8 GREAT WAYS TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF TO WORKOUT AND EAT HEALTHIER

Last night I went to see one of the funniest movies of the summer “The Other Guys” with Will Farrell. I am so happy that I sat at the front of the theatre because every time Will spoke I was rolling in the aisles. That guy is so funny. I suggest you go see that movie this week.


I also ran into my friend and Fitness Expert, Yuri Elkaim, the creator of “Fitter Than The Pros” program, who was seeing the same movie, I guess great minds think alike.

By the way, if you have never heard of this program before, then I advise that you pay attention.

Yuri has put together success tools and motivating interviews from the world’s most sought-after-fitness experts. A few of them are actually my mentors. Check it out, you will not be disappointed.

CHECK OUT FITTER THAN THE PROS HERE

You know my goal as a fitness professional is to motivate and help you follow a healthy lifestyle, so you and your family can be fit well into your future. As North Americans we have some the most Obese and out of shape people in the world. I want to help curb those stats to a healthier nation.


The reason I told you that is if you’ve ever lacked motivation to workout or eat healthier, then you’ll want pay attention to the following 8 tips I’ve got lined up for you.

Actually Vince Delmonte, another one of the world’s most sought after fitness expert and part of the FITTER THAN THE PROS program has great ways to help you get more motivated in your quest for a healthier lifestyle

It is going to happen!

Your Motivation to get up and go workout or to eat healthier will come and go.

In order to gain better control and master your motivation, it’s helpful to understand what motivates you.

To get you on the path to results, here are 8 ways to help get master your motivation to workout and eat healthier.


1. Find Your Reasons Why (and the more reasons the better)


You need to figure out a compelling purpose. For example, if your goal is to lose 25 lbs you need to identify WHY that’s important to you. Is it to feel sexier for your spouse, fit into that old pair jeans, or feel more confident? Once you identify your initial reason, keep asking “why?” to go deeper and finally come up with true reason that will motivate you!


2. Connect to Your Core Values

This is the ultimate secret. If you can connect the process (ie. working out, eating healthier) to your core values, even in small ways, you can change your game. For instance, some core values might include freedom, happiness, love, connection, family, or growth. Figure out what matters to you most and work from there.


3. Change Your Mindset

You can instantly find your more enjoyment in working out by shifting your mindset from “having to workout” to “getting to workout”. I have a good friend who always says, “I’ve got to workout, I’ve got to workout!” He feels compelled and thus less empowered. I told him to consider adopting the phrase, “I get to workout”, which would put him in a state of gratitude instead of obligation. Be difference.


4. Anchor the Feeling

Remember how good it feels when you finish you workout or eat a healthy meal. Find a way to anchor that feeling into your body so that anytime the going gets tough you can easily revert back to feeling that way. For instance, after an exhilarating workout you may want to do a fist pump to celebrate. Do this enough times in that state and you’ll anchor the good feeling. In the future, you can do a fist pump at any time of day to get that great feeling once again.


5. Use Reference Points From Past Successes

Sometimes you might feel overwhelmed or unsure about your ability to get in a good workout or prepare a healthy meal. However, if you can think back to similar situations in the past (ie. reference points) where you were successful, then realize that you can do it again. If you were once able to do 50 push in one go, then go back to that experience and reassure yourself that you can do it again – if that’s your goal.


6. Find a Meaningful Metaphor

Find a metaphor that fuels you – a tag line if you will. Maybe you’re the “Little Engine that Could.” Maybe you’re “in your element.” Maybe you are “David vs. Goliath (the workout). One of the most powerful things you can do is find a metaphor that connects to your values. Whatever you choose make sure it resonates with you.


7. Pair Up

This is one of my favorite ways to make something fun and sustainable. One person’s painful task, is another’s pleasure. Pair up with somebody who compliments you or who can mentor you and get you over the humps. This is why hiring a trainer can be a great way to get your butt into shape! At the very least, training with a friend can take your workouts to a whole new level.


8. Take Action and Reward Yourself

Here’s a secret that once you know it and apply it, can change your life. Action often comes before motivation. You simply start doing an activity and then your motivation kicks in, especially if you reward yourself for taking action. For example, you might not always look forward to your workout, but once you start, I’m sure you find your flow. And once your workout is done reward yourself with something that makes you feel good – and preferably not a piece of chocolate cake!


Need more motivation for your workouts? Need inspiration and proven strategies to make eating healthier easy?


Discover how the world’s top fitness experts do it! <——— CLICK HERE.



Funk Roberts

TIPS TO HELP KEEP YOUR FITNESS NEW YEARS RESOLUTION

THIS IS YOUR YEAR!

I love a new year. It almost seems like we can start all over, finally become that wonderful, productive, healthy, happy person we've always wanted to be. The trouble is, the enthusiasm to make changes, especially with exercise and diet, tends to fade once we realize we can't change everything overnight. Want to make this year different? Here are some tips to help you.

1. Choose an obtainable goal.

Resolving to look like a super model is not realistic for the majority of us, but promising to include daily physical activity in our lives is very possible.

