motivation and the excuses

[TrentZor]

Every week i hear a few excuses from members or interested clients who complain they have no time. Energy to train for 40min a day 3 times a week.. I quickly put a few of them into perspective..

I work 8:30-4:45pm at my day job as a IT manager with its high stresses of delivering million dollar projects to demanding customers.
Rush to the gym to open up at 5:10..
5:10-6pm.. Workout
6-9pm - train clients
10-1am - look after my new born child while giving my wife time to bath and rest.

Also still managed to currently hold 2 national records (sub masters/masters in bench).

Rinse repeat..

I find this puts alot of the younger clients in place who some are close to half my age yet have all the stamina/advantages of youth and carefree in the world.



So whats your excuse today?

 

[k_21]

My Knee hurts from squatting on Monday....no really!

 

[Aiden3121]

ceffo thats fucking tuff. big ups to you.

I work 8am 5pm mon-fri.
5pm-1am saturday

Gym 5 nights a week, + 2days cardio off.

+ im seing a girl.

If you want an excuse its always gona be there.
you just gotta do it

 

[Grippy]

They are some big days Ceffo, I know how tough new borns an be too, I remember many times going to work with only an hour or less sleep.

 

[The Hamburgler]

My excuse is that I can't stick to a program for more than 5 minutes and you took all my bumpers so I can't deadlift at home anymore (short term anyway)

 

[Flea]

I have a mate that I try to get to hit the gym with me, he works 8-5 five days a week nothing crazy... he tells me he doesn't have time, any time ive been round his house after work 9/10 times hell be sitting on his arse drinking a beer.. makes me cranky I tell him using 'i dont have time' is not a reason its an excuse.. if you want something you MAKE time.

 

[Bazza20]

Yep people make up excuses because they dont really want to exercise anyway and the excuse makes them feel better and justify not doing it.

I don't think I am anything special at all but I worked over 85 hours last week and still managed to get to the gym 6 days for about an hour each. You have just gotta want to do it. Gym time is a great stress reliever I find.

 

[Grippy]

Gym time is a great stress reliever I find.

Yep me too, with full time work, part time study and organising 2 kids while the missus is at work each night I find after lifting Im much more relaxed and less irritable.

 

[boxing23]

6 Days a week
my day goes a bit like
wake up for work at 4:15 start work at 5:30 - 3:00 as a bricklayer quite physical
Get home and eat
Walk to gym at 3:30 train till around 5:30 walk home get home about 6
Make dinner then study for my tafe or make meals for the week.
I find it hard enough and im only 18 and live with mum and dad so i dont have half the expenses to worry about or kids to look after like alot of you fellas do. So i applaud you guys out there who find time to earn provide and look after a family as well as find time to train great effort.

 

[broncs]

So true ceffo
Thumbs up to you mate
I'm in a similar situation :
Wake up 4am
1hr travel to work (im a joiner)
Start work 6am finish 4pm and get home 5.10pm monday to thursday
Friday 6am to 3pm
Saturday 6am to 12
I try to train monday,wednesday,friday and saturday but sometimes is really hard as i need to help the wife with the kids shower, dinner and so on
Its easy to have an excuse but always there is someone out there doing it tougher than me.

 

[Fadi]

Trent, I've got a new job for you (just incase you don't have enough on your plate as it is!); creating a goal for your client. You see, merely saying you want to lose or gain weight, get stronger or get fitter etc., does not mean you really understand what lies behind it.

We sometimes mistake a lack of a true goal to be some lack of motivation. Compartmenting our thoughts and actions is another thing that your client may need a hand at. In other words, they want you (yes you not them [because they're paying you remember!]) to devise a plan not just for training, but also time management.


Like I have already wrote in this thread: Discipline and the fat man , the fat man is not lacking any discipline, he simply hasn't been shown the way to get there and/or been jolted into action in a round about way (which in my opinion is the single most powerful factor in getting people to go from talking to walking).

Again, after reading this: Discipline and the fat man, it would become clearer to you that it's not about you but it's about me (your client) that matters. So you can tell me all about your great time management and how you can manage to fit in a million and one thing, but at the end of the day, some clients would view that as simply being arrogant and not empathetic enough. I'm not saying that all clients would view your example about your own time management being arrogant, as some (indeed) would learn from it and would in turn view their task at hand seem easy when compared to yours. There's always two sides to the same coin is what I'm saying Trent.

