How do you push yourself through a workout?
jaygirl8628
Posts: 33
What do you do to give yourself that extra motivation to push through a workout? I am physically capable of doing an intense workout but it seems like I will just get plain bored and not wanna do anything more. Or I start thinking about how my feet hurt while running, or how my thighs are burning on the elliptical and I just wanna get off. I usually just push through but lately I have been feeling less than motivated to do so.
Even with weight lifting and body weight exercises I just hate the pain and it makes me want to quit.
I know I sound like a little baby! But I usually do push through the pain during a workout but I am just wondering on how you guys motivate yourself to get to that next level!
Any help would be appreciated!
Even with weight lifting and body weight exercises I just hate the pain and it makes me want to quit.
I know I sound like a little baby! But I usually do push through the pain during a workout but I am just wondering on how you guys motivate yourself to get to that next level!
Any help would be appreciated!
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Replies
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Suggestion: think long and hard about what you realy enjoy doing instead of what most people seem to say works best - and do that.
edit: an afterthought. Sure - weightlifting is the quickest and arguably most efficient path to maintaining muscle, but not if the weights sit in the garage unused. Yoga on the other hand I will do every day. So = do what you love.0 -
Some things that help me with the inner struggle to quit:
- when doing cardio or running I imagine myself in a race, like a spartan race (which I am doing in a month) and imagine that cameras are on me, and how awesome i want to look when those photos are snapped, no one wants a photo taken of them giving up!
- if something feels that intense I tell myself "in twenty minutes you are going to wish you didnt quit" so then i push through
- if i have 15 more minutes of cardio i remind myself that in 50 years i am going to wish i had the health to do that 15 minutes of cardio when i did.
- when lifting i just dig deep and never quit, hitting that last rep means it was all worth it
- i constantly tell myself "it's not going to kill you, suck it up" because it isn't. in a few minutes i will be done and i wont have died from it.
- uplifting and empowering music keeps me going0 -
you will never regret pushing through but you will regret giving up. just remind yourself of that. if that doesn't work for me, angry music helps. or reminding myself how a certain someone called me fat.0
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I don't "workout"...I "train"...I have events circled on a calendar that I'm going to participate in...if I don't push through my workouts I'm going to suck *kitten* during my actual event..and there's nothing worse than sucking *kitten* in front of a whole bunch of other fit *kitten* mofos...plus, I'm just a little competitive.
When I was just trying to "workout" I always found something better to do...other than lifting weights...never had a problem with that...but actually getting in some good cardio fitness was always an issue for me until I started actually training for events.0 -
I set small goals for myself. Like my current goal "deadline" is Sept 14th. When I want to quit I think to myself "If you quit now, how are you gonna feel when you don't hit your goal by the deadline?" That always pushes me over the edge. I hate disappointment. There is nothing worse than disappointment in myself and I refuse to face that by my own choosing. So I carry on. Now if I don't hit my goal by Sept 14, then I can honestly look back and say that I did everything I could have. I pushed 110% and carried on even when I wanted to quit. Maybe that goal was too lofty. Does it upset me. Sure, but not nearly as bad as it does when I don't hit goal and I know it's my fault because I was slacking on my workouts or having too much allowance with my food. Push yourself, carry on, the pride in a job well done is well worth the extra effort.0
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I think it depends on your workout. When I was doing 2-3 hr. low intensity workouts(walking, eliptical, etc.) I would listen to audiobooks and let my mind wander and not focus on the workout. Recently when I switched to shorter(30-60 min) high intensity interval training or circuit training generally the workout is so difficult that I can't even listen to music and just focus on how my body feels. The first 10-15 minutes goes by easily. Then in the middle when it starts to get hard I think about my goal, what I want to look like, how I want to feel. In the final 10-15 min stretch when I am dying and feel like throwing up I just focus on the time. I know it is going to end in 10 min and just need to hold in there. I tell myself that I can stand 10 minutes of pain for a lifetime of health and happiness. Every minute that goes by is a minute less that I have to do.0
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I work out with my wife who will show me up if I stop... great motivation for me.0
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My workouts are intense and long and I usually enjoy challenging my body. But some days my feet feel like concrete. Those are the days I mentally say, "Suck it up, buttercup!" and remind myself that the body I want doesn't come easy. Other than that, I got nothing.0
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Well different things can motivate different people. For me though, I would have an old picture of myself that I love looking at and have it next to me while I exercise so that way...... when I get tired or lazy, I would just keep on pushing because I want to be able to look like that again. Or you can also have a celebrity picture that you like/admire lol that's just me though. And another motivation haha is to think to yourself that once you have the new transformation, you would show it off to family and friends and have them say "WOW is this the same person"
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Self talk! When I want to quit I ask myself "MaryFran, are you dying?" And when I realize that I'm just a bit sore or a bit lazy or a bit whatever, I tell myself "Well buck up, because if you DON"T continue you WILL die....obesity kills!"
