Regaining your Motivation

Many, many moons ago, I was a very well tune athlete.

I was an All State Basketball and baseball player, 6’3", 225 lbs, run, jump, lift, you name it.

I got involved in weight lifting in college, as I passed on college sports, and got up to about 260 lbs, and was LEAN.

Well, I started playing Rugby in college later on, and quit lifting, but ran, did calesthenics, etc., and got down to about 250 lbs. I was in the best shape of my life. I could run 10 mile, do pushups until I got tired of counting, and was just a freaking BEAST on the rugby pitch.

WELL, I suffered a VERY debilitating ankle injury that required some serious reconstruction. My running days are OVER. Since then, I got my degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science, and eventually got a job not related to that field, and I am now behind the wheel of a car, or a desk, and my eating is atrocious, as I do stay on the road alot.

When I was injured, and had my ankle surgery, I slipped into depression, and quit exercising completely. I had no desire to go out and do ANYTHING. If I did not have to be bigger, faster or stronger what was the point?

My question is, how do I get myself motivated? I am now a 290-310 lb flabby SOB, and can't stand how I look. Other than that, I have a difficult time getting myself into the gym.

Do you guys have any tips for motivating myself, and also do you have any tips for keeping the SORENESS from killing me. I have made attempts to start again in the past, but failed as I could not make it through the first 2 weeks…yeah, I know I need to quit being a puss, but any advice, or even HARSH WORDS you guys could give me would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Sir Hacksalot

Easy. Go to the gym, get laid. Don’t go to the gym, don’t get laid. Sigmund was right - sex is our prime motivator.

Just show up at the gym. That’s usually what gets me in the mood. If I don’t feel like it, I probably have a pretty good session

Need motivation to train? Stand naked in front of a mirror. That has always worked for me. As for the soreness, make sure you’re eating right (use T-Mag as a diet reference), drinking enough water (1 gallon per day) and supplementing with plain powdered creatine and/or glutamine. Surge can help with recovery, too. I’ve found that when a trainer resumes lifting after an extended period off, they sometimes hit the weights too hard, too fast. Let your body readjust to the activity, and take it as slow as necessary in the beginning. You can do it, you just need to realize where you’re at before you decide where you want to go. Good luck.

You already gave a reason. You hate that way you look. Thats what 99% of the people got started for. Only you can change it. Do it!

SOunds to me like you have good genetics for a great physique. So you owe it to EVERYONE to get off your ass and get yourself to the gym! Can’t run? WHAAAAAAAA! Get on a bike. Swim. So what if one activity is out of the question. If I was paralyzed, I’d get into wheelchair sports. I refuse to be denied! Need motivation? Emotion follows action! Don’t wait to get motivated, CREATE the environment for motivation. ME MOTIVATES ME! For soreness, make sure you’re drinking a lot of water, taking anti-oxidants, and do massage (best if you can get a lovely lady to do it to you).

In the words of Richard Pryor, “FEAR IS INSPIRATIONAL”! I was in a similar situation. My chronic back aches had me nearly crippled in pain and overweight. When I finally could not lift a bag of dog food and carry it, I freaked! I started with body weight excersizes, worked up to dumbbells and I can now squat 400 lbs. I still have the weight problem but I have plans for the new year. It may be that you have not reached your limit. That point where you say enough is enough.

The best way to avoid soreness is to choose 10 exercises, do a full body workout with one set each, go pretty hard. The next day, do the exact same workout, and then do it again on the 3rd day. You will be sore as hell after the first day, ok after the second, and much better after the third. Then take 3 or 4 days off and then start you routine.

First, glad to see you on here, Hax. You’re going to LOVE it. This is the website that has inspired me to lose all the weight that I have lost (that I chronicled on H&E). There are a couple things I would personally advise you to do. The first is just to decide “I’m tired of looking like a fatass.” Once I decided that, things became much easier. After that I needed to form good habits, so I started going to the gym Mon, tues, thurs, and fri every week, without fail. After a little while it became a habit and I go almost unthinkingly. Finally, I found this website and read through a lot of back issues and articles and participated here, and I don’t seem to EVER be unmotivated now, and I can’t even begin to describe how much of a change it is for me to stick with something as difficult as weightlifting is (you already know about some of my personal issues).
I would also suggest getting some of their product MD6. It’s a great way to get a quick burst of fat loss, which should help motivate you, along with the chemical 5-htp which if I remember correctly increases seratonin response to give you an added mental boost.

Yesterday I was doing deadlifts and something happened to my lower back. Something very bad. My lower back is a trouble area for me, and eventhough I used the belt, held air while going down, kept perfect form and even used light weights, something snapped and my back hyperextended down. I could barely erect myself in standing position. I could not fetch the shower gel from the shelf in the locker. Last night I kept waking up in pain because I could not turn over in the bed without waking up in excruciating pain. I dragged my sorry ass from the bad and did chest, traps, shoulders and triceps. I could not do any exercises lying on flat bench. I could not do dips, but I did the session and even performed 30 min cardio. This was not the smartest thing to do, but I did it. Btw. I used to have almost 280 lbs and went down as low as 155 lbs. It can be done. Right now I am around 200 lbs, shitty 200 lbs, but I am improving my condition, or at least hope I am doing so. Go for it. Another thing - it is relatively easy to achieve your goals, but I think it is much harder to stay i shape.

