[SCraver]

Everytime I start exercising, I go all-out, balls-to-the-wall, and I can keep that up for a while until I hit a brick wall and stop. That brick wall is hard to explain. It's like all of the sudden my motivation disappears and I get dristracted with other things in life. This time around, I set my exercise goal to 3x's a week to make things more easily attainable... and to make it something I could stick with forever. But the last two weeks, I have run exactly twice! Ahhh!!! I have hit that brick wall anyways... But tomorrow starts my Cardio Kick-Boxing class (FINALLY) and I am hoping this will help me over the wall.

I think it is hard this time of year - it is still cold outside, but I am ready for warmer weather. How do you guys keep motivated to continue on with your exercise?

[Lovely]

SCraver - Don't sell yourself short. You did run twice! That's two more than nothing. I hope that Kick-boxing gives you the kick you want ~.^ Maybe you're the sort of person that needs to switch things up frequently?

As for your question: My treadmilling is now a daily habit. I kind of almost blank out on it and blindly head to the treadmill at the prescribed time Yeah... habit. Though, in the beginning I had to force/schedule it in. And I began small, too, with 3x a week.

[missingmyerica]

LOL.....I had to reply to your post. "Balls to the wall" is my 19 year old daughters favorite thing to say to me. She is in the NAVY and stationed in Cuba. She calls and emails me with motivation all the time and she always says...."Mom, it's time to put the balls to the wall and GET MOVING!" The last time I saw her I was at my starting weight and when we see each other in June I'm hoping she will see that I HAVE been "balls to the wall" (at least most of the time!)

I tend to do the same as you when it comes to working out. I hit it hard for a few weeks then bam...I just stop for awhile. I hate getting out in the cold weather and wearing heavy clothes only to sweat my butt off in the gym. I know it's an excuse, but I'm really looking forward to the spring and wearing lighter clothes.

[carolineintx]

So far so good for me...in the past i haven't been very consistent with exercise, but I decided to try to work out as much as I could fit it into my schedule, and for the past 3 weeks or so I've been working out for at least 30 minutes a day about 5 or 6 days a week. I've gotten excited by the results, and that sort of keeps me going, my legs are getting rather muscular underneath the layer of fat! I tell myself every time I get to the gym I'm building a little more muscle and trimming off a little bit more fat, and someday I'm going to have killer legs if I just keep that up.

I also like to compete with myself, if I know I did 5 miles on the exercise bike last time I used it, I want to beat that next time. And its odd, when I started working out it was not fun at all, I didn't feel good at all during it, after it, it was torture. But now...I actually sort of crave it a bit. I still get sweaty and red faced and my muscles 'feel the burn' when I'm pushing myself, but it feels good too, and I feel great afterwards. I don't know if its endorphins or what.

Anyway, I haven't been keeping it up long enough to act as if I know the way to keep going, I'm sure I'll hit a rough patch sooner or later, but I know its a lot easier to keep working out than it is to start after being inactive for awhile and that helps me avoid going too long without a workout. Maybe you can set a goal of a certain number of minutes a week, or a distance goal for running every week or something like that, something concrete to motivate you to get going and keep you a little more accountable? There is a thread on the 20 somethings sticky board to keep track of my exercise minutes for March, I've found this is helping me, knowing every time I get moving I can knock a few more minutes off my march goal. I hope something in that ramble helps you keep the motivation! Its not easy for sure but its so worth it!

[Ilene]

"Balls to the Wall" .... I like that too ....

I exercise regularly, have been for OMG 23 years now ... But when I decide to put the "Balls to the Wall" so to speak I intensify my workouts, I workout 3x/day... but that's just me ....

This week DD and I are putting the "Balls to the Wall" by weighing-in this morning and she will be walking more and I will be running more... So off to run I go......

Good luck everyone!!

"Balls to the Wall'

[Hat Trick]

This is from Skwigg's Blog (http://skwigg.tripod.com/blog/index.blog?from=20071231) Frankly, it's the best thing I've read on 'motivation'.

"Motivation, as in being all rah-rah excited, doesn't happen to anybody, or if it does, it's fleeting. I'm not motivated to workout. I do it both because it needs to be done and because I'm emotionally invested in it. Very much like bathing and brushing my teeth. I may not always enjoy the process or the time it takes, but I do it at the start of every day because it makes me feel good about myself and gives me confidence. I don't want to be all scary and stinky and have people run from me. :-) However, at no point do I feel "motivated" to haul myself out of bed in the morning and get in the shower. I just do it and don't entertain the idea that I might not. I'm someone who bathes. You can be someone who exercises. It's just that matter-of-fact.

In the beginning, until your cruise control kicks in, you can focus on the emotional investment part of it. Find a dream or aspiration that you want to make real and then spend as much time as possible visualizing your new life. How will it feel? What will you look like? What will you wear? What will people say? What will you do? What will you eat? What will your day be like? That's powerful stuff because it creates the mental shift necessary to pull off just about anything. Without the mental shift, you can make as many lame-*** attempts as you want, but nothing will ever stick. Your mind has to change before your body can. You have to know that this new reality is possible, and you'll know it's possible because you'll see it every day in your head."

[Ilene]

I like that too HT, so I've highlighted more so that it POPs and we can see it better, I hope you don't mind....

[SCraver]

Hat Trick: These two sentences are my favorite:

Originally Posted by Hat Trick

I just do it and don't entertain the idea that I might not.

