MotivationalMonday

BurfootQuote

I couldn’t have said the above quote better myself…  Of course I couldn’t have; Mr. Burfoot is a running legend, the winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon, and is an editor-at-large at Runner’s World.

There are many reasons my clients hire me to help them get fit and learn how to live a healthier lifestyle.  Two of the biggest reasons I hear are that they need to be held accountable and they need to be motivated to workout.  Today we’ll talk about the motivational side of things and I’ll reference everything to running.  Of course these tips apply to any type of exercise.

One of the first things I tell my clients is to find a training partner.  If running the first thing in the morning is the plan, you may find that it’s just too easy to stay in bed.  Knowing that someone else is counting on you to meet them for a run on a cold winter morning at 6 AM will help you get up and get outside!

AlarmClock

Next I tell my clients to put their run on their calendar just like all of their other appointments.  Obviously they put our appointment time on there so that they don’t schedule something else during that hour, so why not schedule their run so that it doesn’t get ignored or forgotten.

Calendar

When my clients start training with me we set goals.   Goals for my clients range from losing weight and inches to eating healthy to working out five days a week.  For a runner it might include signing up for an upcoming race to have something specific to train for.

List

I don’t listen to music when I run outside, because I prefer to listen to the birds and for bikers calling out that they are passing me.  For some runners, listening to music is a great way to stay motivated during a run.  When I had to do many of my long runs on a treadmill during 2010’s snowy winter, I couldn’t have done it without my iPod Shuffle.

iPodShuffle

Of course I would rather have listened to Mr. Bluebird!  Sorry, I’m shamelessly using this as an excuse to post a picture Bill took yesterday!

BlueBirdGarden

  • Questions:
  • How do you stay motivated?
  • Do you schedule your workouts on your calendar?
  • Are you a list maker?