Group: Beginners to Exercise

Created: 2012/01/01, Members: 970, Messages: 18927

Share and offer advice to beginners to the fitness world!

Join group

Motivation

lcon026
lcon026
Posts: 2
Joined: 2003/10/29
Canada
2003/10/29, 09:58 PM
Tips on how to puch yourself to GO to the gym....Cause once your there its easy.
Carivan
Carivan
Posts: 8,542
Joined: 2002/01/20
Canada
2003/10/29, 10:35 PM
make it part of your daily routine, eventually it will become habit.
Hope you reach your goal.

--------------
"A will finds a way"
Ivan Montreal Canada
cobra93
cobra93
Posts: 131
Joined: 2003/10/20
United States
2003/10/30, 12:08 AM
It's so easy to go when you want to and when you're "in the mood" to workout. The hardest part is pushing yourself to go when you don't want to. A few things work for me. If I'm really not feeling it, then I tell myself that if I don't feel better within the first 10-15 minutes then I can go home. Once I'm into it I start to feel great and I finish the workout. Another thing that works is visualization....I picture my flabby butt in the mirror and that ALWAYS gets me going!!! ha ha ha
asimmer
asimmer
Posts: 8,201
Joined: 2003/01/07
United States
2003/10/30, 12:12 PM
"How to Talk Yourself into regualr Physical Activity"
(Fitness Management, Barbara A Brehm, Ed. D.)

Do you ever talk yourself out of regular exercising? Have you ever caught yourself saying "I'm too tired", "I'm too busy" or "I'll do it tomorrow"? If you tend to make excuses for skipping exercise, you can learn toovercome that lttle voice in your head that gets in the way of your commitment to take care of yourself. With practice, you can develop more positive ways of thinking that will support your efforts to negage in regular physical exercise.

eExamining Your Automatic Thoughts
As we grow from children into adults, we form certain patterns of thinking. Just as we developp lifestyle habits, such as brushing our teeth, we also develop habitual ways of perceiving the world. We can examine these autmoatic thoughts by listening to our self-talk, which is the way we talk to ourselves in our minds.
For most people, self-talk includes not just talk, but also phrases, pictures, images, bits of songs and even complete sentences.It runs the gamut from "I can't beleive it's Thursday already!" and "The chocolate one looks good" to more emotionally laden images, such as being buried in work, or phrases like, "I'll never make it through this day". Most of our self-talk is benign. But some automatic thoughts can be destructive when they reinforce negative beliefs and harmful behavior.
To uncover unproductive self-talk in the exercise department, simply observe your automatic thoughts for a week or two and write down any thoughts that try to talk you out of exercising. then take a look at your list. Which statements reflect real problems that need to be addressed? Brainstorm ways to deal with these problems. Which tend to be "excuses"? Is there a pattern? What are the common themes? Do certain phrases appear over and over?

Talking Back
To begin talking back to your negative self-talk, you must first take a look at the underlying beliefs that are causing the negative self-talk in the first place. Once you examine these underlying beliefs you can form more positive and realistic self-talk that sounds convincing.
While many people know on one level thatthey need regular exercise to stay healthy, in their hearts there live other beliefs that conflict with their desire to stick to a program of regular physical activity. For example, some people may have been told as a child that sports were frivolous and that exercise was a watse of time. Others are perfectionists and subconsciously believe that if they can't do something perfectly (for example, exercise everyay) then it's better to not do it at all. many people(especially working parents) may believe it is wrong or selfish to take time out for themselves, when so many other people want more of their time. Some people worry that they wil look silly in exercise clothes , or that exercise is not appropriate for someone 'their age'.
Once you think about any mixed feelings you might have about exercise, you are ready to arm yourself with new self-talk to counteract that habitual self-talk that might pop into your mind just as you are preparing to enjoy your exercise session. Reformul;ate negative underlying beliefs, and construct new self-talk that reinforces your willingness to make your healtha proirity. For example, if you hear yourself thinking "I'm too busy to exercise today, I'll do it tomorrow" argue back "I am always busy, and tomorrow won't be much different. I'm going to take my lunch hour and get to the gym. The exercise will give me energy and help me get more done this afternoon." To counteract "exercise is a watse of time" try thinking "I need regular exercise to stay healthy and manage stress. What is more important than my health? I must take care of my health so that i can do my work and take care of my family".
You might also wish to use these new statemenst as a kind of internal cheer-leading to help you stick to your exercise program.