Obviously you could stand how you look. Or else there would be no need for monivation. I suggest you keep doing what you are doing until you are about 330 and without a doubt (not only to yourself but the unified world) are a fat piece of shit. That day should come soon enough. Symptoms will be that you wont be capable of looking at your reflexion in the mirror without wanting to puke violently at the disgrace you’ve become. Other symptoms are little kids walking like a fat boy behind you and women wondering if you are capable of finding your dick and being jealous of you for having bigger tits then they have. But I do want to give credit where credit is due. It takes alot of balls to know you are a fuckin pig and ask others to motivate you. Few are so spineless in their attempts to succeed in any aspect of their lives. You sincerely make me sick, and I didnt just write the post to motivate you… You really make me sick. This forum is far to kind. Trust me they’re not doing you a favor. The WORLD truely is laughing at you…

Oh yeah… Pain both inside and outside of the gym should be your daily affirmations that you deserve to be called a human being and the powers-that-be that made you a fat fuck wont win.

What works best for me is to just sit down and watch “Pumping Iron”. This is guaranteed to work. Those guys were obsessed with working out and it makes want to be the same way.

Did your mother have any children that lived??? I’ll never in my life understand idiots who need to bash other just to feel superior. You are truly, TRULY weak. What a puny little man you are.

Its called “tough love” and some people respond better to it. History in sports has shown us that athletes respond differently to different environments. Some people just need to hear" good job!" others need a different approach. You’re probably the type that just needs to hear “good job”. I hate to tell you this, but you dont symbolize the entire human race. Again, some people just want to look good to feel good, others want to look good to prove to all those that thought they couldnt eat their words. Its a much bigger % then you think that do so for that reason. So acknowledge there is a worl around you with different and valid points of view and stop thinking your bellybutton is the center of the universe.

hey where did u buy pumping iron at i have been looking for it for 2 years and cant find it anywhere

Try planning your next day’s workout the night before. I work out in the mornings, but I’m not very motivated in the morning. If I plan everything out the previous night, that means I don’t have to think – I just have to follow my plan. And since my plan is my commitment to myself for that day, I tend to always finish my workout. If I just walked into the gym and made it up as I went, I’d probably puss out myself.

As for soreness, a little soreness is good, since it reminds you what you’re trying to accomplish. If you plan workouts ahead of time, you can at least control the amount of soreness you feel. If doing lunges with 50lb dumbbells put yer ass into excruciating pain, take note and plan on 25 pounders the next workout. Good luck.

Listen up crybaby. I have broken the same ankle 3 different times. I have back surgery and surgery on both knees. A horse broke my left arm and shoulder 3 years ago. And I am in the best shape of my life at age 56 and am stronger and better built than 99% of 20 year olds. Quit whimpering and get off your ever growing fat ass and do something about it or shaddup and live with obese yourself. And if you say that can’t stand “soreness”, you are just looking for another excuse. Why waste our time. Get off my screen!

Hacks – You mentioned that you’ve started several times, but have then failed to keep up with it. That happens to a lot of people for various reasons. However, one of the most common problems is that people go in to the gym wanting to go from fat to fit almost instantaneously, and get disheartened when they feel the pain but don’t see any progress. You need to go into it knowing that you won’t see much progress until at least the first month or so, so that you set your self up to avoid the disappointment of the daily weight or measurements checker. Additionally, it often helps to set small, incremental goals for yourself that you can obtain in reasonable time periods. If you can do that, and keep your end goal of again being a swingin’ dick hardbody in mind (in addition to having a good workout, diet, etc.) you’ll be on the road to success.
As for avoiding soreness, try going into it slowly (that whole-body workout posted above looked good), doing your stretching, and drinking Surge post-work-out (or if you mix your own, add some l-glutamine to the standard high GI carb/whey protein formula).
Now get in the gym and get pumpin’!

Thanks guys, for ALL the comments.

As for the seemingly negative comments, they are right on the motherfucking money.

I am on the road all this week, but have signed up for a gym.

I did calesthenics this morning for about 45 minutes in my hotel room, and have decided that the badassmotherfucker that was playing rugby, drinking beer, and raising hell needs to arise from the FLAB, and kick it to the curb.

Ironically, I was digging through some old stuff from my highschool days while cleaning out my garage, and found a picture of me at 230 lbs, dunking a basketball with two hands, and a shirt that CLEARLY says, “PAIN IS NATURE’S WAY OF LETTING YOU KNOW YOU ARE ALIVE”.

It made me remember my attitude back then. I was the master of my life, and I did NOTHING or allowed nothing to happen to me that I did not want to. I CHOSE to wallow in the pity of my injuries, and 'inability' (so to speak) to perform at the level I did before.

Well, I can sit around and cry about it and be a fatass, or I can develop this body to be the weapon it once was. I choose the latter.

My days of playing rugby are over, but I will be one fearsome looking, sombitch when all is said and done.

Aiki, don’t worry about guys like Roman giving me shit…I respond to abuse, it’s called SHOVING IT RIGHT BACK UP THEIR ASS.

Current weight, 297 lbs.
Goal weight, 245 lbs.

Not hardly unobtainable, but when I am done, my 20" neck will be muscle, my traps will look like grapefruits, and I am going to just look like a FUCKING APE!

Sir Hacksalot