Fitness Mo-Mentum – Farmingdale Personal Trainer Teaches 5 Tips to Get and Stay Motivated

I have something to tell you that may shock you. Even though I’ve committed my life to motivating and inspiring others through our Farmingdale personal training,  I lack motivation sometimes. It’s true. Just last night I had trouble getting up and going to do my scheduled BJJ workout. I had to muster up everything I had to go to the gym. I was so glad that I went after. I felt incredible. Isn’t this often the case? It’s getting there that’s the hard part sometimes. If you lack motivation sometimes (if you have a pulse then you fall into this category), these 5 tips that have worked wonders for my clients and are sure to help you as well.

•  Break your goal into bite sized chunks – While it’s great to have BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals),  sometimes they can be overwhelming and can set you up for failure if you take the wrong approach. For instance, if you haven’t worked out in years, don’t set a goal of daily exercise for 1 hour. It’s too much to start with. I have been known to start clients with just 10 minutes a day.   You can even start with less.  A few minutes a day is better then nothing and it’s a start. Once the smaller chunk becomes a habit,  you can add to it. Remember,  Rome wasn’t built in a day.:)
• Have morning and nightly rituals – Darren Hardy,  in his great book The Compound Effect calls these rituals “book ends.”   It’s how you start and end the day. I personally write down my goals for the next day each evening and review them again in the morning. As a Farmingdale personal trainer,  I also like to workout as one of my best practices in the morning. These rituals help me stay focused and create momentum. Hardy calls this “Big Mo.” Another example of a GREAT morning or evening ritual is doing 5-15 minutes of using a PB Elite Molded Foam Roller or  a Foam Roller Plus. Both are 15% off!

• Just choose one thing – This is some of the best advice I can give you but it’s also hard to follow sometimes. Many times when we aren’t getting much done it’s because we have too much going on. It’s very difficult to focus our time and energy on multiple goals. Choose one important goal and focus on it like a laser until it’s done. Then you have my permission to focus on something else.
• Be inspired –  Inspiration is all around you. You just have to look a little. I have found inspiration through books,  magazine articles,  and movies. My favorite way to be inspired is through mentors. If I can find someone who has accomplished what I’m after and is willing to help me (sometimes for a fee),  I know it’s only a matter of time before I reach my goal. You don’t have to look hard to find inspiration at our Farmingdale personal training facility!
• Don’t be shy about it – Once you make your goal public,  you are putting some healthy pressure on yourself.   At our Farmingdale personal training studio, we have a goal board where many of our clients make their goals public!   Once you tell someone your plans,  you’ll find it difficult to back out and that’s a good thing. When I made my 6 week body transformation public, it kept me motivated and I thought twice about skipping workouts are eating any unsupportive foods. If you don’t have a blog, even telling a friend or family member about your goal will help keep you honest.

These 5 tips should help you get and stay motivated.  Now decide on a goal, write it out, and do something every day until it’s completed. Just realize that you will have good days and not so good days. This is completely normal. The main thing is that you refuse to give up and get right back to it. Looking forward to hearing of all your success!

For some extra pre-summer motivation,  check out our Drop 2 Sizes Challenge going on through our Farmingdale personal training location.  Sign up now as it is almost sold out.

Billy Hofacker, BS, NSCA-CPT