Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community  

Go Back   Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community > The Academy > Tilted Knowledge and How-To


 
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 01-23-2011, 08:44 PM   #1 (permalink)
Hi floor! Make me a samwich.
 
Starkizzer's Avatar
 
Location: Ontario (in the stray cat complex)
Pushing through

I have been putting my insomnia to use and running in the gym at night or lifting weights. Overall, I like working out and physical activity. I am not very coordinated so it makes it hard for me to have fun doing any of the "new and exciting" workouts that are supposed to keep you motivated and going back for more.

When I workout, I get to a point where I just want to stop. I don't mean the "oh my sweet elephants, if I do anymore, I am going to pass out!" I mean the whiny brat voice that says, "But I don't WANNNA!"

So, I am asking the exercise gurus and the novices alike, what do you do to keep yourself going and push through this point?

I was able to ignore it the other night and ran two whole miles, which for me is amazing. First time ever! However, I am not sure how long I will be able to do this. I am looking for new ideas, I know the basic tricks:

*play upbeat music
*think of the accomplishments
*set time limits

So, I need something beyond this. If you are going to suggest any of these things, expand on them. How do you make them your own? Hell, even suggest new music. I want to finally reach my goals this year. But I need a way to stay motivated while I am working out, I think others could benefit from the sharing of ideas. Hopefully, someone will have something I haven't thought of, I am willing to try new ideas.
__________________
Frivolity, at the edge of a Moral Swamp, hears Hymn-Singing in the Distance and dons the Galoshes of Remorse. ~Edward Gorey
Starkizzer is offline  
Old 01-23-2011, 09:29 PM   #2 (permalink)
Kick Ass Kunoichi
 
snowy's Avatar
 
Location: Oregon
This is really dorky, but one of my favorite workout soundtracks is the Naruto original soundtrack. I think of it as my ninja training music. It has managed to keep me motivated when nothing else would, because duh, I want to be a ninja.

Set yourself manageable goals and reward yourself appropriately. When I was really actively trying to get in shape, I would reward myself with something monthly if I met my targets for the month (4 workouts a week, healthy eating habits, 2 lbs/week lost). My usual rewards were something fitness-oriented: new shoes, a new yoga mat, new workout clothes, etc. That way, I felt encouraged to do more.

And: Sign up for a 5k! You don't have to run the whole thing, you just have to TRY. There's all kinds of fun stuff associated with participating in an organized run. Plus, it gives you a big goal to work toward, and a baseline time to work with once you've finished it. Each 5k you sign up for, you can (hopefully) improve on your previous time.

Mix it up.

If I come up with any more while I am trying to motivate myself to get back into action, I'll let you know
__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
snowy is offline  
Old 01-23-2011, 09:46 PM   #3 (permalink)
Soaring
 
PonyPotato's Avatar
 
Location: Ohio!
I was training for specific distances a LOT longer than what I had done before, but pushed myself to get there. I also had my ex pushing me and telling me I could make it, and designed a workout playlist to keep me distracted and motivated.

Somewhere during that pushing of my boundaries, I discovered a point in my workouts where I felt AWESOME. Unfortunately, it takes me about 45 minutes of hard cardio to get there, so it's about 5 miles into a run.. but now that I've broken that boundary, I know that all of my workouts need to be longer than 45 minutes and then I'll feel amazing. So that's why I do it.

(this is still nearly impossible for me to achieve with swimming.)

It also helps to do activities that keep you mentally engaged or that are enjoyable in other ways - riding my bike is my meditation time, and it feels good, even if I'm working hard. Riding horses, I focus so much on what I'm training them to do that I forget I'm working myself until I get all done and realize how sweaty and tired I am. Playing a sport can be the same way - indoor soccer keeps me moving for a long time (I used to play a few games in a row in HS if teams after me needed another female), but I don't focus on how I feel as much as where the ball is and what I need to do to get it away from my opponent.
__________________
"Without passion man is a mere latent force and possibility, like the flint which awaits the shock of the iron before it can give forth its spark."
— Henri-Frédéric Amiel
PonyPotato is offline  
Old 01-23-2011, 09:56 PM   #4 (permalink)
Hi floor! Make me a samwich.
 
