Build the Body of Your Dreams
How To Stay Motivated And Build The Body Of Your Dreams!
Have you always wanted to learn more about how to build the body of your dreams, but lacked the motivation? Then I'm sure you've come to the right place.
This short piece will be useful to you as it explains some basic principles of motivation in a simple, straightforward, engaging fashion. Hope you like it.
Overall Fitness is Key: Try and keep your overall fitness in mind rather than just one facet of it. Most believe that there are four major aspects that one should aim for, aerobic fitness, endurance and muscle strength, body composition and suppleness. Try and work on all of these with each workout.
Be true to your sport: If you want to build the body of your dreams, try and focus on the parts of the body which you will be using to do the activity. For example, if you are playing basketball you would want to work on endurance, and if you are playing football you might rather focus on strength training.
Buddy up: It is so much easier to stay motivated for a fitness goal when you are working with somebody. Misery loves company as they say. You can use your workout buddy's motivation when yours is running low. It is also a good motivator since someone else is depending on you to motivate them. Finding someone who is dedicated is a challenge so look around at your gym. You should try and find someone to workout with who has some of the same types of goals as yourself. This will help enormously since you will be on the same page with the person you are training with.
Now, pay attention closely. What you're about to read will help you save hours of exasperating, wasted hunting, and let you hone in on some of the best material on motivation, especially as it relates to personal fitness!
Get out the tape: The measuring tape that is! Measure all of yourself including your arms, chest, waist, thighs and anywhere else that you are trying to improve. Then make a habit out of re-measuring once a month. This will give you some quantifiable results, which is a great motivator!
Goals, Goals, Goals: Make attainable short and long term goals for yourself! Don't just make the goals and give yourself a pat on the back if you reach them, actually go all out and reward yourself with something special! However, don't make the reward something that will be damaging to your goals, such as taking a day off or eating fatty foods. Make your goals accessible. Set goals that are challenging but not overwhelming.
Commitment time: Make an appointment with yourself. Don't make excuses as to why you can't workout. Put it on your calendar and stick with it. Make this time for you and let others know about it. If someone asks you out for coffee after work tell them about your scheduled workouts, and ask them to join you. This way people will know that during that time you are unavailable. Altering workout times can lead to procrastination.
Stretch: Stretching and warm up exercises make any workout easier. It is a good idea to not only stretch before a workout but during and subsequently as well. This may not seem like a way to motivate your self but really it is. Stretches are stimulating and gives you some motivation to go on with the workout.
Location, Location, Location: Where you exercise is just as important as what you do. Be sure that you are comfortable in the place that you choose to exercise. Every so often it is helpful to watch TV or read a magazine while working out. Keep your water within reach. How many times have you used getting water as an excuse to stop cardio? Also be sure that you are wearing clothing that is appropriate for the type of exercise that you are doing.
Strike a pose: What is more motivating than those before and after shots of people who have lost weight or built muscle? Nothing I can think of. What if that person in the photo was you? You see yourself everyday and sometimes it is easy to forget the old you. Take before photos and look at them often. Looking at the before photos and looking in the mirror is not enough. Take after photos as well. It is good to be able to compare side by side the progress you have made and highly motivating.
Who's got the answers: Make sure that if you have questions about your workout plan or routine that you find a qualified person to answer your questions. You can ask the trainer at the gym or even go online to find the answers. It is also a good idea to ask your doctor. He will most likely have some feedback for you about your plan or routine.
Whew! That was pretty comprehensive, wasn't it?
If you want to know more about the issues discussed in this article about how to build the body of your dreams, please check out the other resources recommended at Motivation Articles or contact us with specific questions and we'll try and answer them as completely as possible.
About The Author
Charlie Cory is an Internet Entrepeneur, who also writes articles for his web sites. You can find some of his articles relating to motivation of employee meetings at his Motivation Article website.
