February 20, 2015
Wednesday Motivation!!! By Mike Jones - ACSM, CPT
The topic I wanted to cover this week was about our own individual self-expectations. We are almost down to the wire of the team challenges/competition. Where do you think you stand as a team and as an individual??? Do you feel like you've come a long way since the start as far as changing your habits and becoming disciplined? I think one of the most important aspects of your overall training is that the mind is primary. It seems that everything in weight loss, diet change, extreme results, etc…is all ONE BIG MENTAL GAME VS. YOURSELF!! While incredible changes may occur with your body, it starts with the changes that occur within your mind. At the end of the day working out is simply a process of picking challenging weights up and putting them down, then graduating to either heavier weights, but picking up the speed to your routine. It is nothing special and it doesn't need to be complicated. Training on the other hand is a different animal. Training requires planning. It requires commitment. It requires a will and desire to improve. It requires going through some psychological battle and challenging your limits, both perceived and real.
The physical work in the gym I think is easy for some, hard for most, and challenging for the dedicated. Which one are you??? It is the psychological aspects of training that most people struggle with. The single greatest area where I struggle with and that I see people struggle with is in overcoming their self-imposed limitations. As crazy as it sounds and hard to sometimes admit, self-imposed limitations feel like shackles (set-backs, injuries) that hold us down and prevent us from achieving our potential. When a person sets a limit, he or she puts a limit on what is achievable. That person will never evolve beyond the standard set for him or her. People never evolve beyond their self-imposed standards, even if they are fully capable. Anything is possible from personal experience!!! Depends on how hard you want to work at the time! This wouldn't be so much of an issue if we regularly set our limits high - but most do the opposite and set their sights far too low. Here at infinity Personal Training, we make sure everyone sees as well as notices, there’s not just one category, there’s many! CONFIDENCE! CONFIDENCE! CONFIDENCE!!!!!
Self-imposed limitations are tied to our self-image. The lower the self image…well… the lower the expectations we have for ourselves. Until that self-image improves, until we believe we will be successful or we are capable of more, then we will continually under-perform no matter what program or diet is followed.
The funny thing is, we are so easy to spot LOL. We say things like, "I' wish I looked like Wanda or had Matthew's biceps" Since when is looking like someone else good? Why not aim for a higher standard of you? OR they say things like, "My goal is to run a sub-four-hour marathon.” Since when is that an accomplishment? Why not aim for a sub-three? Why not go faster? OR Why can't an accomplishment be that you made it through the marathon in the first place without stopping? Hope everyone is catching me drift!!!
Sometimes we also make excuses for our lack of success. We tend to blame a lack of time, lack of equipment, or anything else we can use to explain our poor performance, state of mind, or state of fitness. At the same time, its doesn't help that there are people who try to diminish another person's accomplishments by telling themselves the successful person was lucky, or had a better program, or better genetics, or special equipment. They will tell themselves whatever they need in order to stay in the cage they've constructed for themselves.
The simple reality is WE will always be spinning our wheels until the day we adjust our expectations and break free of our limitations. Don’t build your own cage! Allow no limitations for yourself or the people around you!
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