Staying Motivated While Training

by Stephen Cascioli

We always set our minds on the big goals. That one goal that is months or even year(s) away. We invest so much time in it that we forget about the day-to-day tasks that we need to accomplish to get us there. Focusing on those long-term goals everyday can be super draining. We can get unmotivated and feel like we will never achieve those goals. Having that direction towards your big goal is a great step, but you have to do the smaller things that matter the most to get there.

Here are a few things, that take little time and will help you stay motivated and on track while training:

 

1. Upon wake up, write down your goal or something you want to accomplish in training for that day. This doesn’t’ even have to be long term goal oriented.

This keeps you focused and gives you something to work towards for the day. It can be something as simple as, making sure I hit depth every rep.  

2. Why do you want to accomplish that goal for the day?

This keeps you in check and making sure the goal you chose has purpose and matters to you. For example, why do you want to make sure you hit depth every rep?  Most of us would answer: because when I go into competition I have to hit depth for it to count. 

3. Reflecting on your daily goals at the end of the workout / week

This is a good tool to insure that the daily goal setting is manageable and evaluating whether or not you have to make adjustments. For example, If you hit depth 19/25 times last week in training. Maybe a good goal to have would be make sure I hit depth 20 or 21 times next week.

4. Hiring a Coach

A lot of us have busy schedules and having a coach can reduce a lot of daily stress.  This allows us to focus on our training without having that extra worry of what you have to do at the gym. A coach that make sure that you are staying on top of your goals , taking into consideration everything else you have going on in your life.

These three steps are a good start to staying motivated and focused in training. I know sometimes it feels like you are just there and going through the motions. This will allow to be connected in a different way with your training. If you can nail these three steps down and slowly add an additional goal to accomplish each day, training will be a lot more fun and that long-term goal wont be so far away. 

Stephen Cascioli is an IPF World Record holder & medalist in the 66kg open class. He is a Strength & Conditioning Specialist by day and you can find him on instagram @casciolisc.