How to Stay Motivated & Consistent!?

[alexiakierstyn]

I love fitness, i spend hours researching about it and admiring bodybuilders lol. i have big goals for myself too such as building my butt and getting a toned upper body. I will spend lots of time making my meal plans for the week and creating my weekly workout routine but once i start working out i never stay consistent. I always have a great gym streak for like two weeks and then fall off and not workout for another 3 weeks. I have depression and anxiety so i think that has a lot to do with it but i also think its because i feel like I'm not seeing results, which i understand it can take months even years to see noticeable results but its hard and i always wonder if I'm ACTUALLY doing the right things and if its all worth it, etc. Do any of you have some advice on how to get motivated and how to be consistent with eating right and working out?

[chamelious]

I think its always difficult giving tips on motivation since it effectively comes from within. As you say, results are slow in terms of looking in the mirror, but progress with strength, relatively speaking is much faster, so maybe this is something to focus on? Set your short term goals to things like "add 20kg to my squat" for eg.

If you want to be assured of optimum progress, definitely pick an established routine (check the stickies) and do not attempt to make up a program yourself.

The most important part of fitness and body building is consistency. Find a way to be consistent, even if it means gymming only twice a week for eg, twice a week 90% of the year is much better than 2 weeks on, 3 weeks off

[Partyrocking]

Some people are more internally motivated and others are externally motivated. E.g. you may set a goal for your own personal satisfaction, like I want to squat 300lbs (internal motivation) or your goal may involve external forces, like I want to win first place in my bikini competition.

Some people think that internal motivation is better (which is kind of funny to me since a lot of people here compete), but I don't think it matters so much which type of motivation you tend to have have. What matters is that you surround yourself with what you need to drive it. If you're externally motivated, don't try to change yourself. Just recognize that and play to it.

Think about what your goals are, what category they fall in (they won't all necessarily be the same one), and then surround yourself with things that will bolster that type of motivation.

If you're more internally motivated, then you may find that bringing your list of PRs to the gym and trying to break one every session is a source of motivation. I just started bringing my current PRs with me to the gym (instead of just recording what I did once I get home) and it drives me to best myself more than just saying "well I wonder what I can do today."

If you're more externally motivated, then you may find that making your own playlist and bringing it to the gym gets you going or signing up for a fitness class and making connections with different people and trainers will keep you more consistent.

[alexiakierstyn]

Some people are more internally motivated and others are externally motivated. E.g. you may set a goal for your own personal satisfaction, like I want to squat 300lbs (internal motivation) or your goal may involve external forces, like I want to win first place in my bikini competition.

Some people think that internal motivation is better (which is kind of funny to me since a lot of people here compete), but I don't think it matters so much which type of motivation you tend to have have. What matters is that you surround yourself with what you need to drive it. If you're externally motivated, don't try to change yourself. Just recognize that and play to it.

Think about what your goals are, what category they fall in (they won't all necessarily be the same one), and then surround yourself with things that will bolster that type of motivation.

If you're more internally motivated, then you may find that bringing your list of PRs to the gym and trying to break one every session is a source of motivation. I just started bringing my current PRs with me to the gym (instead of just recording what I did once I get home) and it drives me to best myself more than just saying "well I wonder what I can do today."

If you're more externally motivated, then you may find that making your own playlist and bringing it to the gym gets you going or signing up for a fitness class and making connections with different people and trainers will keep you more consistent.

Wow, thank you so much! I will definitely take your advice on that!

[FallenAngel80]

Everything that's already been said...and also just keep in mind that this is a process rather than perhaps there being an end point at which you stop training (unless that's what you decide of course lol).

Plus, that old cliche of 'it's not about the destination, it's about the journey'. I've had to learn to enjoy the journey as well because whilst I have some goals in mind of how I want to look in the future and how heavy I want to be able to lift I also want to enjoy the process in the here and now. If I focus too much on an end goal then I miss out on the good/not so good parts of the process. Even the negative parts are points of learning which can only be a good thing