Motivation

I had a pleasant chat with someone at the gym today. I didn't realize that my exercise routine was inspirational for other people to watch. I also got to hear about how this person had lost the motivation to exercise and was just getting back into the swing of things. When I heard the story, I could see why exercise fell by the wayside. Burnout and boredom. It happens to even the most dedicated fitness buff at some point.

I've been fortunate in that I usually can keep myself motivated to continue training, but I think a number of factors have contributed to that success and perseverance:

1. Surrounding myself with people who love training, whether it be martial arts or fitness.
2. Understanding how to set [achievable] goals, determining milestones to gauge my progress, and committing myself towards achieving those goals.
3. Keeping my training regimen fresh by maximizing variety and rotating in different exercises on a regular basis.
   
4. Treating each training session as a mindfulness drill and really trying to focus my mind on controlling and feeling my body to correctly perform the exercises.
5. Making my training multifaceted by incorporating skills, conditioning, flexibility, strength, speed, coordination, power, neuromuscular body control, etc. exercises into my training.
6. Eating enough to fuel my training.
   
7. Taking days off to allow my body time to recover and avoid burnout.

Of course, it probably doesn't hurt that I'm vain. My Chinese zodiac symbol is the snake, which is described on those restaurant paper placemats as being "vain and intense." If that's true, it's no surprise that personal fitness has become an important part of my life.