I am sure you have seen articles in magazines or here on Bodybuilding.com talking about how to stay motivated with tips and tricks to get you psyched to train. They are great articles and they help many people get their heads right and boost their will to do their best.
Although they help a lot of people, they don't help everybody because what motivates one person may not necessarily do the trick for someone else.
Next time you're in the gym, look around you for a second in between sets. You are going to notice a lot of people with mp3 players and I assure you they are not all going to have the same songs on them.
Motivation is no different than training or supplementation. High volume may work for one person but high intensity training may work for another guy. Fat burners may help one person lose 30 pounds while they won't do anything for his or her partner.
What motivates them?
If what others do to motivate themselves doesn't work for you, don't worry. It should make sense then that using someone else's motivation may not prove to be successful for you and you will have to find that trigger to kick in your psyche so you will dominate the weight room and not cheat on your diet.
There are many professional athletes that look hard for that one little thing that will set them off and make them perform better during the game.
It has been said that NBA legend Michael Jordan would buy all the local papers and read through them to see if any writers or opposing players would say anything about him that may be negative or translated into something negative so he would prove him wrong and score 40 or 50 points that night.
Another good motivational story is Arnold Schwarzenegger who would use visualization to motivate himself. When he trained arms he would think of them as mountains and each rep got those mountains bigger and bigger. It is no wonder he would have the biggest arms every time he stepped onstage, and his guns are talked about even today.
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When Schwarzenegger trained arms he would think of them as mountains and each rep got those mountains bigger and bigger.
There are thousands of stories like these and others about how some of the greatest athletes ever would push themselves to achieve their best. If it doesn't help you though why go through with it?
Why try to force yourself to do what someone else is doing or did just because they did it? It doesn't make sense.
What motivates you?
Now let's talk about what it is going to take to increase your will to succeed. What is it that lights that fire under your butt to go to the gym and push yourself to levels you never thought you could?
Once you find what pushes you to be your best, you need to keep a strong hold of it because it will get you through a lot of difficult days when you want to skip a workout or cheat when you shouldn't.
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Once you find what pushes you to be your best,
you need to keep a strong hold of it.
There are many different things that motivate many people to do their best and none of them could be considered wrong because it helps them to do their best. They are successful because they can keep that fire burning.
The following are among the most popular motivational strategies and it could be any one of these that helps you. If not, it's okay and you can use whatever it is that kicks your butt in gear.
1. Music
Most articles have covered how it is either heavy metal or hip hop that will get the adrenaline going for you in the weight room. The question here is what does it do for you?
You certainly are not going to suffer if you don't like metal or rap. If you like classical or pop and it helps you get going then let it blast. I have even heard some people say country gets them going for cardio.
Whatever it takes to fire you up that day is all that matters. You might not like music at all and get pushed by silence. Great! Put ear plugs in and give it all you got.
2. Visualization
There are many tricks for visualizing yourself succeeding and they have all been applied at one point or another. There is the visualization of the mind where you see yourself training and looking at yourself with the physique you want so badly.
Some need to actually see themselves in a photo so they cut their heads off of one photo and the body of someone they admire off the other and paste them together. Believe it or not it has worked for people.
Some visualize themselves as getting ready for a fight when they are in the locker room and getting in that mood is what helps. Maybe one of these will help and maybe it might not. Again, don't feel bad if they don't because it just isn't for you and something else is.
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There is the visualization of the mind where you see yourself training and looking at yourself with the physique you want so badly.
3. Role Models
Some of the greatest people had a role model to push them to achieve their greatest feats. Arnold had the legendary Reg Park. Michael Jordan's favorite player used to be David Thompson.
Most of the bodybuilders active today will tell you Lee Haney was and is the man! In business, lots of CEO's follow a certain person's philosophies so they can attain the same level of success.
The point is if there is anyone out there that has done what you want to do they could inspire you to achieve your goals.
Whoever it may be doesn't have to matter to the person next to you on the treadmill. You need to concern yourself with what pushes you and not him or her.
4. Competition
Do you take part in a sport or do you have a business rival? Beating someone else or another team drives 99.9999% of all athletes.
Establishing dominance and achieving victory is a sweet feeling. Losing and seeing others celebrate drives people too.
If you don't compete then you could compete against yourself. Whatever you did last week you can try to beat this week. Just make sure you are feeding that competitive fire and motivating yourself.
5. Positive vs. Negative
This is the biggest questions about motivation. The fact is both ways work and it is just a matter of what works for you. There are those like Kai Greene that spiritually feel they need to be in a positive place mentally to be at your best.
There are also those people that feed off of haters and doubters that feel you can't do it and you are doomed for failure. Be clear about this. If you are one of those that need to be comfortable and positive to achieve your best, you are not a "girly-man" or soft or any of those names like that.
On the flip side if you need to be thoroughly ticked off and wanting to prove the haters wrong, you are not a bad person either. If you understand this about any point, make it this one. You are not wrong for either tactic pushing you.
If that is what it takes then use it to your advantage and don't worry about what others think.
Now Do You Feel Motivated?
Whether it is any of these strategies or something else that may not be covered, as long as it is something that motivates you and makes you more confident in your abilities then use it to your advantage and make all of those goals you set for yourself a reality.