I have trouble staying motivated in the gym

[flex4life]

JD,
you say you aren't seeing results fast enough or much of a difference... always helps me to have a clear-cut goal... more pull-ups, acheiving a specific lift w/ target lbs, maybe take some measurements & bf% & set a goal mumber to attain... you may have made some progress you just cannot see because we see ourselves everyday & look for our flaws.

Maybe keep a training & diet log & record your accomplishments...

The video w/ BFL book blood mentioned is pretty motivating.
just a few thoughts

 

[Jack Diesel]

Hey minion you are definitely right. I spent about 40 bucks in the past four days on lunch. that could have bought me some rice, steaks and chicken breasts for the whole week. We dont have jack in the box here in new york anymore or id be in big trouble. 2 tacos for 99 cents. 10 for 5 bucks. it'd be over.

 

[GLADIATOR351]

Diet is the key... no matter if you are bulking up or ripiing up!! You have to eat good bro. Stay away from fast food!!!! You can do it... Look at it this way, If you can't control what you are putting in your own mouth, how can you control anything else in your life?

As for motivation, BFL is good, but JEN BLF is better!!!

I also agree w/ GYMTIME..... Results will motivate you and it will start a snowball effect!! Make sure you take before and after pics. Since you see yourself in the mirror everyday and some changes come slowly.. it will be hard for you to notice...People that you have not seen in a while will be quick to notice the changes..

Lift hard bro.... when you go into the gym know that you are going to destroy your work out!!!

 

[Jack Diesel]

Thanx man, that was motivating, but what is BFL JEN BLF?

 

[liftah]

i gotta agree...its all about quality food and quality rest, and 4 days a week, s***, I think I'd have trouble staying fcused with that, I'm crying off 2 days per week

 

[absolute hardgainer]

Jack Diesel:

If you lack motivation in the gym, then my question is "Do you have a workout partner?"

If your answer is "NO" my suggestion is "Get yourself a workout partner, who is intereted in the same or similar goals as you are." This will help you immensely in your motivation.

If your answer is "YES" then I suggest to tell your workout partner to kick you in your ass really hard every time you start slacking off in the gym or even look like loosing motivation. That should keep you motivated enough.

hardgainer (we all need a hard kick in the ass every now and then)

 

[el capitan]

gotta get a training log, man. write down every exercise, every weight, number of reps, sets etc. and take it with you to the gym. write down everything as you do it. you can look at what you did the previous workout and be sure you don't stagnate at the same weight/reps.

also, you can look back at where you've started and see real progress, even before the progress shows up in the mirror.

strong island, huh? good to see a new yorker in here man. keep up the hard work

 

[LiftHardOrDontLiftAtAll]

I agree with what Absolute said but not everyone has the luxury of a training partner. Like myself everyone of my friends does not have the discipline to stick to something like working out consistently. And I prefer going it alone. I have had training partners in the past and all they do is screw up my pace. Definetly a good partner will give you that kick in the ass you need and you are more likely to show up if you know someone is at the gym waiting for you. I tend to be independent in a lot of ways and am a self-starter so I don't need someone to motivate me. But if you go that route of training with someone make sure they have similiar goals and the discipline to stick with it. Othewise you will really fuck up your progress.

 

[tripleV]

have you taken pictures to monitor your progress. i find them key to motivate me to keep going!

 

[Beleriand_K]

Your problem might be that you're trying too hard. I know that a lot of people will disagree with me about the following, but so be it.

By training three-four times a week, you've got all possibility in the world of overtraining yourself. Especially, if you're really giving everything you've got everytime. And it sounds to me like that might be your attitude.

This is just a guess, but I would not be surprised, if you're doing some kind of wearing-out-the-muscles style. You know, like pyramiding up and then down again until you efter 50 or 60 reps can hardly move a bone in your body.

That kind of training is ok for short periods of time as a part of a larger plan, but training that way for longer periods of time are bound to wear out your muscles. And when you at the same time don't give your muscles the needed time to recover, you're bound for failure.

So my advice is to cut down on your training. The only thing you're getting out of training as hard as you do right now is building up a weariness about training instead of building muscles. Remember, that training destroys muscles. It's the following days of rest that builds them back up again. Just a little stronger that before.

By insisting on training hard three-four times a week, you're denying your body the possibility of rebuilding what you just destroyed. And the result of that is...well, you know it already. Lack of energy and lousy results.