Stay Motivated and Lose Weight by Training Like an Athlete

One of the challenges to people who are looking to improve their fitness is staying motivated until they reach their fitness goals. With about 9 in 10 people wanting to change their appearance (make that: lose weight) as their primary objective, getting all the way to the target weight and keeping those extra pounds off can prove to be much more difficult than some had originally bargained for.

One of the big obstacles that people face is the fact they have been out of shape for years when they decide to finally do something about their fitness, and once they do start working out, the fact that the results that they seek may take awhile and can feel like hard work will test their motivation to the limit. One of the big reasons people hire personal trainers is that, in addition to the education they can receive from a professional instructor, the trainer can create workouts that are consistently fun and engaging as well as an atmosphere of support. And this can keep a person taking on their fitness motivated all the way to the finish line.

As a personal trainer myself, I believe that one of the best tools to keeping a person really motivated all the way to their goal and target body weight is to set very specific guidelines as to what that goal is, and have the person working out be very excited about what reaching that goal can mean to them. If a person wants to lose 20 pounds, we will discuss in detail what losing 20 pounds can do for their life and how they will feel and be different when they get there. And we come back to this reason over and over again during the period of working toward that goal.

One thing that I found, though, in my career as a trainer is that frequently just having a goal about weight loss is insufficient to keep a person motivated all the way to the end. The reason is that the process of weight loss in a healthy way can be a slow one. Even if a person had a great week of training and eating well, their body may not have changed a lot anyway. That can leave them with a feeling of being unsuccessful, even though everything that they did that week was positive and will benefit them in the long run. So, I was left with the problem of having a person doing everything they need to be doing really well and actually feeling like they were successful even if they hadn't lost a lot of weight in a particular week.

The key is to get all people in the process of improving their fitness thinking like athletes, even if on a smaller scale than someone training for the Olympic Games. I believe that all people have the ability to experience their athleticism on some level, even those that have been out of shape for some time, and when they make a connection to their bodies that allow for this, they can get hooked on that experience and want more of it. They will see that improving their fitness itself feels good and can be fun on its own, and that it would be something they would enjoy doing whether they were losing weight doing it or not. Once a person gets to this level, the irony is that they will lose all the weight they want anyway because they are actually at a point where they will stick with the exercise.

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to be a trainer in a couple of "weight loss" competitions sponsored by a local TV station here in Phoenix. Each of the two years that I participated, I worked with a person who was competing against three others to see who could make the biggest successful lifestyle change over a 5 month period. What the other trainers and I found over the length of the competition was that the people who ended up losing a significant amount of weight were the ones who got to the point that they realiozed that the weight loss was actually secondary in motivation to them feeling fit, athletic and healthy for the first time in a long time. All of the trainers worked with their clients using some techniques that were athletic in nature, similar to how an athlete on a sports team would train, with jumping and running drills, using medicine balls, playing basketball, etc. All of the successful participants said that once they realized they like feeling like they were athletes, they knew they would stick with the program for the rest of their lives.

I use the term "inner athlete" to describe this way of thinking, and I know that it works. Rather than having a client do just cardio, we may set a goal to have them do their first ever 5k road race in 3 months, and their cardio trains them for that in addition to helping them lose weight. Or they want to do a great hike in the coming summer, or their kids are now playing sports and they want to be able to play with them, so I do sports drills with them so they build the skills that any athlete at any age would want to have. These are the things that people like having whether they are losing weight or not, and the fact that this type of exercise helps them lose weight makes it all the better.

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Periodization Training: A Body Building Perspective

If you divide your yearly training into phases or cycles, you'll maintain a better mental outlook, more motivation and your body will also respond better physiologically.

The first phase of training is the one that builds muscle size and pre-orients your muscles to be geared up (condition-wise) to go for strength and power which will theoretically allow you to even add more muscle size. Plus, you will condition your tendons and joints to handle the stresses of heavier weights to come.

It is recommended that you do 6-15 reps per set for size with the great majority of reps falling somewhere from 8-12 reps. Try 3-4 heavier "work" sets after a systemic warm-up plus 2-3 warm-up weight sets per exercise. As you might note, so far this sounds pretty much like a standard common sense bodybuilding workout.

