THERE ARE
ANY NUMBER OF REASONS THAT WE DECIDE TO EMBARK ON A PHYSICAL FITNESS
TRAINING PROGRAM. OF COURSE THE OBVIOUS IS THE DESIRE TO " GET IN SHAPE
", BUT WHAT EXACTLY DOES ONE MEAN WHEN THEY SAY THEY WANT TO " GET IN
SHAPE " ? WHAT MOTIVATES US TO BEGIN WITH, AND WHAT KEEPS US MOTIVATED ?
One
of the major reasons that people, and probably especially men, decide
to start weight training is to increase their strength. And undeniably
weight training will increase your strength when a proper
training regimen is followed, (you have been paying attention to the
other pages in this site, haven't you?). This is a very good source of
motivation, especially for those of us who must use our strength as
well as intelligence to make a living. Not everybody in this world
works at a desk 8 hours a day, and having the ability to work hard is a
necessity for many of us. Of course, this is also a reason for those
who do not have physically demanding occupations, to train regularly
with weights. All day, every day at a desk will quickly lead to
muscular atrophy, and possible obesity, unless steps are taken to keep
the body in proper functioning form. The programs that I detail are
geared for these circumstances, creating a lean, muscular, functioning
body, not a completely chiseled, veins poking out everywhere, unnatural
body. These programs are extremely effective for athletes also, because
they focus on working the entire body as a whole unit.
Have
you ever walked a few flights of stairs and wondered why you are
huffing and puffing so badly? In our specialized society, there is not
a lot of need for physical endurance for the average person. If you do
not push yourself beyond the comfortable range regularly, then soon you
will not be capable of it when it becomes necessary! Ride a bike, jog a
couple of miles, walk on a treadmill, or even just forget about getting
that great parking space, and walk from the far reaches of that huge
Wal-Mart parking lot. I cannot stress enough the old axiom; "use it, or lose it!".
This one is fairly simple,
the better your health, the longer you are apt to live, (barring
getting hit by a bus). Weight training combats muscle and bone
degradation usually associated with old age. Scientific research bears
this out, and even if it didn't, a sensible person should be able to
make the correlation.
NOW
we get to the heart of the matter indeed! I firmly believe that while
most people do care about the above factors, this is the one that
really motivates. I am not saying this is a bad thing. It is our nature
to try to attract the opposite sex, (or the same sex in some cases, but
I'm not going to get into that). And yet, it seems that while
we are bombarded with sex in our lives, by all forms of media, it still
is regarded as a unspeakable issue in many aspects. In my mind this
catch-22 is a very strange thing. Sex is the very reason for each and
every one of our existence. It is the very basis of life itself, yet it
is "dirty". I guess I'll never figure that one out. Anyway my point is
that as long as we are not totally self-centered and narcissistic,
there is not a thing wrong with wanting to increase your sexual appeal,
and it is a very strong motivating factor ! And who knows, you just
might get lucky!
ON-GOING MOTIVATION
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Sometimes I really don't
know how I, or anybody else for that matter, stay motivated. I know
that some mornings, crawling out of bed and facing a grueling weight
training session is the very last thing I want to do. However,
undeniably and without fail, after my workout I feel totally
re-energized and alive. Maybe this feeling alone is enough to keep you
motivated once you have experienced it.
The most important aspect
is to keep a positive outlook. When one first starts on a program to
improve their physical condition, often the changes happen very quick,
because the new diet and exercise is a drastic change from what your
body has been experiencing. This is obviously good for motivation.
However, after a period of time those initial gains and improvements
start to slow down and level out because your body has shed the initial
excess pounds, and you have increased your strength and endurance up to
an initial state of what you might call "physical equilibrium". This
does not mean whatsoever that you have reached your peak. On the
contrary, you are actually just beginning, but now the changes are much
more subtle, and are going to come much slower. This is the point when
many people get frustrated and give up. This is why gym memberships
tend to dwindle after the first couple of months every year. Those New
Years resolutions to get in shape showed initial promise, but the
results are now slower in coming, so people stop going to the gym, and
they give up on proper dietary habits. This is a big mistake, because
the reverse changes will also come slowly. You will still be in pretty
good shape after not working out for a few weeks, and that may lead you
to think that you can continue to slack off. Rest assured, your body
will revert back to it's former out of shape self, I know this from
personal experience.
Your body adapts at it's
own pace, and you cannot change that. Look at the positive side of your
progress. Maybe you manged to eke out one more rep on the bench press
or squat after being stuck on a plateau for a month. Maybe you added 5
lbs. to the bar when you did curls, or maybe you ran a half a mile
farther this week than you did three weeks ago. These may seem like
inconsequential gains, but actually they are of utmost importance. They
serve to prove that your body is indeed progressing. Maybe that
progression is not as fast as any of us would like, but the alternative
is the inevitable deterioration that will come if you remain sedentary,
and that in itself is motivation for me!
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