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| As my first contribution to Teenbodybuilding.com, I have decided to write this article on motivation. It's something I have trouble with now and again... |
"I CAN'T GET MOTIVATED!!"
By: Big Joe
As my first contribution to Teenbodybuilding.com, I have decided to write
this article on motivation. It's something I have trouble with now and again
and I know some people just can't ever get motivated. In fact, I think most
people can't. If they could, they'd all be huge, wouldn't they? Anyway...
I've always had a lot of respect for bodybuilders; not just because of their
bodies but because of the dedication, determination, blood, sweat and
sometimes tears this magnificent breed of men and women put into their
sport. They would not be able to follow such strict diet and training
regimes without this one magical thing called motivation.
According to the oxford dictionary, motivation is the thing which "causes a
person to act in a particular way." According to me, motivation is the thing
which separates success from failure - the thing that, along with genetics,
earns people the title of "Mr. Universe" or "Mr. Olympia". Motivation in
undoubtedly the most important factor in the career of a bodybuilder.
PICTURES!
Pictures can be a great motivational tool! Many bodybuilders stick up photos
of their favorite bodybuilders to give them something to work towards.
Also, if you are just starting out, or even if you're quite advanced, try
taking some pics and sticking them up. Every couple of months take another
photo and stick it up so that you can track your progress. I find these
visual training logs are a lot more useful than pen and paper - you can
really see your progress and it's not just a few numbers on the back page of
a notebook.
SPORT!
I'm not saying that bodybuilding is not a sport, just that it is a slow one.
You have to spend a long time working up to an event which will probably
only last a day. A good sport to take up is boxing - it keeps you fit and
gives you the boost in the gym that next time you take off your shirt to
batter hell out of your opponent, you will be that much bigger and stronger.
Any sport is good though so long as it is competitive and you can work
towards a short-term goal. Oh yeah, and as long as you stick to doing it
only once per week, you shouldn't burn off too much muscle. You could try
incorporating it into your cardio.
TRAINING PARTNER!
The value of a permanent training partner is often overlooked. As well as
helping you achieve your bodybuilding goals by screaming encouragement in
the gym, a training partner can also be a great motivational aid outside the
gym - not directly but training partners are always competing against each
other. I know there are those bodybuilders out there who will say they
bodybuild for themselves and they don't care how good they look compared to
others, but I reckon most of them are lying. Competing against one another
is no bad thing and a bit of friendly rivalry never hurt anyone!
REWARDS!
I know this doesn't work for everyone - you have to have quite a lot of self
control to be able to do it in the first place, but setting rewards for
yourself is the way forward for some bodybuilders. For example, you could
say something like "I will take that trip to Hawaii if I reach my goal
weight by the end of the month." Even if you don't make your goal weight,
you could book the trip if you think you've worked hard and deserve it. You
could even say something as simple as "I will order a pizza and have some
mates around if I do all my scheduled workouts for this week and don't
slack". However, be sure not to fall into the trap of inviting mates around
or booking trips to Hawaii if you don't reach your goals. This won't do you
any good and all it will mean is that you keep screwing up your diet and
training regime for nothing.
AGGRESSION!
Obviously, controlled aggression will help you in the gym - it's one of the
reasons steroids work so well (not that I'm condoning there use - they have
side effects). But what has it got to do with motivation? Well I'm not
talking about aggression in general - I'm talking about aggression that can
build up during the day. If you work in a stuffy office and you've just lost
your Christmas bonus and you've spent the day going through a huge pile of
paperwork, you are undoubtedly going to have at least some aggression in
your mind. One way of winding down after a hard day at the office is to have
a long relaxing soak in the bath and eat a tub of expensive ice cream, but
let's face it.
We're men for a start and that kind of thing's not supposed
to appeal and, as bodybuilders, a tub of ice cream 3 nights a week is not
going to do us a much good as a hard workout. A hard workout will, however,
help you to wind down. True - it will probably wind you up first, but some
activities, especially such things as punching a punch bag, will actually
let you "use up" all that aggression you have inside you and become a nicer
person J . Basically, another good reason to go to the gym - remember to
always use your aggression to your advantage!
Big Joe
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