Making the decision to improve your fitness levels requires serious motivation. In fact, it’s often said that starting any new training regime is the hardest part of all, but in reality staying the course is more complicated than that. It’s true that you can’t make positive lifestyle changes without first making the effort to get started, but maintaining that motivation once the initial novelty of hitting the gym has worn off could be the truest test of your mental grit and physical discipline.
Everyone, from newbie to elite level athletes, will suffer ups and downs with training, so how do we stay consistent when everyday life stresses, work, and a multitude of other commitments that threaten to derail our progress in the gym?
In talking exclusively to Dr. Brian Cole, who serves as team physician for the Chicago Bulls & Chicago White Sox, and Conrad Louis, who is certified by the National Council on Strength & Fitness, it becomes clear that many factors are at play when it comes to gaining and then maintaining results.
Both of these respected health and fitness experts recently participated in Optimum Nutrition’s ‘Better Than Before program,’ a free week of live streaming events, held at a time when concern for America’s health has never been greater. The online series attempted to address a number of issues around working out, taking care of injuries, and how to stay consistent with your training regime. With all this in mind, Muscle & Fitness sat down with both men to create a valuable roadmap of 9 ways you can power through the good and bad days to become an undefeated gym champion.
ON’s Better Than Before campaign covered various important aspects of mental and physical health. You can access the entire week of free streaming events on their YouTube Channel.
Whether we’re talking about an Olympic Gold medallist, an Instagram fitness god, or a complete gym beginner, we all had to start somewhere. Don’t be downhearted because others may seem to have made more progress than you. We all start at different points in our own abilities, so don’t let their successes be a barrier to your own goals. Be inspired by those that are further down the road than you are at this moment. Don’t be intimidated by the buff bodies in your local gym. They should serve as proof that time and effort brings rewards, however modest they may be in the beginning.
“Just get moving! Walking is hugely beneficial. Start with taking walks, then up the ante with some simple bodyweight exercises. If you’re already an athlete, maybe start at a higher pace, but listen to your body. Consistency is key. Remember to stretch before, and after, and don’t push yourself too hard in the beginning,” says Conrad Louis.
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Train S.M.A.R.T.
Routine is everything but making the most from that routine can be a challenge. Dr. Cole teaches that to get the most from our workout time, we need to focus on goal setting. Never underestimate the importance of setting SMART goals:
Specific: Focus on a specific goal like completing a 5k run by December 31, for example. You can even choose a location for the run and a partner to do it with. Avoiding vague goals and owning a grip on what you want to achieve will keep you on track.
Measurable: We all want to be the “best version of ourselves,” but we need to log ways of measuring what that means, so that we know if we are making progress or not.
Attainable: Be realistic about your goals so that the weights are not stacked against you from the very start. You can incrementally increase the toughness of each goal, and this will provide you with the confidence you need to keep going.
Relevant: If the training isn’t stimulating you, switch it up. Don’t run marathons if you’re a natural sprinter, do what is relevant to your interests.
Time-bound: Set a hard deadline on those goals, and don’t be tempted to move them back. There’s always a good excuse for postponing your goals, but that doesn’t mean you should do it. Tell others about your deadline and do everything in your power to stick to it.
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Don’t wait around for motivation to strike
With the pressures of work, family, and challenging world events, it’s hardly surprising that we don’t all wake up each day bursting with motivation. But when you learn to accept that motivation levels go up and down for us all, we must find a way to plough on during those lethargic days.
“First, it’s important to realize that a lot of people struggle. An Optimum Nutrition survey showed 1-in-3 respondents cite motivation as the biggest barrier to improving themselves. I say, don’t wait to be motivated! The worst thing you can do is sit around waiting for motivation or confidence that isn’t going to just materialize. The fact is you just have to get out there. Make a plan and act on it and the confidence will follow. And remember, most people are too invested in their own journey to be overly concerned about yours,” says Conrad Louis.
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Surround yourself with positive influences
You may have noticed that many people seem to have a problem with seeing others succeed, so don’t allow the insecurities of friends and family to be projected on to you. Training hard and pushing your own limits means shutting out some of those negative voices. Make sure to surround yourself with positive people who will encourage and support you in reaching your goals.
“This is incredibly important. In medicine we talk about the ‘family history,’ because many diseases have a genetic component, but just as important is the ‘social history,’ because our health is so closely linked to our lifestyles and the people that we surround ourselves with. In pro sports, the best teams are the ones that have coaches and leaders within the team who hold each other accountable, push each other, and support each other,” says Dr Cole.
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Keep an open mind
For many of us, gym sessions are a solitary affair where we spend quality time with ourselves, focusing on making progress and getting closer to our goals, but don’t be closed-off to good advice that could actually prove to move your physical targets closer. If a training partner, coach or gym staffer has some words of wisdom for you, keep an open mind.
“A lot of athletes have an alpha mentality. They’re confident, but may have a tendency to stick to what they know. For example, a talented pro football player might make a mediocre fitness scientist, and lifting a lot of weights doesn’t make you an expert at weight training. So, mastering one part of the equation doesn’t mean you’ve solved the whole thing. My advice to athletes is to keep an open mind and to recognize that there are still things to learn. Cutting yourself off from something new in diet or fitness, not being open to new ideas, is the biggest mistake I see,” says Conrad Louis.
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Don’t let stress become an excuse
While stress will attempt to sap your motivation and send you to the couch rather than the gym, the truth is that a good training session can restore balance and help shake off a difficult day.
“It’s about the mindset. We should not be thinking ‘I’m so stressed, how could I possibly exercise?’ Instead we’ve got to think ‘exercise is a key tool I have for handling all this stress, how could I afford to not exercise at a time like this?’” says Dr. Cole.
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Age is just a number
There is no age limit at the gym door so as you mature, don’t be tempted you put your fitness journey behind you.
“No one is ever ‘too old’ or ‘too out of shape’ to start a fitness routine. In fact, as we get older, it becomes more and more important that we maintain our physical fitness. The health benefits of exercise in older adults really are immense. In fact, research has shown that physical activity helps support cognitive function too,” says Dr. Cole.
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Work around those injuries
Injuries often provide an excuse to skip the gym altogether but if you have a bad knee, you can still lift from a seated position. In fact, the changing up of your routine might even serve to shock your body into making some serious progress.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way. There are so many options out there for fitness activities that almost everyone can participate in one way or another. A lot of our players actually work harder on their fitness when they’re out with significant injuries. We’ve seen athletes put on 10-15 lbs of muscle when they’re out with ACL injuries for example. They come back even stronger than pre-injury. If someone has an injury or disability that is keeping them from exercising then they can reach out to a fitness professional, certified personal trainer, or even a physical therapist to help them come up with adaptable routines,” says Dr. Cole.
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Look after yourself
Last but not least, if you’re going to put your body through sustained physical training, make sure you treat it with the respect that it deserves. The proper nutrition, alongside rest and recovery, can be just as important to your progress as all those hours sweating it out in the gym.
“When I don’t sleep enough, it messes with my mood and energy. Mole hills become mountains. I’m not motivated to go to the gym. It really hinders my routine. I think most of us notice that a lack of sleep may make us less mentally focused, and less prepared to handle stress or complex tasks. It also really impacts the body. Sleep is so important for recovery,” says Conrad Louis.
“Nutrition is hugely important. We need the fuel to maintain our bodies. At the most basic level, it’s simple math, we need the proper number of calories coming in to provide the energy that we expend during exercise. I always recommend people get their nutrition from whole foods first. People of all fitness levels can then use protein supplements to fill in the gaps,” says Dr. Cole.