The strength and power phases are next. This will be another 8-week cycle. To develop strength and power, the greatest athletes in the world generally work with 2-6 reps. Since we are geared to bodybuilders we adjust this slightly and in this phase, we advocate 4 - 5 sets of 5 - 7 reps. Here is how this cycle works. We'll use our previous example for the Bench Press where you ended Phase 1 at 235 for 10 reps. Do an active system warm-up, then with weights 95 x 10 and 155 for 10. On your final warm up set do 205 for 6.

Then go to your "target weight" which is actually only 10-lbs. above the weight you ended up at sets of 10 in your first phase. So, start at 245-lbs. x 3 sets of 5-6 reps. You are leaving yourself some extra so you continue to gain positively all the way through the cycle.

In physics, work is a measure of force and distance. (w = f x d). Power means doing a specified amount of work per unit time. If you can move mass M over distance D in 10 seconds and then (after training) move the same mass M the same distance D, but do it in 5 seconds, you are twice as powerful!

Our experience has been to spend a maximum of four weeks in the power phase and to use 2 -3 reps in benches and deadlifts, 3 - 4 reps in the squats and bent-over rows, and 5 - 6 reps for all other exercises. Again, follow your 2-3 warm-ups, and 3 power work sets and then do a down set of 10 reps with about 70% of your target weight, just as you did in the strength phase.

Phase 4 is the rest cycle, a must for great results and essential for building strength and lean mass. Be sure to add about a week of rest into your online workout program, about 1 week every 12. You'll love the way you feel afterwards!

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Treat Yourself, But Don't Overdo It

Whether you're at the family barbecue, out with friends, or having dinner with colleagues, a time will come when temptation to cheat on your nutrition plan will present itself, and many will give in. I have this conversation with my clients frequently, and since the decision to indulge a little has already been made, I try to give tips for making better choices and still feel like you are treating yourself.

Soda or iced tea, or juice iced tea is regarded as the better choice simply due to the high levels of sugar and the carbonation in soda. Iced tea can certainly have sugar but if you have unsweetened, you can at least regulate how much. An 8oz glass of fruit juice is about 120 cal, 29 carbs and 26 grams of sugar, hardly considered a great alternative. All are bad for your teeth, and if you use lemon in your tea, the acidity can lead to cavities as sugar does in soda. One other note regarding soda, have you ever seen how easily soda takes corrosion off your car battery? Honestly I would choose water.

Alcohol light beer on average carries about 27% less calories than regular beer, with Michelob Ultra and Becks Premiere leading the way at less than 100 calories and 4 carbs. Red and white wine, on a list of over 100 averaged between 80-200 calories per glass. If you love a good mixed drink, keep this in mind if you're trying to watch your weight. A 12oz Margarita is around 680 cal, Pina Colada (650 cal), rum & coke (10oz, 356 cal). Of course the calories really add up when we add appetizers and have a few rounds. A couple drinks and a plate of potato skins may add up to your entire daily calorie allowance!

Eating out. Hmmm, way too many choices to be made here. But here are a few ideas for when you're out to dinner. Choose grilled when you can and ask for your meat to be prepared without oil or butter. Try losing the bun of your burger. And use mustard instead of mayo or special sauce. Mustard can add virtually no calories to your meal. Order salad dressing on the side, shy away from thick creamy dressings. Have ½ your meal wrapped to go before you're served. Choose a side of veggies rather than fries.

Don't forget dessert. This being my favorite category of food, sometimes it's hard avoiding overindulgence and still feel like I'm having a treat. So the only suggestion I will make in regards to dessert is choose whatever you like, but have a small portion. A few bites to satisfy our craving shouldn't hurt, overindulgence will. Maybe share that slice of pie with a friend.

Making the choice to eat healthier doesn't have to feel like you are being squeezed with restriction. A quality nutrition plan can include a day to relax and eat what you want. Sometimes, like on our cheat day, we can make healthy choices and still feel like we are treating ourselves.

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