Motivation

When I was in my teens and early twenties, my life would consist of working out, playing computer games, and watching films. It may seem surprising, but I got a lot of my workout motivation from my sources of entertainment. In most of the entertainment I watched, the characters were strong, fit, and capable. Action films inspired me to take up kickboxing, which led me to pursue strength training as a means to improve my performance.

By contrast, Inception may seem like an odd film to draw workout motivation from. While it is action-packed, the film doesn’t handle action with such physicality as a Schwarzenegger film, for example. And yet, Inception taught me one very important lesson about workout motivation. To be specific, it taught me a great deal about motivating my clients to work out.

As a personal trainer in the Liverpool Street area, I’ve met my fair share of clients who are trying to train around a busy work life. If this is you, then you know that the fitness industry platitudes of “no excuses” just don’t solve your problems. In fact, I would argue that going to the gym isn’t even in the top 3 priorities of most people that I train. 

So how is it possible to get results in the gym against this backdrop?

I previously extolled the virtues of sticking to a programme for long enough to get every last drop of progress from it. Training consistency in general is a big talking point with trainers right now, and usually the intentions behind this are pure: trainers want you to know that striving for consistency in training is more important than pursuing gut-wrenching intensity in every session.

However, a rigidly consistent training programme may be a pipe dream for those of you with busy lives. No amount of consistency-worship is going to change your life commitments, and that doesn’t mean you’re lazy, lacking willpower, or unworthy of results. Here are my tips for making the best of your situation.

Changing your body composition involves altering the amount of muscle and fat you have in your body. In modern society, favourable body composition changes are often described as an increase in muscle and a decrease in body fat. This allows you to accentuate the parts of your body that are conventionally appealing.

I’ve made it known in the past that I have misgivings about training with an excessive focus on body composition. I’ve written about fitness transformations and the effects of a negative body image on motivation. As a result, I mainly focus on strength training and gym habits on this blog.

However, I accept that there are many people who want to change their body composition regardless. I accept that I cannot simply tell people they’re wrong for wanting bigger arms or a smaller stomach.

If you’re going to do it, it’s important that you do it in the healthiest and most efficient way possible. Here are several things to consider before you embark on changing your body composition.

Lots of us have a hard time staying on the exercise bandwagon. We have periods of time where we train really hard or consistently, followed by periods of little to no exercise.

Despite what your favourite Instagram-mer says, some of this is actually totally normal. Life moves through peaks and troughs, and any responsible training programme should follow those same fluctuations. If you find yourself adopting an all-or-nothing approach that is preventing you from making any progress over a long period of time, it might be time to make some changes.

Note: Of course, not everyone trains for a specific goal and may not be looking for “progress” per se – you may just be exercising to move as opposed to getting stronger. That being said, I still think the changes I have listed below could improve your relationship with exercise.