Motivation: Mind over Matter

When discussing maximum and peak physicality, so much of what we’re getting at is mental. Think about it,everything the body does is an execution of a mental command. You have got to remember the old axiom “make the mind control the body, don’t let the body control the mind”. This is so true with health and fitness.We all get hungry, we all get fatigued, we all sometimes just don’t want to get our butts up and out the door to go workout.

The mind has to be strong, and that comes primarily from having a strong sense of motivation.

Motivation comes from desiring a specific outcome or future state, and feeling convinced that we have the absolute power to affect that outcome. This is precisely why so many people love health and fitness, because the individual is in total control and there’s very little other people can do to screw it up for you. We can’t say that about too many things in life, it makes our fitness goals a great outlet for feeling and being in control of at least one important life dimension. However – and you probably already see the caveat coming – this also means 100% accountability. You ahve got nobody to blame but yourself if you don’t get it done.
To alter your mind state toward high motivation levels, you have got to start by loving yourself and loving your health and fitness goals. We’re giving ourselves an important gift here, and we’re also giving the world an important gift, because a healthier person just simply functions better, in mind, body, and spirit, making for a healthier society. And in particular, for those over 50 the importance of health and fitness is accelerated because it fends off so many age-related maladies that slow us down and keep us from contributing in higher ways.

It’s 99% Mental

What are we really? Yes, a blobby mix of chemicals, organs, tissues, and bones. But the entirety of our perception exists in only one location – in the brain.

What are discomforts?

What is fatigue?

What is pain?

They’re perceptions, that’s all. They’re biologically induced signals going to our brain that our brain turns into a sensation. So what is that? A screaming locomotive? A supersonic jet? An earthquake? A giant Tsunami? What exactly is the essence of our consciousness?
Think of opening and closing your eyes. With our eyes open we see and perceive everything around us. Now close your eyes, what do you perceive? Nothing. But has everything really gone away? No, only our perception has changed. We have this same ability to deal with pain and discomfort!

We have to think of discomfort as only a state of mind, a set of electronic impulses that we can deal with as we wish, to chose to not let it dictate to us.

We can use our minds as powerful tools to drive towards our goals, to block discomfort and to instead focus on goal accomplishment, like lifting heavier weights longer when our muscles say stop, or sticking to our diets when tempted to over eat or to eat the wrong foods. We must control our minds, our minds mus tn’t control us.

Goals and the Mentality of Motivation

As we’ve discussed, motivation comes primarily from a) believing the importance of our goals, and b) believing that our efforts and our actions can result in accomplishing the goal. So first of all, what does your goal mean to you? It better mean a lot, otherwise you won’t have the burning desire to stick to it. If you’ve never been a goal setter or aren’t sure, your goal should meet the SMART criteria as follows:

Your goal must be –

Specific (losing specific weight amounts, reducing body fat to a specific level, etc.)

Measurable (use pounds, body fat, smaller clothes size, increase in weight lifted, etc.)

Actionable (identify how you’ll do it, i.e. go to the gym, hire a trainer, etc.)

Realistic (you’re not going to try out for the NFL after the age of 50!)

Time defined (identify realistically how long it will take for your actions to achieve the specific goal measurement you’ve set out for yourself)

Once that’s done then it’s time to focus on the actionable from above; what you’ll actually do to make the goal happen. And here’s where it gets hard, right? Well, no it shouldn’t, that is if you’ve created something realistically achievable, something you believe in your heart that your actions can accomplish.

Discouraged by a goal that seems to big?

Then cut it down into small bites, and only focus on the very first bite. Imagine sitting down to a Thanksgiving dinner and announcing to the table “eating this meal is important to me and I’m going to devour it all with a single bite”. The room would look at you like you’re crazy, and they’d be right, it can’t be done and you’d be miserable and look ridiculous trying. So what does happen? You enjoy a wonderful meal full of great foods and great company, and in about 30 minutes after hundred of bites and chewing and swallowing your plate is clean.

Fitness goals (or any goal for that matter) are no different, they must be broken down into smaller components that we can cross off as done and celebrate our success, then turn our sites to the next goal. For example, your first goal may be “strengthen my core by 50% in four weeks”. Then you take baseline readings on things like number of stability ball cobras and length of time holding a prone plank position, measure progress each week and, if you work hard, have improved by the desired 50% in four weeks. Awesome, on to the next goal!

Dealing with the (Inevitable) Mental Valleys

As with any life journey, we all get tired at some point along the way, and this is also true with fitness. Having a great workout where we make progress against goals takes effort, and sometimes pushing to the next level is hard. Likewise with dieting, especially if you like good food, because you’ll be giving up a part of something that brings pleasure while your body is telling you that you’re not getting enough to eat, a tough combination for sure.

First, it’s important to acknowledge and to just accept that emotional letdowns will occur, to be mentally prepared for them, and to not freak out when they happen. It’s natural, it’s fine, and it’ll pass. But unfortunately this where many people get tripped up and lose it. Discouragement and disillusionment sets in, maybe they fall of the wagon for a few days by missing workouts or cheating on their diets.

Like an old cowboy, when you get knocked out of the saddle you’ve got to just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and climb right back on.

In other words, valley’s, discouragement, and slip ups are fine, they’re only bumps in the road and to be expected, just get back on the program as soon as you can. Continue the journey and stay the course.

Working Through Fatigue and Injury

If you’re over 50 and either have never worked out or haven’t worked out in a long time, your body will take a while to get back into shape, and although it should be fun and rewarding, it also may take several months to get your body operating at its higher capability. Especially early in the process you’ll be more susceptible to fatigue and even to minor injuries. By fatigue, I mean that on some days your body will feel heavy and lethargic, even sore, and you just may not feel the workout vibe coming to you. And by injury, now worries, if anything happens it would be minor in nature like a chronically sore tendon or maybe a slight muscle strain. However, even a minor injury can hamper workout efforts and even require a layoff of several day or even weeks to allow for healing.

Workout fatigue happens and is nothing to worry about, in fact the best way to overcome fatigue is to go workout! Look for ways to make it fun. For example, it you’re feeling fatigued and unexcited about your workout, decide to try something new that you’ve always wanted to try but were “stuck” in your routine. Well, get “un-stuck”. Do your workout in reverse order. Drop your weights in half and double the reps. Mix body parts. Combine cardio and resistance into your workout. Do whatever you feel like doing, just keep working out and don’t let fatigue slow you down!

Injuries, however, are another story. The best way to deal with injuries is to not get them.

Avoid injuries in two ways: a) always use proper form, and b) progress slowly.

To adopt proper form, no better way than to work with a qualified personal trainer, they’ll show you the right mechanics which are probably a bit more technical than you may realize. Things like posture, balance, and joint stabilization all play key roles in avoiding injury, get a pro to show you how. If you do get a minor injury, you’ll need to rest it. In most cases, you should be able to keep working out, but you’ll need to protect the inflamed area. Again, get the help of a qualified fitness training professional to help you on this, don’t just wander in the darkness.

But above all else, don’t let these things slow you down by becoming mental barriers to your success, love your goals, commit to them mentally and enact them physically. And always use the power of your mind to overcome the limitations of your body.

For more information go to http://www.omni-fit.com/