The more I dig in to the whole fitness thang, the more interested I become in the topic of motivation (I think it’s my inner Psychology nerd trying to get out). Basically I’ve been trying to pinpoint down the reason why I’ve yet to jack it all in. I’m an all-or-nothing kinda gal and I’m notoriously faddy when it comes to hobbies, so things don’t tend to stick that long with me – but this gym thing? Well I’m about 3 months in to really hitting it hard and I still bloody love it. I’ve been wrong before, but I don’t see me packing it in anytime soon. So what’s kept me coming back for more? Here’s where I reckon my motivation is coming from…
Really there are three things that I find give me a kick up the bum; external sources, situational reasons and internal sources. Now when I say external sources I basically mean really hot babes on Instagram and YouTube. I realised the other day when I was scrolling through my Instagram feed on the train that to the person next to me I must have looked like a right creeper because every other photo was one of a bronzed babe in a bikini doing some über flexible Yoga pose and let’s just say that the peach emoji has never been used so accurately. A quick browse is all it takes for me to go ‘RIGHT – off to the gym I go!‘. Whenever bicep curls become ridiculously painful I think of Jennifer Anniston and her bloomin’ lovely arms. Jen Ann arms are the dream.
Situational reasons can be broken down into two categories. One – I see a Personal Trainer. Not only would it make it feel like a real flake and let-down if I cancelled a session, but it’s also pricey so it makes me want to get every last bit of an ass-whooping out of each session. Two – I write about my fitness journey round these parts and the thought of writing ‘I gave it up‘ sucks. You lot keep me accountable and your encouraging comments under each fitness post spur me on to squat that little bit lower and get up that final rep (groan).
The final factor that comes into play are internal sources (and this is something that has only really happened in the last month or so), but when I look in the mirror things look different. It’s not a huge change and they are things that someone else probably wouldn’t notice, but my arms have some muscle on them (hooray!) and my behind feels slightly less like a big bowl of jelly. I can lift weights that seemed impossible when I first started and the Stairmaster no longer makes me feel like heaving. I want to workout because I want to feel stronger and I love weightlifting. What is happening?!
I must also add that I don’t mind working my butt off at the gym because I then feel like it’s completely justified to devour a bag of Dairy Milk Giant Chocolate Buttons later. Or two. That’s my motivation right there.
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