Find a dream or aspiration that you want to make real and then spend as much time as possible visualizing your new life.

I have decided to make a list of reason why I WANT to exercise regularly:
1. I love the way I feel when I am done with a workout
2. I love beating my best times, or accomplishing more than I did during the previous workout
3. It will help me lose weight (I want to weigh one hundred and something, not two hundred and something!!)
4. It makes me feel good to be in shape
5. I love that I couldn't run a mile in high school when I was thin, but can do so now!
6. I want to be thin and firm, not thin and flabby
7. I don't want diabetes
8. I want to have healthy pregnancies
9. When I do, eventually, have kids, I want to be able to keep up with them

[SCraver]

Originally Posted by Ilene

"Balls to the Wall" .... But when I decide to put the "Balls to the Wall" so to speak I intensify my workouts, I workout 3x/day

"Balls to the Wall'

How do you find the time to work out THAT much? Do you do bunches of little workouts? Don't you get too tired? I have been trying to take the stairs at work in addition to working out - does that count as a work out? I want to start lifting little weights. I am hoping that the kick boxing will tone my arms...

[Hat Trick]

SC -- number 1 on your list is SO true for me. No, I don't always 'feel' like exercising but boy I feel so great afterwards. Sometimes just saying 'I'll do 10 mins and then if I want to quit I can' gives me just enough edge. 9 times out of 10 I finish. Sometimes when I just can't seem to muster it up, I think 'go move - - - just because you can.

I also like how I feel while I'm exercising. No, not all the time but when things are clicking and everything is humming along -- man o man, it just feels good.

I also have seen what lack of exercise has done to older folks in my family. I DO NOT want to fall down and break bones in my body when I'm older. I AM NOT interested in this. This keeps those wts pumpin'. And since I'm going to live to be 100, well -- best start now and keep at it!

As for your #9, um . . . you will keep up w/your kids whether you can or not or whether you want to or not. They won't let you slack off (the little buggers! )

[Ilene]

Originally Posted by SCraver

How do you find the time to work out THAT much? Do you do bunches of little workouts?

Yes, I do a bunch of little 30-45 minute stints of workouts.... I'll go to the gym to weight train (40 mins) come home do some housework/laundry, go for a run (30-40 mins), in the summer time I will go for a leisure bike ride or in the winter (lately) I will do some Yoga... or go swimming in the afternoon....

Don't you get too tired?

A resounding YES, but I'll often cat nap here and there for 15-20 mins, even 5 min nap helps or I go to bed earlier because I am exhausted after all, from doing all this activity...... BUT I have to tell you that the more active I am the more energy I have... Granted I don't do this every single day but sometimes I will do it every second or third day.... You also have to eat to nourish your body, so you have to eat clean and unprocessed ... Oh and BTW I am 51 yrs old, no spring chicken

I have been trying to take the stairs at work in addition to working out - does that count as a work out?

I wouldn't call it "working out" per se, but it is being active and burning extra calories, so yes it all counts...

I want to start lifting little weights.

Don't wait to start weight training, some of our biggest losers here at 3FC, Mel and Meg, have done weight training from the get go because when you have muscles you burn calories while being inactive and that's a very good thing ...

I am hoping that the kick boxing will tone my arms...

It will tone your whole body but I would consider kick boxing more of an aerobic activity and that will burn the fat off to expose the beautiful muscles you've developed from doing some weight training...

Hope this helps... Have fun working out, because it really IS about having fun ....

[jamsk8r]

SC, don't know if this will help you, but I've been keeping a daily log, just very simple, in a checkbook sized calendar (the free kind charity organizations send out, but any calendar could be used). I use the small one because it slides under the keyboard on my desk, where I can't miss it. Each night, I just log in my info like this:

Eat 1800
Water 3
EX: 45R

the "1800" means my goal is to stick close to 1800 kcals/day
the 3 for water is 3 20oz bottles of water (I'm working my way up. I started with 1, lol)
the 45R means 45 mins Running

If it's a weigh-in day, I put my weight at the top of the list for that day.

the smiley face means I met my goal for that day
this means I didn't, and for some reason, that just motivates me to keep racking up the smiley faces, lol

Probably sounds silly, but it works for me, and it's not a "diary" that requires creative writing skills or much time to fill out, so I have no excuse to put it off each night.

Another thing that helps me is being on a challenge thread and posting to the Exercise accountability and other similar threads here on 3FC.

[SCraver]

Wow guys! Thanks for all the good tidbits!

Cheryl: I have been keeping al ittle notebook of my workouts - I starting using it to count my points, but now I mainly use it for workouts. I love filling it up with things I have done to be active - And I love seeing how I improve from one workout to the next! I LOVE your smiley face idea! (Maybe I will go get some stickers!! )

Faerie: I have to say that I spent all day yesterday thinking about how you said, I shouldn't sell myself short - that I did do two days, which is better than no days... And you are totally right! Lasst night, when I jotted my little run down in my notebook - I saw in black and white - 3/1/08: walked outside for four miles. I actually FORGOT I had walked four whole miles that day! Talk about selling myself short!

Ilene: You have inspired me to start lifting my little weights!!

[SCraver]

Originally Posted by Hat Trick

I also like how I feel while I'm exercising. No, not all the time but when things are clicking and everything is humming along -- man o man, it just feels good.

YES!!!