How To Amp Up Your Gym Motivation

Motivation is a psychological feature that encourages us to act towards a desired goal. Weight training motivation could come from simply seeing someone else bench press more than you, and wanting to outperform them. Or, maybe you just want to impress the cute girl working out beside you. Whatever the reason, there’s a variety of motivational elements all around that inspire us to push beyond our physical and mental boundaries.

So what motivational techniques can you incorporate to get the most out of your daily workouts? Here are 5 proven winners. 

Set a Goal

Try to set a personal best, or increase the weight you are pushing incrementally. Try to improve on your last performance each time you hit the gym. Keeping a journal and logging each workout will help you achieve this goal.

Reward Yourself

If you’ve had a particularly intense workout then maybe reward yourself with a post workout treat, or meal which you’ve been craving. This will give your workout a more satisfactory outcome and will ensure you don’t reward yourself unless you have pushed yourself to the limit.

Play Some Tunes

Crank up the ipod and pump up the volume. Try using fast paced music during sets and slower more mellow tunes during rest periods. Research from Brunel University indicates that this approach increases work output, reduces perceived exertion and improves the task at hand.

Self Affirmations

Use some positive self talk to get in the zone, and reinforce your self esteem. The right kind of repetitive self-affirming thoughts and talk can positively alter your belief system. You can either use the mood-related self-talk method, which impacts upon your emotional self being, or you could use positive self-affirmation statements, which many trainers use to reiterate how great they are – Arnold was a master at this method.

Watch an Inspiring Video

Who wasn’t inspired to hit the weight room after watching Rocky train to the tune Gonna Fly Now? Whether it’s a scene from your favorite movie, or an inspiring fitness related motivational video like the one below, watching a few minutes of something that personally inspires you can do wonders for your workout.