The Running Diaries of a Personal Trainer

I am now back into the throws of Half Marathon training. Wokingham is booked. Reading is booked. I’m also contemplating Bracknell although I’ve been informed it’s an awful race…

The training regime over the past seven days has consisted of a three mile run, Circuits, X-Bike, a five mile run, Yoga and a six mile run as well as all the dog walking sessions (at least one a day, if not two!). I’m currently typing this part of my blog whilst trying to motivate myself to beast it on the treadmill for at least twenty minutes…everyone at some point will struggle to get motivated, even Personal Trainers!

Please excuse me whilst I go and beast it on the Treadmill for at least twenty minutes.

*………………..TWENTY MINUTES………………..*

And as easy as that twenty minutes, four kilometres and two hundred and sixty calories later I’m here to tell the tale.

I really didn’t want to do that. I’d already wimped out of a three miler around the roads of Wokingham but after almost losing the use of my hands to the sudden cold snap yesterday, I decided to head to the clinic instead. Once here I started faffing and found myself on my blog page. It was only once I got typing and thought about how well I did last week, I realised I wanted to do the same again. Eventually I got there and I feel so much better for it now

You see the key is to just make yourself do it. It’s hard at first and it is too easy to find other things you could or should be doing but ultimately you know you’re only cheating yourself and your body will be living proof of this. Nothing ever worth achieving comes with ease. If you want something in life you have to go through the long up hill slog to get there. Think of a time you’ve  had to do this. A relationship, finding a new job, learning a new skill? The obvious one for me would be my business. This however continues to be an up hill race and probably always will be to some extent; surely that only makes the rewards from it greater?

I noticed someone on Facebook this week asking how to get motivated. This is my best advice to her and anyone else who may be feeling a little bit lost, stuck or in a rut.

Apply my VISUAL techniques and see if they help you…

1) Visulise your goal- see what it is you want to do in your minds eye. Revisit this thought twice a day- when you wake up and before you go to sleep. Do not constantly think about your goal for the more you dwell on it the easier it will be to find flaws in what you’re doing. Alternatively you may become obsessive and this will also stop you from focusing clearly on your goal.

2) Instigate- Start by putting a plan of action together. No goal was ever achieved with out a good plan.

3) Sensible- goals are very important. You’ve never run a mile in your life and yet you’re planning to run a marathon? You need smaller, more manageable goals in between. Start with a six mile race and then ten and so on…

4) Understand- your reasons for wanting to achieve your goal. Is it your goal? Or is it an idea someone has put into your head which seemed like a great idea at the time after five pints, a packet of nuts and a twenty quid bet? Are you wanting to complete your mission to make you or someone else happy? This matters. A goal is personal and therefore you should be doing it for yourself, to make you happy.

5) Achieve- your goals. There is no greater feeling than knowing you have tried your best and put in 100% the whole way.

6) Love- yourself and live life but always set yourself some sort of goal. It doesn’t have to be exercise related. It can be anything. To find a better job, to work on the house or finally learn how to bake a cake.

Relish the challenge.

 VISUAL

So go forth and conquer!

CBPT