So, it’s the start of a new year again.
Did you keep up with your resolutions from last year?
If you’re like most people, the answer is probably no.
Whatever the reason may be, whether you weren’t motivated to workout, didn’t have the time to start a business or whatever.
Well this year, it’s time to put an end to that because in this article I’m going to reveal the #1 key for staying motivated to workout.
So, if you’re ready for lasting motivation, then read on…
How To Stay Motivated To Workout
So here it is, no B.S. just the secret right here for you.
If you want to stay motivated to workout, you need to have an INTEGRITY based goal.
An integrity based goal is one that’s deeply meaningful to you for whatever reason.
Many people have goals that are deemed to them by society.
This leads to them having goals so that they can fit in. Goals like “Oh I should lose weight” “I should be more healthy” “I need a better diet“.
And while these are certainly good goals to have, they ultimately have a fatal flaw…
They’re not directed by a deeper sense of integrity.
If you ask these people WHY they want these things a lot of the time they won’t even know, or they’ll say “because I just should” at best.
Now think about it, Is it any wonder why people have a hard time staying motivated to workout when they simply feel like they should achieve their goals?
The difference between temporary inspiration and the type of motivation that will light a fire under your ass, is integrity.
Motivational Integrity (And How To Get It)
When you have motivational integrity, discipline becomes easy.
Many people complain about how hard discipline is, but there’s always that one guy who seems to do it without batting an eyelash, so what gives?
It’s because for him that discipline serves a PURPOSE. He knows that what he’s doing serves a goal that he is DEEPLY invested in.
And I guarantee you, if you ask him why he’s doing it, the answer won’t be “I just felt like I should probably be healthier”.
So, now that we’ve defined motivational integrity and why it’s important to stay motivated to workout, how do you develop it?
Ultimately there’s many ways to figure this out, but the simplest form comes down to a deep understanding to what you TRULY want.
So, here’s a a step by step plan to develop the power to stay motivated to workout:
- Identify 2-3 People/Celebrities That You Want To Look EXACTLY Like
- Pick The One That You’d Want The Most
- Take 1-2 Minutes And VIVIDLY Imagine Yourself In their Body (Imagine The Energy, Confidence, etc.)
- Now Ask Yourself… Feel Like Working Out?
If you’ve done the exercise properly, there should really only be one answer – Fuck Yes!
Don’t hold back when you imagine this scenario too.
If imagining walking past your crush at the beach as she stares at your ripped six pack and chest and making her boyfriend jealous gets you amped up then just imagine it.
Don’t feel guilty for your dreams. Be as selfish and unrestricted as you can when imagining your ideal physique.
This is what will separate a temporary burst of motivation, with a burning passion that’s unique to you and your life.
How To Get Started
So, let’s say you’ve picked your ideal celebrity and now you’re fired up and ready to take action… Now what?
Now, you’re ready to start making that dream become a reality.
Motivation has been scientifically proven to enhance your results with whatever goal you’re trying to achieve. [R]
Wanna learn and remember better? Set a goal that inspires you.
Wanna work harder in the gym? Set a goal that inspires you.
Etc. Etc.
So you have the motivation but then what?
Now you have a fire to stay motivated to workout, but you also need to constantly add fuel to the fire so it doesn’t burn out.
The heat of your fire and how long it burns will be dependent on your motivational integrity and how much your goals mean to you personally.
That being said, there are some things that you can do to stay motivated to workout.
Honestly, I’ve tried many different methods and I’ve found these are the best:
- Create A Vision Board In Your Room
- Vividly Imagine Your Ideal Physique Every Morning When You Wake Up
- Set A Smaller Goal & Achieve It
- Find Other Reasons Why Your Goal Would Improve Your Life.
You could do all of these, or you could just stick with the method written previously.
The point is to find whatever works best for you.
The more personal it is, the more you’ll be motivated to workout. Period.
Motivated To Workout vs. Being Disciplined
Being motivated to workout and being disciplined usually go hand and hand with each other.
Usually, if you’re adequately motivated, then discipline becomes easy.
