Fitness training scares a lot of people, others do it for the wrong reasons, some people are fanatical. It’s very personal.

We all ebb and flow through many aspects of our lives and the taking care of ourselves part is no exception. Sometimes we’re all over it, sometimes we just couldn’t give a hoot. I’d like to think that most of us really do care about our health and fitness but that is pain delusional (just look out the window if you need proof).

I make the bold assumption that as a reader of this blog you are interested (hopefully exceedingly so) in your health and fitness. I have been involved in the industry for a few years now and have seen far too many fads, ideas, plans and programs to remember let alone critique. Suffice to say most of these do not work for the simple reason that they are either not applied properly or are unsuitable to the individual in question.

Once you’ve made the commitment to training (and it is a commitment) you should expect results. If you are not getting results then something is wrong. Very wrong. Either you are doing something wrong, or you have the wrong information, or there’s a disconnect somewhere (your diet maybe). I hope you get my point.

Now, we finally get to the subject of the post (re-read the headline if I veered too far off course). Here are three ways to get the most out of every workout that you participate in:

Forget about the outside world

When you are training your entire consciousness should be focused upon yourself and your efforts in training. No thoughts should be wasted on what’s going on at work, what you have to prepare for dinner, why you can’t find that black sock. Your mind and body must be connected and in complete alignment for you to achieve amazing results. (Case in point: how many people do you know that read magazines whilst walking on a treadmill who are dramatically fitter in three months?)

Make your workouts a meditation. Strip away all the craziness of the outside world. Clear your mind. Focus completely on yourself. Be a little selfish.

Get your diet in order

I am sure you’ve heard this before. It does warrant a reminder though. Diet is the key to your success even in singular workouts. What you eat before and after your workouts have a direct correlation to how you perform during your workouts. That’s not rocket science, it’s just plain simple truth. Don’t for a second think that a post-workout recovery drink will suffice. You have to be on the ball all (or at least most) of the time.

Your degree of diligence in following a sensible nutrition plan (either the Paleo or Zone diet or both) will directly correlate to your performance. If you adhere 80% of the time you will get 80% of the rewards and so on.

Get competitive

Competition is an amazing motivator. Even those people who say they are not competitive really are, it’s just they compete differently to the rest of us. And even those people will get competitive in a group, it’s just human nature. No one likes to come last.

You don’t necessarily have to compete against anyone else. You can compete against yourself. All you need to do is record your workout results and always aim to do better next time. Always aiming to improve is competition against yourself. What greater motivation do you need than to do better than before or to beat the guy or girl next to you?

Tags: motivation, workout