Comments on: Staying motivated

By: LM

LM — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:31:00 +0000

I find that the mental / emotional effects are what keeps me going to the gym. I get depressed and listless when I don’t exercise. When I do, I feel cheerful and energetic.

Yeah, it’s nice to keep my body fat from jiggling around all over the place, and it’s nice to have actual muscles – but it’s way, way, way nicer to not be depressed. And working out for 45 minutes a day is probably much healthier than taking Prozac.

By: Anj

Anj — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:23:18 +0000

My mom had these tumblers she used to mix her gin and tonics in. Etched on the side were these words: LIVING WELL IS THE BEST REVENGE.

When I am snug in my bed and the alarm goes off, I sit up and think “This is for the living well part.” Because it really is nice to think that I, a former smoker and heavy drinker, still look hot in a bikini at age 41.

Thanks for your great blog.
Anj

By: shrillharpy

shrillharpy — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 10:40:07 +0000

Part (by no means all) of my motivation is this: I live on a military base overseas, and there are some seriously hot guys at the gym first thing in the morning. Early morning workouts suit my schedule best, and having something nice to look at while I’m on the treadmill or between sets is a nice bonus. I’m down 45 pounds and feel better than I have in years. The better nutrition part of the equation is getting easier as I get stronger–I don’t want to give up strength gains because I didn’t put down the cupcakes.

By: Clara

Clara — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 04:29:16 +0000

Have a workout buddy.

I have a teacher that supervises me at the school gym at 6:30am three times a week (students are not allowed at the gym without supervision.)

The thing that makes me get up at 5:50am and drag my ass to the gym by 6:30am no matter how much late night homework I did last night? Knowing that she woke up so early, just for me.

By: Victoria

Victoria — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:19:13 +0000

I never smoked unfiltered Gauloises but I did have a serious (20 + years) Red Wine/Marlboro Lights/French Fries with Mayonnaise habit.

A few months ago (14 weeks, 6 days and 17 hours to be precise), I decided to stop playing the cosmic crapshoot of life and I quit smoking.

Exercise is how I made it this far in my quit. Whenever I lack motivation to exercise I ask myself if I really WANT to go back to my old life of aching lungs, nicotine stained fingers and yellow skin…

Works every time :-)

By: Mistress Krista

Mistress Krista — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:14:04 +0000

“I never thought I’d wear an arse this great.” Hahaha! Now THAT is an endorsement!

By: Balders

Balders — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:34:26 +0000

Love Charlie Moody’s words.

Also in my 30′s, I took up exercise almost a year ago after a life of boozin’ and inactivity. I now run a couple of times a week and lift stuff 3-4 times a week as well.
Have 2 kids, five months pregnant, husband and a physically demanding job…a squillion “too busy/ tired” excuses.
What keeps me going is the knowledge that I’m doing stuff with my mind and my body that I always thought I was too weak to do. Even though I dread my runs, knowing that I can run 6kms straight is great: a year ago I couldn’t run continuously for one single minute.
The fact that my arse looks amazing now is also highly motivating.
Seriously, I never thought I’d wear an arse this great.

By: Ali

Ali — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 20:56:24 +0000

I’m still a little new to serious work-outs, but I’d like to offer one tip that’s probably obvious but hopefully helpful to newbies like me. I guess it could be filed under “removing excuses”:

Find clothing that you’re comfortable working out in, then buy lots of each item. I kept missing gym sessions because all 2 of my sports bras were in the wash, which was just daft. It also stops me being chronically indecisive about what to wear when packing my kit in the morning. I’ve even found those neat stacks of gym kit in my wardrobe to be quite motivating too.

I even have 3 water bottles (they were cheap at Decathlon), so I can’t use that as an excuse.

I’ve really enjoyed reading through the site, thank you for all the work you’ve put into it!