Finding your feet - Motivation

Read Francesco Pavone's top tips on staying motivated. Find Francesco at Virgin Active Tower Bridge.

No one is fully motivated all of the time. All of us have hours or days or even longer where we’re understimulated, struggling, just don’t fancy it. Motivation is fleeting. But the trick is to encourage it, harness it, and then turn motivation into habit.

We need to get a little uncomfortable to train and that requires having a big drive coming from inside us. Our why, the reason we’re doing this in the first place.

It’s not an easy process.

During my career, I found myself deeply sad and unsatisfied after I achieved my season goals on several occasions. So why was that?

Well, I understood that I was only focused on my overall goal and not on the journey.

If you want to maintain a toned and lean body you have to look after your nutrition and make sure that you exercise properly within a balanced and flexible lifestyle.

You have the freedom of choice. You can decide what you want to do and who you want to be. 

Don’t underestimate the power of sharing your workouts with a partner.

Here are six reasons why you would benefit from working out with a partner:

1) Accountability – if you workout Tuesday and Thursday at 18:00 with your buddy you have your back covered for those days where you simply don’t feel like working out and instead the only thing that matters is turning up. Having a regular appointment with your friend creates a barrier to you saying no and helps improve your adherence to your routine.

2) Support and motivation – a partner is not simply a spotter but could push you and inspire you to give 100% every session. I also would like to add that, as a rebound, being a support for your partner is very engaging and inspiring too.

3) Fun – come on let’s be honest, finishing a killer leg session with a friend has a totally different taste when you’re both walking out of the gym like jelly.

4) Noticing your progress – sometimes you might not notice a little progress, whether it’s a strength gain or a visible fat loss. Your friend may see that actually, your top seems to fit a little different or your last rep was easier than last time. This can be very powerful.

5) Safety – a partner can ensure you perform the exercises with proper form or can assist you during some lifts.

6) New challenges – sharing your workouts and making progress along with your buddy will likely create a positive environment and open your mind to new challenges like running a marathon or taking part in a weightlifting competition, or trying a class you wouldn’t have considered before.

Last but not the least, push the momentum. You need to create an environment that allows you to instil a new habit.

If you follow these points, I promise you will never struggle getting your ass to the gym:

1) Create a ritual – you could start by having a Pre-workout snack and a coffee at the same time before you workout or by linking that new ritual to something you already do normally. Tip: repeating the same warm-up routine over and over can switch you on even on those days when you feel tired and sleepy because your body remembers getting in the zone for a workout.

2) Turn up – as an action person, I think that some days you should take it easy and listen to your body if you need to. But you can still come to the gym, get yourself warmed up and do a bit of mobility or core exercises or chill out in the sauna. That way you’ll feel much better because you didn’t interrupt your successful habit.

3) Never miss twice! Life is busy and unpredictable but if you think your habit is not well established yet you should never break two workouts in a row.