There’s a question I get asked a lot.
What motivates me?
What gets me up in the morning for a 6:45am gym session? Or a 5:45am run? How do I do it 6 days a week?
Way back when, it was weight loss. It was standing on those scales every couple of weeks and watching the pounds drop. Feeling my clothes loosen and hang off me. And the fun of being able to buy new ones.
Now it’s different. I try to maintain, not lose and exercise for fitness not weight loss.
It is and should be different for everyone. I’m competitive. I want to be better than I am today – fitter, stronger. I also love it when I beat the boys – at my old gym, my 60kg squat weight was heavier than some of the Personal Trainers…
But most of all I want to beat myself. I want to lift heavier than I could last week, I want to run faster, run longer, do more, be more.
Of course, setting challenges helps. It’s why I run in events, like London. I know I’m not the fastest, I don’t expect to be. I am, to put it bluntly, a fat bird who loves to run. But when I finish in the top 12000 out of 36000, I’m happy. I still completed faster than over 24000 people.
Not too shabby.
I love the feeling of being sweaty, heart pounding, muscles straining – the feeling of being alive, pushing your limits. And the endorphin release afterwards lifts me for the rest of the day.
It wakes me up.
It means I can eat and drink more – always a bonus.
And motivation feeds itself. The more you do, the more you want to do, the easier it is to drag yourself up in the morning, the more energy you have. To be honest, if I give myself any time off, I really notice the difference.
But even I struggle. I follow some fitspiration twitter feeds, I love the Facebook feed of Burpees Suck and I adore DBA Sports.
This new brand of women’s sportswear launches next month and, as well as offering great support and quality clothing, it’s also tagged with some of my favourite fitspiration quotes – those that speak to me.
It’s why, when they were looking for Kickstarter funding, I happily contributed. Anything that motivates in a positive manner – that doesn’t patronise, use body shaming, that wants you to be the best you can is worth supporting in my book.
Personally, I think working out in the gym and catching sight of these in the mirror or on someone else, will only serve to spur me on.
Hmm. Guess I’m going shopping when the products launch on 1st May!