Motivation
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLoMOk9tglM?hl=en&fs=1&w=425&h=349] As it is with everything, motivation is integral to fitness. It doesn’t matter how often you go to the gym; if you don’t work hard when you’re there, you simply won’t improve. Today, I wasn’t motivated – and it showed…
Often enough, I’m asked about food supplements; protein shakes, pre-workout shakes and so on. People see them in the media and spot people swigging them in the gym and wonder what all the fuss is about. I can only speak from my experience on the matter and, as somebody who has tried them on and off for nearly a decade, I believe they work.
The key, however, is in the name – supplement. These products supplement your training; if you aren’t training (and training hard), they won’t do anything good for you whatsoever! These products exist to help you; if you’re not pushing yourself as hard as you can, you don’t need any help!
To this extent, I have always maintained that the most important element of exercise and fitness is motivation. If you can’t be arsed, you won’t get anywhere – it’s that simple. Today, I couldn’t be arsed – and it showed!
Today was a Saturday. I had been to the gym four times during the week, I was exhausted and having a nice, relaxing day. I didn’t want to go to the gym. When Debbie suggested it, however, I felt I should put in some more training time…so I went.
Whilst at the gym, I managed my first ever sets of clap-pull-ups (explosive pull-ups where you let go at the top and clap your hands, before catching the bars and lowering yourself back down). These work well to develop explosive power as, unless you’re travelling up at quite a speed, you have no time to release, clap and catch – you just fall on your face. Not wanting to fall on my face, I had to work extra hard. I managed two sets of ten. So not a bad first attempt.
Other than that, however, I was useless; I did some skipping, a set on the bench and a bit of boxing. It was, essentially, pointless. It did, however, serve as a reminder that there really isn’t any point in doing these things if you’re not going to do them properly.