Why are you working out?
Why are you here on teamRIPPED reading this?
Why are you pushing play?
Why are you studying P90X, Insanity, Pump, and watching YouTube videos to decide if you even WANT to push play?
You can do all the research and planning you want, but if you haven’t asked yourself the question, “WHY?” and come up with a good answer to that question, you don’t have much chance of lasting when the going gets tough!
Did you decide that enough is enough, and 2012 is the year you make a change? Did your wife / husband make you do this? Did you see the infomercial and get pumped up by the idea of being ripped? Are your buddies doing it? Did your doctor say you have to do something about your health?
We all have reasons for why we decided to do this. That motivation is what gets us started on the journey. During the journey, we may forget the motivation we had at the start, or the journey may become so hard that the motivation we had is no longer enough to keep us going. Often times, our ability to stay the course is directly proportional to how important our reason is for doing it in the first place. If we started working out because we saw the infomercial and got an emotional high, we will quit as soon as we lose that high! But if our doctor told us we will die of an obesity-related disease, we are much more likely to stick to it. Our success is directly tied to the power of our “Why?”.
Do you have a “Why?” that will get you out of bed when you don’t want to get up and workout?
Do you have a “Why?” that will help you resist the temptation to pig out at the end of a long, stressful day?
Let me tell you about my motivation — my “Why?”. For those of you who have read the “My story” tab on the homepage, I describe how I was motivated by my faith and my children to make a lifestyle change. This motivation was, and continues to be, the foundation for the healthy lifestyle changes I’ve made. It’s a “Why” that is stronger than the desire to sleep in, the desire to eat candy, and the desire to be lazy. My “Why” keeps me going! It’s kept me going for 2 years now!
However, sometimes we need something new, something different, to rekindle that fire and motivation and keep us pushing play. Although these are not my overarching reason for getting healthy, they can throw some extra fuel on my fire. Here’s some of those motivators I have used during my transformation:
1) Competition = Even though it’s just me working out, there is something about conquering the workout, beating my record from last time, or pushing myself harder than I did last time that brings out those manly competitive juices in me! Since I’m “over the hill” and don’t get to participate in organized sports, these workouts serve to feed that male-ego thing for me! And something like the upcoming P90X2 Challenge, pitting our teamRIPPED X2 Crew against team Xcellent Fitness, fuels that competitive fire even more, and makes me even more ready to BRING IT! That’s why I love these challenge groups — it gets us all pushing ourselves harder with a specific goal that we are working toward.
2) Variety = Even with the muscle confusion, the workouts can get a little routine after several times through. I get very excited anytime I sit down and start putting together my next “hybrid” routine, thinking about how each workout will work with the others to help me take it to the next level. I also get pumped up every time BB releases a new workout because it gives me new workouts to try and new goals to push for. As you can see by my many hybrid workouts, I’ve incorporated lots of variety with different workout programs to keep things fresh and unpredictable. I’ve used P90X, Insanity, P90X Plus, Tony Horton 1-on-1’s, Asylum, and even my own homemade TRX system (YouTube video on my homemade TRX can be found HERE!). I am now looking forward to P90X2 and then Les Mills PUMP. Even more variety! Anyone who gets bored with Beachbody workouts has no one to blame but themselves!
3) Accountability / Team = This is huge for me. If I was working out in secret, it would be way too easy for me to start slacking off. By being a coach, I am accountable to all of you. Plus, I have several friends / family / neighbors who have started doing the program after seeing my transformation, and we check in with each other often to see how we are doing on the workouts and nutrition. I’m also part of several tight-knit groups of people I could never imagine letting down (The teamRIPPED Asylum Crazies, the teamRIPPED Misfits, and most recently the X2 Crew). No way can I let up now, because I’d not only let myself down but all the other people who look to me for motivation, and who motivate me.
4) Rewards = I love getting to freshen up the wardrobe now that I’ve got a new physique and the old clothes don’t fit anymore. I have had fun buying some pretty stylish jeans (I never could fit in “cool” jeans before), and I have picked up several snug Under Armour shirts now that I don’t look gross in them!! LOL! It’s fun to let yourself splurge as a reward for all your hard work. Treats don’t have to come in the form of food items. Retrain yourself to treat yourself with time, an activity you want to do, an item you’ve been wanting, etc. Now don’t overdo it or you’ll need a credit counseling coach as well!!
I hope this little look at “WHY?” has enlightened you to the importance of having a deep, personal reason for doing this. Because I will GUARANTEE you that it will get hard. It may be hard most of the time. But if your “Why?” is solid, you’ll persevere. If your “Why?” is weak, you’ll bail.
Spend some time today asking yourself what your “Why?” is. And BRING IT!
Need a coach?
My email: coachwayne@teamripped.com
IG: @wayne_wyatt