2. Avoid choosing a resolution that you’ve been unsuccessful at achieving year after year.

This will only set you up for failure, frustration and disappointment. If you are still tempted to make a promise that you’ve made before, then try altering it. For example, instead of stating that you are going to lose 30 pounds, try promising to eat healthier and increase your weekly exercise.

3. Create a game plan.

At the beginning of January, write a comprehensive plan. All successful businesses start with a business plan that describes their mission and specifics on how they will achieve it. Write your own personal plan and you’ll be more likely to succeed as well.

4. Break it down and make it less intimidating.

Rather than one BIG end goal, dissect it into smaller pieces. Set several smaller goals to achieve throughout the year that will help you to reach the ultimate goal. Then even if you aren’t able to reach your final goal, you will have many smaller, but still significant, achievements along the way.

For example, if your goal is to complete a 10K race, your smaller goals could be running a 5K in less than 30 minutes, adding upper and lower body strength training to increase your muscular endurance, and running 2 miles with a personal best completion time.

5. Ask friends and family members to help you so you have someone to be accountable to.

Just be sure to set limits so that this doesn’t backfire and become more irritating than helpful. For example, if you resolve to be more positive ask them to gently remind you when you start talking negatively.

5. Reward yourself with each milestone.

If you’ve stuck with your resolution for 2 months, treat yourself to something special. But, be careful of your reward type. If you’ve lost 5 pounds, don’t give yourself a piece of cake as an award. Instead, treat yourself to a something non-food related, like a professional massage.

6.Don’t go it alone!

Get professional assistance. Everyone needs help and sometimes a friend just isn’t enough. Sometimes you need the help of a trained professional. Don’t feel that seeking help is a way of copping out. Especially when it comes to fitness, research studies have shown that assistance from a fitness professional greatly improves peoples success rate.

7. Limit your number of promises.

You’ll spread yourself too thin trying to make multiple changes in your life. This will just lead to failure of all of the resolutions.

STICK WITH THE PROGRAM

Funk’s 9 Motivating Strategies to

Keep You Working Out

1. Enjoy
Fifty percent of all people who start an exercise program drop out within the first six months. The fun factor is important, even when people exercise to improve their health. Remember the major reason for participating in youth sports is to have fun. Yet as people mature, the fun aspect of sport and physical exercise seems to be overwhelmed by the need to be productive, hard-working and successful. The bottom line is this: you shouldn’t dread exercising. If you do, then you have an excellent chance of not achieving your goals. Find something fun to do that offers health-benefits, such as weightlifting, skating, swimming aerobic dance or cycling

2. Organize
“I just don’t have time” is one of the most frequent and pathetic excuses for not exercising. We usually plan our daily schedules around work, school, family and social activities. We need to make working out a regular habit if you want to truly be successful

3. Make Exercise a Habit
One of the most effective techniques for making exercise a part of your routine is to set aside a specific time each day to work out and maintain this schedule every week. Let your family, friends, clients and co-workers know about your exercise time. This not only establishes a habit pattern, but also holds you accountable to those who know about your schedule. Soon they’ll be asking “How was your workout?” or “What did you work today?”

4. Buddy Up
Those same family and friends can become your greatest allies in terms of maintaining your exercise regimen. Spousal support has proven to be one of the highest contributors to whether you adhere to your exercise program or dropout. Try educating your spouse about all aspects of your program including goals, duration and frequency of your workouts. The best thing you can do is workout together as you will keep each other motivated and will lesson the chance of dropping out.

5. Make it Convenient
A common reason that people have for not working out is a lack of convenient facilities. If your commute is too long or the hours of operation are limited, then you will probably not stick to exercises. Shop around for a gym that meets your needs or set up a simple home gym.

6. Be Realistic
Working out sometime looks glamorous, especially when seeing it on TV for some big chain of gyms. If you are a beginner your initial experiences may be uncomfortable. You will be sore, the treadmill may become monotonous. You may find yourself thinking, I really look foolish or I’m so out of shape or even I’ll never get into shape. Get those negative thoughts out of your head and think positive. What you tell yourself has more of an influence then you often realize. You have to be realistic about your goals. You will not lose 30 pounds of fat or gain 15 pounds of muscle in just one month

7. Make a Choice
Enjoying exercise is a choice. If you always tell yourself that you don’t like doing something then you’re choosing not to like it. Ask yourself, what is the worst thing that can happen to me if I workout this month or If I stop working out, what are the health risks? Take time to answer these questions and you will have a different philosophy. Exercising while, it can sometimes be uncomfortable, is doable and worth the time and effort over the long run.

8. Keep Track
Keeping a record of what you do in the gym will help you see what you’ve accomplished, keep you focused and continue to motivate you every workout. Keeping a log of your measurements, calorie intake, diet and supplementation, cardio workout and weights, reps and sets lifted. This self-monitoring technique helps you stick with your program and gives you visual feedback. Look for the Funk Roberts 8 Week Program Log Manuals, coming in 2008.

9. Enjoy your Success
Your workout regimen will change not only your look but your attitude. You’ll feel better about your physique; yourself and you’ll appreciate the value of training. Getting started may be hard, keeping it going may be harder, but you know you can do it and you will continue to improve everyday.

Funk Roberts
Don’t Rush the Beat and Remember our Troops