You look FORWARD to hitting the gym hard, you look FORWARD to eating testosterone-boosting foods to speed up your progress.
When you’re motivated, discipline is easy.
There are times though, when motivation won’t be enough.
Usually this will be during times when you’re mentally drained because you didn’t get enough sleep, or you’ve been working too long etc.
In times like these, you really need to just tell that voice that’s telling you to to go watch Netflix to shut the fuck up and power through it.
Those days, the workout isn’t even the hard part. The hard part will be battling with yourself to do what you know is right.
It won’t be easy, but nothing worth having ever is.
On days like these, a good tip is don’t worry about the quality of the workout.
If you’ve only slept for 2 hours and you just got off working overtime, I don’t care who you are – you’re not gonna be setting a new bench PR.
So in times like those, just focus on doing the workout. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it does have to get done.
Now one else will push you for this, and even your own mind will fight against you.
Tips To Get Disciplined
In short, if you want to get disciplined, the simple answer is to just do stuff you don’t want to do.
That being said, there are some shortcuts and tips that you can use to speed the process up.
There’s two ways to build discipline: Doing things that are uncomfortable/painful & doing things you’re afraid of.
In my experience, doing things that you’re afraid of will help you get disciplined the fastest.
I’ve always been a really disciplined person as I’ve always had big dreams, but nothing kicked off my discipline more than the time when I decided to face my fear of approaching girls.
It sucked, my whole body would hate it, but I survived and later on would actually have pretty good success with women.
The point though, is that because I was able to face my deep deep social fears, all of a sudden pushing myself in the gym was NOTHING.
All of a sudden, life got MUCH easier.
There were days where I would be balancing good grades at school, building this blog up from scratch, attending sports practice, reading investing books, meditating, a social life, family life, AND hitting the gym for 2-3 hours, ever single day.
There was no time for The Witcher, Breaking Bad, etc. because all of that was MILES easier compared to facing my fears.
So, here’s a list of examples that you can use to start building discipline:
| Uncomfortable Things | Facing Fears |
|---|---|
| Take Cold Showers | Approach Girls |
| Wake Up Earlier | Practice Martial Arts |
| Cut Out Addictions (Porn, Sugar, Drugs, Etc.) | Face Your Unique Phobias |
Again, ultimately this will come down to what’s unique to you.
Deathly scared of spiders? Pull up an image on google and slowly start to build the courage to face them.
Scared of people getting angry or violent? Start practicing martial arts.
Find out what’s unique to you and you will have ZERO problem staying motivated to workout.
Being Motivated To Workout & Staying Balanced
Another key to staying motivated to workout, is balancing discipline with motivation.
If you have too much of the other you won’t get lasting results.
So let’s compare a guy who has too much motivation and not enough discipline with a guy who has the opposite.
Guy #1: Too Much Discipline
Guy #1, let’s call him James
James heard from his buddy that discipline is the only way to go.
That it doesn’t matter what he’s feeling, if he’s not pursuing his goal with 100% drive 24/7 then he’s FAILING.
So at first, James is making AMAZING progress he’s hitting the gym with a fiery intensity and never misses a workout and never skips leg day.
He’s also cooking delicious and healthy meals to fuel his body each and every day to build muscle.
Well, after about a week, James starts worrying that he’s not doing enough, that maybe he should also be doing cold showers before and after his workout to boost testosterone.
He also stops seasoning his foods because the extra sodium wasn’t helping his goals.
His friends invite him to hangout, but James has been watching “motivational videos” that tell him to forget his friends and focus on his goals, so he blows them off.
He stops hanging out with his friends, his food is now INCREDIBLY bland as he’s just eating plain chicken breast, brown rice, and broccoli 3 times a day. He also throws in an extra workout per day too.
This goes on for awhile, and after 3 months James is in pretty damn good shape but he’s absolutely MISERABLE.
He’s been working out twice a day every day, for 3 months straight because he didn’t understand that rest is just as important as the workouts and now he hasn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in weeks.
He dreads waking up every morning to make the same breakfast that he’s been eating for months. Scrambled eggs, oatmeal, and various vegetables.
