Can't be arsed.
Better things to do.
Prefer to watch TV.
Would rather stick pins in my eyes.
These are all real reasons that people have told me they don't exercise. And having been a Personal Trainer for over 15 years now, I get it, not everyone likes to exercise and eat healthily, not everyone wants to exercise and eat healthily, but we know we should.
Excuses go along way and ultimately stop us from doing what we know we should be doing. Simple as that.
We can kid ourselves - I know I've done a lot of that over the years!!!
But there is one excuse that is worse than all the above in my warped fitness enthusiasts eyes and I bet you've heard, or even, used yourself on occasions (oh how could you ;-) ).
''I don't have the motivation.''
Motivation is like a pledge from the Prime Minister - very short-lived.
If we rely solely on motivation to drive us towards our goals, I can assure you 99% of the time we'll fall short, which will destroy what little motivation we had in the first place, damage our mental state and leave us feeling pretty low, pushing us further away from what we truly want.
If you ask the freaks of nature like The Rock (the man-mountain which every single person in the world would leave their partner for, men and women included) what makes them get out of bed at 4.30am in the morning to train, or your irritating mate who always seems to eat healthily and crap never seems to pass their lips, however, hungover they are from the 4 bottles of prosecco the night before, why they act as they do, they'll never say Motivation.
Motivation lasts a moment.
It is discipline that carries us forward on the road to our goals.
But how do we become disciplined I hear you scream at your screen? If it were that easy, you'd be doing it, right?
Like everything in life, we need to be taught how to do something, we need it to be broken down into small, manageable chunks that we can take on board, then practice.
The way we attain strict discipline in order to get what we want is by creating small and manageable habits in our daily life, repeat them until they become hard-wired, then add more good habits on the top.
This way, over time there is no requirement for motivation, so simply completing the habits is automated - like brushing your teeth!
Rome wasn't built in a day - nor was a body to be proud of.
This is exactly how health professionals like myself can transform a clients body without the need for constant motivation from the client. Simple, yet very manageable small habits are built on day by day until automation occurs.
And most importantly, you can do the same!!!!
Grab a free habit tracker on your mobile and get started today!!!
Remember, a 1% improvement each and every day will build immense results in time, you just need to be patient.
Start by putting 3 simple positive habits in your tracker - once you've nailed them for a week, add another and keep going.
Create a discipline.
Build discipline.
Build the body you want.
Be 1% better than yesterday. Join the 1% Club!
Rob Elford has been a Personal Trainer & Sports Therapist for over 15 years working with both Private and Corporate clients from across the world, both in-person and remotely. He has just launched The Online Fitness Academy to help support clients remotely and focus on aspects of health and fitness lost in day to day Personal Training.
He has worked with clients from every background with very differing demands, from international athletes from a wide range of sports including motor racing, Polo, Tennis, Dressage to London based FinTech businesses running their complete Wellness Schemes to mums and dads that just want to feel fitter and healthier.
Why not see what clients really think of Rob?
Watch his clients being interviewed here?