Put your money where your mouth is…..

In many walks of life we meet people who talk a good game……

Nothing grinds my gears (excuse the pun) more……

Just do what you said you were going to do…life would much less stressful that way!

A lot of people ask me how I stay motivated…truth is….it wains from time to time but here are a few tips that you can use,

like I do so that when push comes to shove…..I can show up when I need to most….like yesterday.

1) Accept that losing motivation is normal

There I said it. It WILL happen. It’s bound to. IF you know that it’s going to happen, you can kind of plan for it. So take it on the chin, but know what you need to do in order to get back on track, then most importantly – do it. If fat loss is your goal, and you’re following a nutrition/workout plan, remember that you are always just ONE meal and ONE workout away from being back on the wagon. Don’t ‘leave it til Monday’, or have the attitude of ‘I started the day with a rubbish meal so I just as well have a crap diet all day and start tomorrow’. Take pictures of your meals, send them to your friend, coach or family member to be accountable.

2) Embrace the difficult times

As I’ve said, we all have these. For me, periods of bad weather are a real drain, despite my complexion I actually like most humans enjoy a= bit of sunshine…. Mainly because it drains those around you… BUT we can’t honestly afford to spend time being reactive to such things as the weather. Much like those workouts that you don’t quite feel up for, often they turn out to be some of the best because you knuckle down to it.I too feel like that from time to time BUT because I know that it’s getting me closer to what I want I get it done. If something crops up that makes your mission harder, embrace it, figure out how to get round/over it, and crack on. Accept (key word alert), that its not an A to B journey.

3) Plan – plan – plan

Time management is key. At the start of every week, I’ll physically write into my diary every single training session I need to do. I let my coach know my schedule for the week (yep I have a coach, I believe being coach free’s up mental space for me) and he plans it out for me.

That way it’s in there, and I can plan around it. I also like to know 5 days of the week what I am going to eat, leaving a couple free for choice…this is a real key to success, so get a pen and your diary out, and get planning. You’re MUCH more likely to get it done if it’s diarised. A few of my clients tell me that they print off the meal planners that I give them and stick them on their fridge and others have now got deliveries of ingredients from Hello Fresh to take the thinking out of 2-3 meals per week.

4) Focus on the process, not just the result

In particular if you’ve set yourself a long term goal, being aware of, and embracing the process that will get you to achieve it is as important than the end result itself. How will your life change on the way? How much healthier will you be getting as a result? How many new people will you meet? How much happier will you be? The process is so important, so be sure to focus on that, not just the end result.

After all what is the point in worrying about the result, when you don’t take care of what is getting you there. E.g.. “ I want to lose 2 stone”……but I don’t know what I am going to eat for breakfast, I don’t know how I am going to train to get there.

5) Remember WHY you want it

Massively important. WHY do you want to achieve whatever it is? Knowing the reasons why you want to achieve something should be plenty to see you through. Remind yourself about your WHY factor every single day.

If you don’t know exactly what you want, that’s not a problem, but you need to find out WHY you are doing what you are doing. Know what makes you happy is always a great start.

So your task is to send me 10-20 things that make you happy. Why? Because I will know that the people who do this are likely to be able to stay on track when things get tough.

So don’t delay, do it NOW and send it straight back via the email address below (info@fa-fitness.co.uk).

So there we go 5 tips to help you “stay motivated” ….

Now…the “Put your money where your mouth is” bit…..

A duathlon full of fantastic views….the most scenic course I have done….

I was chuffed to bits with yesterday’s result…8th overall (out of over 130), but more importantly how it felt.

Off the back of winter training, when to be honest it rarely feels GREAT, its sometimes hard to gauge how things are going when its lashing it down and freezing on the bike. These early season races, are there just to help gauge progression with the main focus being the races at the end of May and then September. The top 10 result a few weeks ago at the duathlon couldn’t really leave me with many clues when it came to today’s race. A whole different challenge yesterday……