Starkizzer's Avatar
 
Location: Ontario (in the stray cat complex)
Well, see its not motivation to work out I need but more motivation to keep working out once I have started, like in an individual session.

I did the monthly goal thing back when I lost 25 pounds. If I had lost 5 pounds by the end of the month smrt would treat me to sushi. New work out stuff won't motivate me, I know myself Maybe we can try that again, since we don't go for sushi much anymore.

I know all the tricks, its just making myself do them. Sometimes, I think maybe I've just become complacent with being this weight since I don't think I will ever drop any. Right now though I am on a bit of a high for pushing my limits on the treadmill and running more than I have in the past. I love working out in the middle of the night when the gym is empty and then strolling around the apartment complex afterwards. It is so calming and I have such a clarity.

As for signing up for a 5K, ehh, well see about that one. If they had a night time one, I would be all over it. I hate working out in the day time. I dislike sunlight. I have ran the same course during the day as at night, with similar temperatures and I just drag during the day. I'm weird, especially since I live in sunny So Cal, but I much prefer the dark. Bright lights hurt my eyes and if its too bright out my nose burns when I breathe in....not sure how else to describe it.

*Edit: Just googled and found a few night time ones, wonder if I can convince anyone I know to do them with me*

Snowy, I will look into that soundtrack, but as I don't want to be a ninja, not sure how well it will work for me. Right now, Florence and the Machine has been my running partner, maybe tonight it will be Dead Kennedys, or a mix...I need to go work on that.
__________________
Frivolity, at the edge of a Moral Swamp, hears Hymn-Singing in the Distance and dons the Galoshes of Remorse. ~Edward Gorey

Last edited by Starkizzer; 01-23-2011 at 10:00 PM..
Starkizzer is offline  
Old 01-23-2011, 10:41 PM   #5 (permalink)
Psycho
 
bagatelle's Avatar
 
Location: Europe
My problem is, I've never found plain running fun to do. I don't have weight problems, but I should excercise more to keep fit otherwise. Now that we have proper winter, I can go skiing or skating and with a bit of traveling, downhill skiing is possible too. I know from skiing, there is this limit, you are talking about. I just have to get past that and myself warm enough and it will become more enjoyable. It's also dependable very much on proper breathing, I think.

But really, I'm not in that good shape and my goal is mostly to get me start any excercising, so I don't try to push it. We use to say: 'it's not the distance that kills you, it's the pace'.

I'm not sure though if slowing down the pace would help you carry on further.
__________________
Life is...
bagatelle is offline  
Old 01-24-2011, 02:13 AM   #6 (permalink)
Addict
 
Shadowex3's Avatar
 
Location: Florida
Boredom is my biggest enemy too. I keep busy on the treadmill because of cable, even if its random crap on food network (ok maybe not the best example) or alternatively by doing something so involved you can't think of anything else, like the Rape Bear Run.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hectonkhyres
I'm imagining crazed dwarves doing profoundly weird things. Urist McNutcase has developed a compulsion to jam anything colored blue up his anus, or alternately other peoples anuses
Shadowex3 is offline  
Old 01-24-2011, 06:25 PM   #7 (permalink)
MSD
The sky calls to us ...
 
MSD's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: CT
What kind of routine are you doing?
MSD is offline  
Old 01-24-2011, 08:08 PM   #8 (permalink)
Currently sour but formerly Dlishs
 
dlish's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: Australia/UAE
goal setting.

you have to set goals for yourself. achievable ones. this will keep your motivation higher.

whether its training for a particular race, or setting personal goals like losing weight. Your goals need to be achievable, otherwise you'll never get the sense of achievement from your exercise.

the same could be for goals during the exercise itself. you should have a goal for what you want to do during your exercise. it shouldnt be based on times or performance, but rather on form. so you need to say to yourself, i want to run 10 mins in a good running form without slouching, or getting tired, or dropping my hands too low.

by having such goals, you can work on improving your form before you set any other time orientated goals.
__________________
An injustice anywhere, is an injustice everywhere

I always sign my facebook comments with ()()===========(}. Does that make me gay?
- Filthy
dlish is offline  
 

Tags
pushing


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 03:08 AM.

Tilted Forum Project

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2
© 2002-2012 Tilted Forum Project

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360