This is just a quick post with a great article found recently via Digg.
I thoroughly enjoyed this article, and its given me some great tips on maximizing the effectiveness of my workouts. I’m still new to the gym so my training hasn’t yet gotten stale, but I still want to maintain the edge I currently have and keep my workouts fresh, inspiring and challenging.
I finally joined the gym on Friday, and I am very pleased that I did. I have already notched up two thoroughly enjoyable workouts, and despite feeling pretty knackered now (I’d forgotten how tiring gym work can be) I feel fabulous!
I have joined Fitness First in my current locale of Portsmouth - Not only are they my nearest club, but they are also a great club, having won club of the year this year (within the Fitness First chain). The facilities are top-notch with everything I could possible need to assist my training.
The most impressive thing about the gym however was the staff - they are absolutely brilliant, and were really supportive and encouraging - without making me feel as though they were twisting my arm to get me to join.
All in all, this is a great next step in my training and one that I am sure is going to bring me really positive results.
My current favourite running/motivation hack is absurdly simple - I get my girlfriend to drop me off on the side of the road on her way to church…
The way back is a clear, mostly straight route which I’m pretty much stuck on - There are no short-cuts, no shelter, no way back, no lift - it’s a simple choice between run or freeze.
I always enjoy my running, but sometimes I need that little extra kick to get me out of the door - this hack never fails!
It’s not really turning out to be my week - It looks like I have been unsuccessful in my entry to the Mens Health Weight Loss Awards.
I’m not particularly upset, as I have already lost a great deal of weight since I started training and am planning on reaching my target weight early in the New Year (if the holiday season doesn’t blow me off track).
Every month, like clockwork, my latest copy of Mens Health drops through the door. I always enjoy this as I know, unequivocally, that I’ll be able to find some new info, hacks, tools or motivation - just by reading the magazine.
I am highly selective about the information sources I subscribe too - I rarely get subscription email, have a maximum of 5 RSS Feeds at any one time, and only ever subscribe to one or two magazines (probably ever). A source of information has to have a clear, tangible benefit to my life before I will commit my time to it.
Mens health is one such source I don’t want to be without - it’s articles and stories, especially those about guys like me who have overcome adversity, are incredibly motivational - I always feel like hitting the gym, or going for a quick run, every time I put the magazine down.
What information sources do you let into your life? Do they have a positive or negative impact upon you? Let me know in the comments…
Another in a long line of bad ideas - I have just signed up to the Mens Health Weight Loss Awards (click here).
If I can get a place, this would be a great way to motivate myself to lose weight, get fit and get the training and support I need to overcome the initial few months of training. Motivation is one of the areas where I struggle the most, especially over a long period.
Even if I don’t get accepted, I am going to explore the possibilities inherent in opportunities like this and see if I can leverage some ideas into my own m0tivation.
