Why Accomplishments & A Lifestyle Change, Not New Years Resolutions, is the Key To Staying Motivated And Achieving Your Goals

              It's late early March as I write this. How many of you have kept up your training? I thought so!

             Although this post is oriented more towards beginners even advanced athletes can lose motivation and benefit from the suggestions I'm going to make.

             The majority of beginners who quit are usually the type who've made New Years resolutions. Often times they look for easy solutions, quick fixes. Examples include so called starvation, miracle diets (Grapefruit, Nutri- System,etc), diet pills( green coffee bean extract, Garcinia Cambogia,etc), drugs ( HCG), exercise fads  ( Biggest Loser). Some even go for surgery!  Unfortunately almost all of them end up in failure.

          The first thing is to realize is there's no quick fix, no magic bullet. Next , what were you trying to achieve? Things like getting in shape for a wedding, a class reunion, a doctor's visit, and worst of all New Years Resolutions almost always end up in failure. Those are too short term and require unrealistic training. Instead think of a lifestyle change. For example, instead of reaching for ice cream when you feel depressed get up and do a few sets of push ups or presses,etc. If you've been following me, as I've mentioned, I've changed my life dramatically. Instead of counting how much I smoke, nowadays ( 16 years & counting) I count how many gallons of water I drink.

      Another thing that goes with a lifestyle change is aiming for new heights. That's why I hate when I hear people say "What's the point of doing 20 pull ups, running a 7:00 mile, dead lifting double body weight,etc?" I can see they're being unnecessarily contrary and they're setting themselves up for failure. I mean why do anything? The feeling of accomplishment is an incredible feeling. In fact, attempting to accomplish something is a major reason to stick to a plan and not give up. While most of us won't become professional athletes we can become competitive people. Maybe finishing a marathon, completing an adventure race, etc. These clearly require a lifestyle change. Obviously junk food, smoking,etc are incompatible with such goals. And for more advanced guys, maybe you want a faster mile or heavier military press as well as maybe you've got wrestling finals coming up or a military test coming up. These clearly require you to stay "clean" and stick to your training plan.

      Some of us have come off bad losses maybe. I know, I've been there. In fact my last marathon in February was terrible! I'll go in to more detail in the future. Long story short, I barely made it in 5:30:00. I however haven't stopped training. Instead I'm still running, strength training, eating right,etc.  I have however changed my focus, concentrating more on shorter distances and faster speeds a couple of times a week. In fact the following week I ran a 10 K in okay time. In fact each mile was faster than the last, the last 3 miles under 9:00 and the last mile was 7:55. I didn't place but you see what I'm saying. It was a small personal victory but nevertheless a victory. It felt good. I came back doing the best I could.And you can come back. Maybe you'll need to delay your big goal and focus on smaller things. In my case, qualifying for the Boston Marathon is going to have to wait. I'm still doing long distance running but I'm focusing more on 5 K's and 10 K's, maybe even a half marathon. Also you may want to step back and choose easier activities in your training or easier competitions.For example I chose the Fleet Feet Run For Your Heart 10 K, partly because it's a very flat course. A hilly course would probably have had a very different result. Obviously your activities are probably different but the point is the same. See where you're weak, work on those areas, and continue to improve your strengths and eventually you'll rebound.


     I hope everyone, beginners and advanced athletes,  will think about these things when they feel like giving up. I especially  hope beginners will think beyond New Years resolutions or even blood sugar tests and think about the long term possibilities. Think about what you might be able to achieve. Advanced athletes, don't let bad times stop you from working to improve your future performance. Like most topics I write about here , I've personally gone through my ups and downs. However I've been able to overcome these bad times , for the most part. I'll let you know how things go throughout the year. And please let me know how your year goes. Like and follow this blog, and let me know any training questions you may have.