the gym everyday. For me atleast…I feel like a piece of shit if I dont go to the gym (unless it is a scheduled day off). I rarely ever “skip” a day and if I do…its for a good reason. Also, keeping an exercise log helps out tremendously. Just being able to see my progress motivates me to lift heavier each workout.
you either have it or you dont. you can have it for a little while but if its not in you then it will not stay. If you even have to ask then you probably dont have it. thats just the truth.
goldberg,
are you saying there is a never a day when you don’t really feel like working out or are tired? I disagree, i love the gym and i love working out as much as anybody but there are times when my body gets tired and i don’t really feel like lifting. i usually do anyway and sometimes those are my best workouts but i don’t necessarily think that means “i don’t have it” because i definitely do.
My motivation comes from the realization that when I reach my user name (Squat 700x3) strength level I will be able to drag any redneck, hypocrit, tiny dicked, republican, with a dog faced woman, out of his SUV/pickup truck at a redlight; beat the shit out of him, take his keys, and then go to a democratic/reform party meeting. Bush is a pussy who needs alot of backup!!!
Sure, there are many days when I’m tired or just not “feeling it.” But I usually go to the gym and do my thing. Sometimes, it takes me a minute to focus on the task at hand, but once I get started, I’m usually good to go.
If I’m overly tired or feeling bad, I’ll cut back the volume for the day, but I’ll get right back to it the next time.
For the periods of time (in the past) where I lost motivation for weeks and months at a time, all it took was a good kick in the ass and a decision to get myself on track. This happened last year. I went into an unmotivated state from May until about October. Even though I was training, it wasn’t the best training I had, and I was eating as clean as I usually did. As I kept losing strength and size and gaining fat, I knew I had to do something.
I made up my mind to get back on Renegade Training. I’ve been doing that since November. I’ve made awesome progress, and I’m doing what I enjoy and what works for me the best. I have a few more weeks of my current Renegade program and then I’m switching gears to another Renegade program. This is what I love most. It makes me feel good, keeps me healthy and makes me look good too. That is motivation enough, even when I am feeling tired or run down every now and then.
Goldberg,
I wasn’t asking what motivates you just so i can be motivated. I just know that everyone has “down times” and that reading other people’s motivations, like Squat700’s, as obnoxious as it is, gives me even more fire to go into the gym and start tearing shit up. Personally, what gets me motivated is when i go into the gym and see those pussy pencil dicks with the tight ass tank tops and the wind breaker pants (covering their lower body cause you know they dont work out legs), then i go do my 8 reps of 325 on squats, give em a dirty look, and I’m on my way…
Goldberg, I disagree. You saying that if you are not motivated ALL the time you should just give it up because it’s not in you. Everyone becomes unmotivated sometimes and need some motivation.
I look in the mirror and say out loud “do you want to look this pathetic for the rest of your life?” and that gets me going. Doesn’t matter how good I might look, I still think I look like shit and am never satisfied. When I’m walking down the street and see a gorgeous piece of ass, that doesn’t hurt, either.
I should also add that in my three years of training, I have never dreaded a workout or even skipped a workout unless something absolutely urgent has come up. It’s like a fire that burns in my gut. At work I sit and plan out my workouts- exercies, reps, tempo, etc and think through every possible detail. I even visualize the entire experience long before I even hit the gym. The fire in my belly is what motivates me. The day the fire burns out, I’m finished.
CGB…kudos my man!! I agree with what you stated…“its a fire in my belly.” I stated previosly in this thread that working out is just my lifestyle, I dont need to remind myself to go to the gym and I never dread going. Granted, there are times when I say to myself, “shit…I have to do legs today, this is going to hurt.” and I briefly wince…but other than that, my ass is ready to go…haha. I’m like you in the sense that I sit at work and plan my routine ahead of time and I visualize myself going through the workout.
When I have a long day at work and come home to a house of screamin kids. Their are times i am very unmotivated. i just suck it up because I know once I get in the gym I will be in the groove.
Here is what I tell people: Go to a hospital and visit people in the intensive care unit.
Ask yourself if you ever want to feel like they do. If that does not motivate you, then get a nice couch and a remote control and plug into the matrix. Sounds brutal right? Well it is, but those who wait for someone or something to motivate them are never successfull in any field.
By the way Intensity, my post is not directed at you. Just a general point that I make withh my people I come across who have a lot of excuses and expect others to motivate them.
You know, the hardest days for me seem to be the ones I look forward to the most. I really don’t enjoy working my quads and heck, shoulder day is always nasty, but I itch all day long to get to the gym and crack into my workout, face down these uglies and blow the shit out of them. Unless I give my best, my body has beaten me as far as I’m concerned and I won’t let that happen, so I approach it like a challenge and who here doesn’t like a challenge? It’s war and I’m not about to lose.