I remind myself continually about my dreams and my goals to be fit, svelte and a gorgeous thin girl! That helps me push through the pain and the lack of motivation.
Find something you enjoy!
I found with running..that scheduling a race...registering and everything keeps me on track because I've got "the race' coming up!0 -
I usually say this to myself on the last push is if I don't get this bar up/down off of me safely, I'M F***ED!!!
Rest, rinse and repeat...0 -
I know that every time I step foot in the gym/go for a run, I'm taking one step closer to my goal.0
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1.){ find something you enjoy
2.) enjoy the fact that today you will do what others won't- so tomorrow you can do what others can't.
3.) the burning makes you better- I know this is going to sound silly- but when I'm doing something extra hard- and it's causing a burn- I think about breathing into the pain- letting it wash over me- embracing it... and just doing more. I do more because YOU DONT. I do more because YOU CAN"T. I do more because I'm better than you.
4.) set the work out- know that that's the task you must accomplish and push through it with no regard to anything else. I love working out- it's never a chore- I never have to motivate myself to do it. So I have a hard time with this one- I love that feeling of knowing I'm better than YOU because you quit- and I don't.
Take that- and use it as fuel- be the one who refuses to quit.0 -
mind over matter0
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What do you do to give yourself that extra motivation to push through a workout? I am physically capable of doing an intense workout but it seems like I will just get plain bored and not wanna do anything more. Or I start thinking about how my feet hurt while running, or how my thighs are burning on the elliptical and I just wanna get off. I usually just push through but lately I have been feeling less than motivated to do so.
Even with weight lifting and body weight exercises I just hate the pain and it makes me want to quit.
I know I sound like a little baby! But I usually do push through the pain during a workout but I am just wondering on how you guys motivate yourself to get to that next level!
Any help would be appreciated!
Music. With the music on, I can tune out the world including my workout partner :laugh:
At which point, we communicate through facial expressions and gestures. This is when weight training.
As far as the treadmill or elliptical goes, I need music to get me going and I don't talk to myself. What you describe is you talking yourself out of your workout. Crank the music and tune it all out till it's done.0 -
What do you do to give yourself that extra motivation to push through a workout? I am physically capable of doing an intense workout but it seems like I will just get plain bored and not wanna do anything more. Or I start thinking about how my feet hurt while running, or how my thighs are burning on the elliptical and I just wanna get off. I usually just push through but lately I have been feeling less than motivated to do so.
Even with weight lifting and body weight exercises I just hate the pain and it makes me want to quit.
I know I sound like a little baby! But I usually do push through the pain during a workout but I am just wondering on how you guys motivate yourself to get to that next level!
Any help would be appreciated!
Wait for the pain to come, and when it comes hold it. Hold it like a friend you haven't seen in years. Because that pain is going to get in you, and be with you. Don't fight it, embrace it, find out who you are, and find out what you can do today.