One day James comes home and he finally can’t hold it back anymore, he realizes he hates his life, he dreads waking up in the morning and he’s been cutting himself off from joy for so long.
He lays in bed, and with a hopeless and scared voice he says “I’ve been doing everything right, where did I go wrong?”
He went wrong because his lifestyle wasn’t sustainable, and he lost sight of what motivated him in the first place.
James was so caught up in the “discipline no matter what” mindset that he subconsciously started to HATE being healthy, and thus had zero motivation to do so.
If only he had read my blog and balanced his discipline with healthy motivation so he could still enjoy his life.
Guy #2: Too Much Motivation
Guy #2: we’ll call Sam.
Sam has big dreams, he’s constantly daydreaming all day about how he’s going to get jacked, get rich, etc.
He’s always making plans. In fact, because it’s so easy and he has so much motivation, he actually creates the BEST plans for how to get jacked.
The only problem is that because he doesn’t have discipline he NEVER actually follows through on his plans.
He keeps reading, and reading, and reading about how to get jacked, but he’s never even been inside of a gym before.
Instead of taking action, he just keeps reading, and making plans for how he’s going to do it without ever actually following through (new years resolutions anyone?).
After a couple months, Sam now knows enough about fitness and bodybuilding that he could literally become a personal trainer, and yet he’s still scrawny, and hasn’t made ANY real progress.
Guy #3: The Balanced One
Lastly, there’s guy #3 who we’ll call Matt.
Matt has always wanted to be jacked, but he also knows that achieving goals take work, and that there’s no two ways about it.
He also knows that balance is key, and should also make his lifestyle sustainable on his way to achieve his goals (sounds like Matt’s been reading the blog)
Matt decides he wants to put on 15 pounds of muscle for his new years resolution.
He reads online that he should get at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, and that good lifting split is a push/pull/legs split.
So he hits up the grocery store and buys whatever he can that has tons of protein.
He also gets a gym membership and looks up a good beginner workout routine.
His diet isn’t the healthiest at first, but he’s making sure that he’s getting 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight each day.
Eventually, he realizes that if he made key diet changes he could make even FASTER results, and the food doesn’t have to taste disgusting!
So unlike James, Matt is now making a scrambled egg sandwich with avocado, tomatoes, caramelized onions, and whole wheat toast for breakfast.
It’s protein packed, and most importantly it’s delicious and Matt looks forward to it every morning.
Matt also reads online that rest is just as important as working out when it comes to building muscle, so he incorporates the appropriate rest days into his routine.
Because of this he puts on muscle MUCH faster and on his rest days he’s ITCHING to go hit the gym to make even MORE gains.
And after a full year, Matt is Jacked! He gets a new girlfriend and can take her home and cook her an AMAZING steak dinner.
Nothing fancy, it’s just what Matt cooks for himself on a nightly basis, only this time he can share it with his gorgeous new girlfriend.
Moral of the story: Be Like Matt
The Difference
Hopefully by now, you can see why you need a healthy balance between discipline and motivation when you’re trying to stay motivated to workout.
James had too much discipline and his life ended up becoming miserable, and he stopped working out.
Sam, never took any action and thus never even got any results.
Matt on the other hand, started and adjusted as he went. He got results which made him even MORE motivated to stay disciplined so that he could live a happy healthy life.
Evaluate you’re own weakpoints and figure out where to start.
Are you not motivated enough? Or lack discipline?
If so, do what you can to change today so that by the end of the year you can be a completely changed person for the better.
How To Stay Motivated To Workout: Conclusion
I hope this article was of use to you guys and that you’ll be able to start applying the advice immediately.
It’s a new year, and it’s time to start it off right. Set some goals that truly inspire you and go conquer them.
You weren’t meant to just sit at home wasting your life away. You have dreams, so go get them.
Use the advice from this article and maybe start looking into some good pre-workouts.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns feel free to dm me on insta @realmatthewcarter or shoot me an email at matthewcarter@hardgainerbodybuilding.com and I will get back to you guys as soon as I can.
To your success,
-Matthew Carter