Maybe I should come meet some of your clients someday!


Fadi.

 

[TrentZor]

good post fadi... Of my clients some don't have any excuses and some just need that extra nudge at times..

My view might be seen as arrogant but i sometimes i use it on a few who think they don't have the time to fit in 40min (or an hour including travel time).

First thing i ask generally of all clients is what goal do they have for themselves? Most just want to get fitter but with no real goal they can grasp on. Alot are now keen on competing in lifting. I have found as u mentioned fadi puts a goal post for then to try and reach yet which will keep moving as they get closer


BTW fadi - When are u going to stop by? I would love to pick your brain on alot of things .. cheers.. Shrek told me u live not too far from here?

 

[Fadi]

good post fadi... Of my clients some don't have any excuses and some just need that extra nudge at times..

My view might be seen as arrogant but i sometimes i use it on a few who think they don't have the time to fit in 40min (or an hour including travel time).

First thing i ask generally of all clients is what goal do they have for themselves? Most just want to get fitter but with no real goal they can grasp on. Alot are now keen on competing in lifting. I have found as u mentioned fadi puts a goal post for then to try and reach yet which will keep moving as they get closer


BTW fadi - When are u going to stop by? I would love to pick your brain on alot of things .. cheers.. Shrek told me u live not too far from here?

Great reply thanks Trent. Shrek is right, I'm only about 10-15 minutes aways from you. And I look forward to visiting your centre and having my "brain picked" by you Champion.

Take care now.


Fadi.

 

[Shrek]

I have no excuses. I guess that's why I train. Discipline, now that's a diferent story.

 

[Bench Polkov]

I don't makes excuses. I fucking train.

 

[Fadi]

I have no excuses. I guess that's why I train. Discipline, now that's a diferent story.

Deep and nice, I like it.


Fadi.

 

[Dancelot]

Why would I make excuses to not do something I love?

 

[Fadi]

Why would I make excuses to not do something I love?

I know your question is only rhetorical, but you’re right you wouldn’t. However the difference between you Devante and some of Trent’s clients is that although they can see the end result, they can “taste it” and get so excited about it; the way they want to look, or the fitness and strength they will end up with… the factor they can not see or understand is the mean to that end. And that’s where Trent comes in to fill in that void for them and make the whole picture complete.


Fadi.

 

[Dancelot]

You are right, Fadi. My point is that as long as people see training as a necessary evil to achieve what they want, they will always have to battle issues with motivation and excuses. If you can make them fall in love with the process itself, those issues will simply disappear into irrelevancy. Training will no longer be a necessary evil, it will become your passion and part of who you are.

 

[Fadi]

You are right, Fadi. My point is that as long as people see training as a necessary evil to achieve what they want, they will always have to battle issues with motivation and excuses. If you can make them fall in love with the process itself, those issues will simply disappear into irrelevancy. Training will no longer be a necessary evil, it will become your passion and part of who you are.

Devante, remember how I said that there's always two sides to every coin, well above you have presented us with one side. Here's the other side.

This side of the coin says on it: "don't waste your time trying to change what could be unchangeable."

You have your trainees who don't want to fall in love with the mean that would get them their result, they hate, loath, detest (you name it) the training and /or dieting they have to endure to achieve their goal. The point I made in the "discipline and the fat man" article was that we (for these particular clients) need to have them focus not on what they hate the most (exercising/dieting), but on what they love the most, whatever that maybe.

I'll give you an example. Let's say you Devante love training, but hate squatting, leg pressing, hack squatting, leg curls (basically any leg work). But you love nothing more than to kick ass in some bodybuilding contest. You like the attention you get from the opposite sex etc. etc.

My job is to say to you here is yes Devante, I acknowledge your deep hate for leg work, but let's just put up with it (not trying to convince the client to like or love anything here notice Devante), but simply going along with them (as long as they do the leg program), they can whinge as much as they like. My focus would be on those girls’ attention during/after contest time, those other contestant who are going to get beaten by you etc. That’s what I will be constantly reminding you of and mixing with your soup (I mean your leg workout), making it that much easier and that much more pleasant to swallow.

Psychology plays a huge role in sport, much more than many many PTs and /or coaches will ever realise (until it's too late) Devante.

I left the sport of Olympic weightlifting (at 18), before I even got started so to speak because of bad management in psychology.


Fadi.