Staying Motivated

I just finished Day 10 of my 30 day squat challenge. It was a 105 squats. After an entire day of pigging out, I have to admit, it was super tough. I had to break it up into 2 sessions. But I got through it. It got me thinking about staying motivated. It's not hard to start a work out regime. What's difficult is sticking to it. The 30 day challenge only takes a few minutes each day. And I am already struggling. It's so much more difficult to stick to the routine of going out to the gym and working out for an hour or so. Here I present some things that have been motivating me so far, and that I will continue to use to get through to the end:

1) Support network: I have been regularly informing my friends through this blog and facebook about my intentions of completing this 30 day challenge. I even got a few friends involved. It's public accountability. I try to keep my friends motivated, and in turn, they motivate me. Knowing someone managed to finish their squats helps me finish mine. Also, I never want to be in a situation when 2 months down the road, a friend asks me about my squat challenge and I have to say: "oh I gave that up after day 15".

2) Realistic goals and expectations: In my first blog about this challenge, I mentioned that I chose this plan because I knew I only had time for 1 month to commit to any exercise regime. Once my classes start, it becomes difficult. So, my goal was one month. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. Some may think that it's not realistic to go from no work out to a huge amount of squats in 30 days. But I believed it was possible. Besides, nothing happened at once. The increase was gradual enough for my body to adjust. After around day 4, the pain went away. It still hurts to do the squats, but it no longer hurts a day later. Also, I only went for one challenge instead of taking on a few...baby steps. As for my expectations, I knew I wouldn't see a huge change in just one month. But I knew that what I wanted was a change in belief. Belief that I could do it and prove to others that I could. That's my expectation, not some numbers on a scale. Having said that, I still took my weight and measurements before starting and will be taking them at the end of the month, but not during the work outs. Not seeing numbers change fast enough can be a deterrent to motivation.

3) Allow failure: It is sooo important to let yourself not be perfect. No matter how much you want to do something, sometimes you just can't. And that is okay. There was a day I totally forgot about doing the squats. That was 2 days ago. I remembered when I went to bed. But I no longer was going to. So instead of feeling guilty about it, I just considered that an extra rest day and continued on. I did 5 extra squats then I needed to the next day. So falling off the wagon is okay, as long as you are willing to get back on it. Failure is normal. Giving yourself permission to fail is a way to ensure you don't give up completely.

4) Constant reminder: I had my 30 day schedule printed and in front of me all the time. I recommend printing it and sticking it to the fridge and crossing out each day that you complete. That shows you how well you are progressing. There is no better motivation than seeing yourself succeed. It also keeps it fresh in your mind and reminds you what you are working towards.

5) Keep busy while squatting: Thinking about squatting while squatting is tough! I like to put on a show while I do mine because I am distracted by the show. I am still counting while I do them, but I am not thinking about the pain. Helps a lot when you are doing the last few squats.

Hope these tips help keep you motivated. Share your motivational tips here.

Happy Squatting!