That's how I get through a brick. That's how I get through hill intervals. I wait for the pain, I let it wash over me, and kill me, then I rebuild myself through it.
Damn, **** just got all philosophical. I need to knock off the beer during the week.0 -
Wait for the pain to come, and when it comes hold it. Hold it like a friend you haven't seen in years. Because that pain is going to get in you, and be with you. Don't fight it, embrace it, find out who you are, and find out what you can do today.
That's how I get through a brick. That's how I get through hill intervals. I wait for the pain, I let it wash over me, and kill me, then I rebuild myself through it.
Damn, **** just got all philosophical. I need to knock off the beer during the week.
damn dude, that was good!0 -
1.){ find something you enjoy
2.) enjoy the fact that today you will do what others won't- so tomorrow you can do what others can't.
3.) the burning makes you better- I know this is going to sound silly- but when I'm doing something extra hard- and it's causing a burn- I think about breathing into the pain- letting it wash over me- embracing it... and just doing more. I do more because YOU DONT. I do more because YOU CAN"T. I do more because I'm better than you.
4.) set the work out- know that that's the task you must accomplish and push through it with no regard to anything else. I love working out- it's never a chore- I never have to motivate myself to do it. So I have a hard time with this one- I love that feeling of knowing I'm better than YOU because you quit- and I don't.
Take that- and use it as fuel- be the one who refuses to quit.
Hm, I think you're good people.0 -
You just answered your question. A motivated person doesn't let anything stop them.What do you do to give yourself that extra motivation to push through a workout? I am physically capable of doing an intense workout but it seems like I will just get plain bored and not wanna do anything more. Or I start thinking about how my feet hurt while running, or how my thighs are burning on the elliptical and I just wanna get off. I usually just push through but lately I have been feeling less than motivated to do so.
Even with weight lifting and body weight exercises I just hate the pain and it makes me want to quit.
I know I sound like a little baby! But I usually do push through the pain during a workout but I am just wondering on how you guys motivate yourself to get to that next level!
Any help would be appreciated!
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
Wait for the pain to come, and when it comes hold it. Hold it like a friend you haven't seen in years. Because that pain is going to get in you, and be with you. Don't fight it, embrace it, find out who you are, and find out what you can do today.
That's how I get through a brick. That's how I get through hill intervals. I wait for the pain, I let it wash over me, and kill me, then I rebuild myself through it.
Damn, **** just got all philosophical. I need to knock off the beer during the week.
damn dude, that was good!
Thanks! Training for my tri afforded me many opportunities to think deeply on the nature of pain. It's that one friend who will never leave us.
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I freebase bull shark testosterone in the locker room.0
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Quitters never win, and winners never quit.0
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I think about the 3 doctors that told me I was going to die. I picture myself giving them the finger. I'm not even supposed to be alive in 2013.0
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My first suggestion:
Awesome workout music that gets you pumped!!
Sometimes when a certain song comes on, it gets me all reved up and I push that extra bit!
Make a kick *kitten* play list AND ROCK OUT!! :drinker:0 -
i just mentally talk to myself saying better than doing nothing! you will just be bored at home, be productive! Or like that new commercial thats out not sure if gatorade or nike but they all kepp saying ONE MORE! I have been doing that to myself too just saying 1 more mile, or one more segment, ONE MORE! It helps out A LOT!0
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I collect a LOT of stats, and have my own spreadsheets set up. This means that there are a lot of incremental goals and PBs to aim for (not least because I am just starting out, so achievements are relatively easy).
By way of example, I keep a mile-split leader-board with my twenty fastest times. At the moment, if my fastest mile doesn't figure somewhere in my top twenty, then I haven't pushed myself hard enough ...
Or, this month, today in fact, I have just achieved my PB of overall distance run/walked for the month - it's a measly 75 miles, I DID say I was starting out, but now I'm on fire to get 100 miles for the month.
Basically, the race is long, and in the end it's only against yourself ...
HTH0
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