Kent Sport health and fitness instructor Sarah Black shares some advice and observations about staying motivated:
As fitness professionals, we are programmed to motivate, advise and assist our clients throughout their daily regimes and training schedules. So what happens when personal trainers lose motivation and enthusiasm to train clients and ourselves?
I feel some of our customers look up to us, not only as role models but perfectionists, inside and out; not realising that we are human and also lack determination at times. We have hiccups that take us off course and lead us to create unhealthy habits like everyone else. This does however most likely help us to relate to our clients when they refer to their own lives and regimes.
Members look to their trainers for the “magical fix” that will vanish all cellulite, banish the bulges and reduce inches that develop on a day-to-day basis through careless control. We are literally stripped during our working hours of all knowledge, advice and energy, spending the day getting members back into a routine and back to a healthy lifestyle. What goes unnoticed is that the personal trainers and Instructors are also part of this cycle of fitness mishaps and loss of structure and control at times that we all strive for. We too indulge at times and need some motivation to get back to the busy work rhythm and to oil up the cogs that become slightly rusty with time.
So how can we regain our willingness to continue to strive? Do you wish to know that everyone experiences the same problems? Will you use the advice and incorporate it into your own motivation strategy, referring to it in times of need? What happens when we lose our motivation and struggle to reach our best abilities?
The advice I give to you is, don’t be disheartened when you feel standards slip. Allow yourself as much time to get back into the swing of things and practise what you preach daily; small steps to big changes. Take every lesson as a trial, adapting to the experiences, learning from mistakes and programming future plans to match your development. We all suffer at times and we all need someone or something that can help us get back on track. You are never alone, so remember if you ever feel isolated that there is always someone to turn to that feels your pain.
The only time you need to nip things immediately in the bud, is when you lose all motivation and willingness to attempt the challenge; to the point you stop trying at all and no longer care what you give or do.
There is an excuse out there to not always be at your best, but there is never an excuse to stop trying to be your best. When you walk into a class and you have already decided you are not going to give your best efforts, when you do not want to be there, even before you have begun, then this is the time when you must step straight back out the door again and give yourself the pep talk that you require. We can not always be perfect, but there is never an excuse not to try! Where there is a will, there is a way. Your capabilities are endless.
For advice about how to achieve a healthy lifestyle don’t hesitate to chat with members of the Kent Sport fitness team; and you can find out about fitness consultations offered by visiting the Kent Sport website.