Finding the Motivation

Have you ever had one of those days? Work, family, stress—nothing seems to go right. The last thing you’ve got the energy for is an intense training session.

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems that as the years go by those hectic and eventually low-energy days seem to come a bit more frequently than they once did.

Well, the way I look at it none of us has it easy every day.

And while you don’t always have control over what the day holds in store for you, you can control how you deal with it.

You can sit there and moan “woe is me” and use the “bad day” excuse for not getting to the gym and getting your training in (we’ve all done it before); or you can suck it up and do what has to be done.

I’m not saying that it’s easy—believe me, I know that it isn’t. In fact, I had one of those days today. I won’t bore you with the details. But you know the feeling: absolutely nothing went right.

Well, maybe because of days like today over the years I’ve learned a few little tricks to help get me to the gym and through a quality training session even when it feels like the last thing I want to do. Here’s a few things you can try.

1. Before you start to train, take a couple of quiet minutes to clear your head. Sure you may be running late, but slow down for a minute to put the day behind you and focus on the task at hand.

After a tough day, I’ll pull into the gym parking lot, turn the radio off, open the window, and just catch my breath for a minute or two. I won’t think about what I did earlier or what I have to do later. I’ll just relax. Remember what that’s like?

2. If you’re truly pressed for time, don’t be afraid to cut back on your usual training program for the day. Some of the best workouts I’ve ever had have lasted just 20-30 minutes.

No one says you have to do 12 sets for chest and 8 sets for biceps every time you train. In fact, it’s foolish and counterproductive to train this way.

Even if you’re not pressed for time, once in a while you ought to workout with just 4 sets of chest and 2 sets of biceps. I mean you can do those 6 sets, throw in some ab work, and still be out of the gym—and feeling a lot better I might add—in less than half an hour.

3. Certain supplements can help get you focused and over the hump. Two of my old favorites are Ultimate Orange from Next Nutrition and Dymetadrine 25 from AST.

Ultimate Orange is an orange flavored pre-workout drink you can mix up for a quick jolt of energy to help get you through even the most intense training sessions.

Dymetadrine 25 is an inexpensive and convenient ephedrine-based supplement in tablet form which also can help on those really long days.

I don’t use Dymetadrine 25 every time I train, but I do keep a small bottle in my gym bag for those few days every month that require it.

I’ve also had some good early experiences with the new class of supplements known as “neuro focusing agents.” EAS’s Neurogain and HDT’s NFA 500 are the two best formulas in this category.

We don’t have time to get into all the details of neuro focusing agents in this week’s issue (though I will address these supplements more thoroughly in an upcoming edition of the newsletter), but NFAs are formula supplements made up of a combination of ingredients which are believed to actually spark or contribute to the health of neuro-transmitters.

Whatever it takes, and however you get yourself mentally and physically through those most difficult of training days, you should always attempt to do so.

For not only will training actually relieve some of your stress and make you feel significantly better, but also the unique sense of accomplishment you’ll have from getting the job done will truly make it worth every bit of effort.