What Motivates?

The hardest part of doing any workout of any sort is not always the one-rep max, the extra mile, or successfully getting into the ‘wheel pose’ during yoga. I’d suggest that the hardest part is just getting the drive to get up and go do what you do. Let’s face it. It can be so incredibly hard, and it takes keeping in mind the things that motivate you.

What motivates me? I’ve thought about this a bit, and I think there are three things that really drive me to keep up with my regimen. Interestingly, these motivations are intermixed with both vain and practical motivations. Maybe some of these are relatable?

• I’d like to think that I’m fairly lean, but that definitely wasn’t the case in the early teen years. I was a little bit bigger and was known as ‘Chubs’ in certain circles. I rolled with it for awhile and even thought it was pretty funny (was actually sort of catchy). Regardless, over time, it became a huge motivator to change my image and reach down to transform. I was tired of the jokes, so I took it upon myself to do something.


• I’m a sucker for a good action movie, well any action movie. And sports. Oh, and professional wrestling. What do all these things have in common? Often times a pretty jacked hero. From where I sat, who didn’t want to be that guy? People loved him, he overcame adversity, and he saved the day. When this is what you see as a kid, these things can become pretty ingrained into your brain. So, admittedly, the hero image goes a long way for me.


• The last main motivator for me is that I’m a guy that, like most guys, just wants to be useful. While there are tons of ways to be useful, the doors of opportunity open for you when you’re the one that can the opening for others (or lifting, moving, holding, dragging, etc.). So, from a practical standpoint, I keep pushing myself a lot of times because I want to be that guy that my wife, family, friends, and neighbors go to for help and support. It’s always good to be needed.

I hope I didn’t get too heavy with the first real post here; most posts won’t necessarily be of this variety. The truth though is that motivations are fundamental for why we do what we do and those motivations are seeded deep in our mind. Here are some other motivators that other folks have told me about.

You know I had to

• ‘Suns out, Guns out’. Yes, the ole’ beach season readiness. Everyone wants to look their best come summertime.


• Compliments. Some people really need the positive reinforcement in the day-to-day. So, it’s very important for some to get the deferential nod in the gym when they put up a bit on the bar or the ‘wow, are you losing weight?’ type of questions. Get this once and you want to keep hearing the positivity.


• Revenge shape. You know what I’m talking about. A guy or gal becomes recently and sometimes unexpectedly single, so they just want to get in the best shape ever to make the old lover so jealous.


• So, I said in the welcome post earlier today that I’m no Mr. Olympia. Well, there are plenty of people I know that could try to pass! Just the pure competitive spirit might be enough to push folks that extra bit to stick with it and go through the grind.

Here was a quick list of motivators. I would love to know what else motivates you to get in or stay in shape. Please comment below about any of the above or anything that you think should be on the list.