there, sorry about the typos, I am no secretary!

Hope it helps.
In the words of Nike - "Just Do It!"



--------------
Challenge + Consistency = Results
"You do or you do not. There is no try." - Yoda
2003/10/30, 12:47 PM
I was very fortunate to have been given an invitation from the President of the United States to join in the service of this great cause called freedom some thirty somthing years ago. For you young pups out there this was known as a draft notice. At the time I hated the idea and really wanted to continue my persiut of sex and drugs and rock and roll.

Funny thing, they told me they would put me in jail if I didn't play. After boot camp they told me if I was late getting to my ship they would put me in jail. If I failed to return to the ship on time after leave they said...you got it jail. These guys had a one track mind ...jail jail jail. Well it was down right amazing how motivating that little promise was.

I have to tell you that it was a life changing experience. After all the promises of what they would do to me, regular old life motivation was fairly easy for me. I would love to tell you that the experience was enjoyable but it wasn't. It was Viet Nam and a very sad time for our country. I am grateful for the discipline it gave me.

When my hitch was up I was a verrrry happy puppy and could not wait to leave the ship. As I left for the last time I saluted the officer of the deck and the ensign smartly, walked up the gangplank to freedom with my seabag on my shoulder. Halfway up the gangplank the little man in my head had a great idea. He suggested I make a statement. Well I looked back at the OOD and pitched my seabag into the water. You gotta know what happened then. You got it....Jail. Those a$$^oL%s put me in a brig detail and made me buy new uniforms before they would muster me out.

Go figure. Anyhoo motivation and discipline for me came courtesy of uncle.

Peace kiddies, Charlie

--------------
I live in my own little world. But its ok. They know me here.

Charlie
azredhead57
azredhead57
Posts: 1,651
Joined: 2003/04/11
United States
2003/10/30, 03:06 PM
LMAO Charlie, you just made my day. Gotta forward this one to my SEABEE son. He will probably never be on a ship, but he will still get a kick out of it. And my ex-Marine husband, who spent a lot of time on a ship, go figure. Thanks for the laugh.

--------------
~Victoria~
...There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.--Beverly Sills
yadmit
yadmit
Posts: 4,670
Joined: 2003/10/05
Canada
2003/11/03, 04:48 PM
I dunno how I did it this morning, but I rolled out of bed when I really didn't want to...

Mind you, my cardio wasn't as intesnse as it could have been, but I still made myself get up... but a little was better than none.... I tried real hard to convince myself one day wouldn't matter....

I guess the motivation comes from the goal you have set for yourself. I'm in a fitness challenge, so in the end I could win cash... I do wonder what will happen after the challenge is over though... but I think I'll have created a habit that won't go away when I'm done. But through help on this board and support from my family, the motivation continues!

One has to find their particular motivation, be it a mental picture of what you wanna look like or an actual picture.

Tim

--------------
\"I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self.\"

Aristotle
bluestreak
bluestreak
Posts: 11
Joined: 2003/10/30
United States
2003/11/04, 01:55 AM
I didn't have fun today at the gym, so I did go home. I hope my motivation while I'm there changes. This was the first day for me. I'm not sure if I burned myself out on the very first set; maybe. After that my reps on everything went way down and I couldn't recover even with a lot of rest. I feel so out of shape... no power steering and I could hardly drive home! :-)
Maybe a better warmup for next time.