What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

I'm new to this forumn so please forgive me if there are a ton of posts on this topic.

I'm a 21 year old college student taking 12 credit hours, working 14 hours a week at the school, and dealing cards 1 or 2 nights a week for a total weekly schedule of 30-40 "busy" hours. I haven't worked out consistantly for about 2 years now. I've cut back my online poker from summer schedule of 2-4 hours a day, to 0-1 hours a day of online poker. Even though I'm putting a decent amount of hours every week devoted to doing something "constructive", I still find many afternoons and nights bored.

One of my roommates and I have only went to the gym and worked out once all school year. Our routine was less than intense you could say.

What do you guys do to get and stay motivated for a good workout routine?

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

Read about people who have accomplished the goals I'm striving for. This always gets me itching to get into the gym and better myself.

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

I'm a pretty skinny guy so I don't want to become any skinnier.

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

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I'm a pretty skinny guy so I don't want to become any skinnier.

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Put some meat on those bones, muscle weighs more than fat.

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

Vanity.

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

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Vanity.

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Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

GUNZ

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

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Vanity.

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performance

On motivation...
 

Great desire. Wanting something really bad!

Edit:
I feel like i must add in a few ideas more on motivation in general.
The masses are primarily motivated by extrinsic motivators, such as material possessions and money. The great achievers are motivated intrinsically, by their dreams, desires and passions. External motivation is short lived, while internal motivation is nearly impossible to exhaust until the goal is achieved.
One "secret" to motivating yourself is discovering what you will fight ofr when the going gets tough. Ask yourself the question: "Why must i suffer?" A world-class athlete, for example, will answer this question with the vision he has carefully consturcted, and he'll keep on fighting. Since the masses lack this mental clarity and have no reason to suffer, they quit as soon as the pain kicks in.

Re: On motivation...
 

I look at pictures of me when i was fat.
People tend to respect my opinion more often.
My fiance is into me a lot more.
I hit the golf ball 285 yards +.

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

Whenever I think I'm throwing hard and my command is good enough to compete at the next level, I just call my friend who's in Double-A and pitch a simulated game to him. That's good enough to keep me working on the mound.

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

lol.......that reminds me of seeing a Double A curveball for the first time when i was 15 during practice. I thought it was going to hit me in the head, and it was a strike on the outside corner. Embarrassing.

Oh another fun thing to do is one of the CrossFit WODs. They remind you very quickly that you aren't in that good of shape.

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

ok more serious this time.
Keeping a log. If I stray from that sucker I start to fall off.

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

Good advice so far, but there's one more thing that keeps me going: routine.

Humans are creatures of habit. If you get in the habit of working out x times a week it's much easier to keep it up.

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

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Good advice so far, but there's one more thing that keeps me going: routine.

Humans are creatures of habit. If you get in the habit of working out x times a week it's much easier to keep it up.

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Wolfram is 100% correct here. Every difficult endeavor we adhere to becomes easier with time. Just stick to it and it will become part of your habit, as your skill improves.

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

1. Have goals, both long and short term.

2. Write down and read your goals every day.

3. Use mental imagery. Imagine yourself working out hard and enjoying it. If physical change is what you're after photoshop your face onto what you want to look like. Put it somewhere you can see it regularly.

4. Have an emotional investment in your goals. Remind yourself of it often.

5. Educate yourself about proper form, technique and most importantly nutrition. Nutrition accounts for (many say) 75% of your results - unless you are genetically gifted. Why work so hard for little or no results? Learn to play the game or go home a loser.

6. Monitor and track your progress. Make progress. Always challenge yourself.

Or you could do like me lust after someone out of your league. (It helps if this person frequents the gym).

7. Convince yourself that no workout = no sex.

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

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Convince yourself that no workout = no sex.

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[img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

i made a stupid long post about this once:
(here is the summary)

for most people i think it starts out as athletically motivated, say h.s. sports or what not.

then if/when that is over it moves to vanity and just wanting to look good for the opposite sex/alpha male stuff.

the next step, which some people never go through, is that vanity doesn't get it done anymore. get a job, get married, etc. etc. and vanity won't get you to the gym enough.

then (for me at least) the real motivation has to get figured out.

mine is now this.

staying healthy and active as i move through my 30's.
fight the aging process.
be physically strong.
be in good enough shape to do ANYTHING i want.
(and i mean anything, so i have to be in great shape)
improve my physical self in all areas, instead of declining.
be a good role model of health for my kids.
be able to learn no sports more easily.
last but not least, look good naked.

ok so vanity doesn't go away completely, but it moves down the list as you get older. gl. J.

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

Yeah i grunt when i get my swell on at the gym, thats cuz everyone should [censored] see how jacked and tan I am

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

Here's a good motivation for me.

Avoiding condescension and mockery from my in-laws when I'm too fat to fit into my ski clothes this Christmas vacation.

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

Get an intense workout partner.

But you don't sound very intense yourself, so you probably wouldn't be able to hang.

Find some intensity then. You've got to have _some_ survival instinct right? Channel that into your workouts.

If you're gonna half-ass it, you might as well just go play tennis (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

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Get an intense workout partner.

But you don't sound very intense yourself, so you probably wouldn't be able to hang.

Find some intensity then. You've got to have _some_ survival instinct right? Channel that into your workouts.

If you're gonna half-ass it, you might as well just go play tennis (not that there's anything wrong with that).

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This makes me laugh.

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

I dont really have a choice I'm miserable and moody if I dont stay in shape specifically aerobic training.

Not sure I felt the same way when when all I did was lift when I was younger but swimming and running definetly smooth out the edges.

I dont think vanity is as much a factor as the ability to be functional using your own strenght in your day to day routine also a genuine appreciation of the power and beauty of the human body makes it much easier to stay in shape...

Re: What do you do to get motivated and stay motivated?
 

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I dont really have a choice I'm miserable and moody if I dont stay in shape specifically aerobic training.

Not sure I felt the same way when when all I did was lift when I was younger but swimming and running definetly smooth out the edges.

I dont think vanity is as much a factor as the ability to be functional using your own strenght in your day to day routine also a genuine appreciation of the power and beauty of the human body makes it much easier to stay in shape...

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good guy---good point.

i forgot to mention that i think that exercise keeps me off depression meds. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

if you knew me irl you would never ever ever think this to be the case, but i really think the the benefits of aerobic exercise specifically keep me chemically balanced. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

mental health maybe be one of the key motivating factors for more people than we think. later. J.

Re: On motivation...
 

think of all the benefits of working out and staying healthy
u live longer and have better life
u level of concentration and focus will be better
your body looks nicer and can attract girls easier

^_^