Here are some tricks I use to maintain my motivation to train and diet in both the on and off-season.
Have a series of specific goals!! I have discussed this topic in another article, but this is one of the main ways to stay on track during both the off-season and pre-contest. In the off-season goals should be based on improving specific areas to develop overall proportion and symmetry. You can have goals for training, body measurements or even nutritional goals like eating a certain amount of protein per day. Pre-contest goals could be more like holding on to the new muscle mass you have gained in the off-season while aiming for a specific body fat level, weight or both. What ever goals you have make sure you write them down so you can evaluate your progress regularly.
Use affirmations or phrases you can repeat to yourself to keep you either focussed, calm or motivated. At my school gym I have a number of phrases on the wall which can help to motivate me! One I read today that suits me I think (because I’m small) is ‘it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, rather the size of the fight in the dog! (D. Eisenhower). You can google motivational phrases and choose the ones that you know will get you pumped up. Self talk like “You can do it”; “Light weight” or “Fire up” can all also help.
Use psychological skills like imagery. Imagine yourself achieving a personal best in a specific lift. Picture yourself being shredded to the bone with extra muscle where you need it! If you struggle with this cut out a few pictures of a physique you aspire to and go from there. I also use imagery to put myself in the right zone for training by imagining a thermostat at normal temperature and just before I lift I see the liquid in the thermostat rise and boom I’m in the zone!!
Have a positive outlook on things. Have the attitude you are going to have fun with whatever you are doing (training, work, and home) and approach everything with a positive frame of mind. No matter how busy, stressed or hungry you get keep your sense of humour!! No one likes a grouch! I feel there is no point competing if you don’t enjoy the whole experience of dieting and competing- how could you be motivated if you didn’t?
Reward yourself regularly. When you achieve a milestone or have completed a whole lot of tasks reward yourself (spending more quality time with your loved one! movies, cheat meal, new experience) as long as it doesn’t hinder your goals.
Train with someone. This can definitely get you going. I find I have to be careful as I am a competitive person and will sometimes push too hard. But if you are struggling to get to the gym having someone else in your corner can keep you on track. I‘ve had some of my best workouts when I’ve felt terrible and then decided to train with one of my students at school!
Train differently. Every once and a while do something different with your training; try a new exercise, rep range, rest period or training split. As they say a change is as good as a holiday. It can really renew your motivation to train if you ‘ve got yourself into a bit of a rut- also planned alterations to your training can often lead to growth and strength gains as well.
Look at old bodybuilding videos or magazines. I enjoy watching Ronnie Coleman train on DVD- what a freak! Reading articles about specific muscle groups or reflecting on my progress in my training log usually gets me motivated too. Looking over old competition videos of yourself can help. In 2006 I came 2nd 3 times. I knew I had to make improvements and watching myself come 2nd and seeing what I needed to improve really motivated me to train hard during 2007 to compete in 2008.
Eat right. Diet is huge when discussing motivation. I always feel energetic and in the right frame of mind when I’m on a high protein, high fat and low carbohydrate diet. Find a diet that makes you feel good while allowing you to add or maintain muscle, while losing body fat. This does require some research and knowing how your body works but it is well worth the effort.
Add supplements. There are lots of pre-workouts out there. They are extremely effective at getting you at the right level of activation for a wicked workout, however the active ingredient in most of these products is caffeine so a good strong cup of coffee can do the trick too. I do find vaso-dilators like L-arginine useful as there is nothing more motivating than getting an awesome pump when you’ve been dieting for 3 months!!
Take an extra day off. Sometimes you just need to have an extra day off. Whenever I do this I am itching to get to the gym and my next workout is always a real beauty!!
Well there you have it- the tricks I use to motivate myself on and off season. I hope some of these tricks are as useful to you as they have been for me!