Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Some gym motivation tips

Been a bit lazy on the blog recently, I blame my recent birthday and the rather cool celebrations that went down last weekend. Yes, for those that are interested I have now reached the ripe old age of 23 - pretty scary stuff, I'll be hitting 30 before I knows it.
Anyways, moving on and I thought I'd throw out some gym motivation tips, especially if like me your wardrobe is in serious need of a cold reset.

The first method of motivation I will detail here is the power of wearing old clothes that don't fit anymore due to all the weight you've lost on the treadmill/rower/bike machine etc. I was wearing some old jeans the other day and I because I was staying in and catching up on some hardcore tidying (soaking ftw!) I didn't feel the need to accessorise with a belt. But thanks to the inches lost on the belly, the jeans kept falling down, leading me first to walk around a bit like a cowboy in an effort to keep them up, finally resulting in conceding and applying a belt.

So that was looking back at the progress made, I remember a pair of shorts I got a few years back I purchased cos they were very cool (Saltrock shorts I believe...) but even back then they were a little tight. I wore them the other week for the first time since last Summer and was shocked at how much looser they appear now. Whilst that's great looking at past achievements, the contrary to the above is to look ahead to the future, what work still needs to be done? This is done by wearing a tee-shirt/sweater etc that is perhaps just a little too small. That way if you catch yourself in a mirror, you're immediately shocked by the less-than-perfect bump you've got going on for a belly (in my case at least). Whilst this can be potentially damaging.

...leading me first to walk around a bit like a cowboy in an effort to keep them up...

"After all this work I still look terrible" are examples of the thoughts, you really do have to think of it as a journey. I for one were thinking the same thoughts when I started, and sometimes, yeah, those same thoughts trickle back in, and I find that good motivation - it doesn't work for everyone. Basically I'll reach a point that I am happy with - I won't turn into some body builder type, I simply don't have enough time (or the desire for that particular look) for all that.

The thing with the gym is that is really is a battle of discipline and then attrition. Discipline is required to make yourself go on a regular basis and then attrition where if you go long enough, you will see the positives of your efforts. That being said I did set a goal of getting into shape that I'm very comfortable and happy with by the time I turned 23. I have missed that goal in my mind, although again the progress made is very encouraging, friends and family alike are commenting on how much better I look now - those shallow bastards! :P

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