Motivation doesn’t work. It is an emotion: “I feel motivated.” And anyone over the age of 19 knows that emotions are fickle, subject to change for no apparent reason. It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, young or old, your emotions are not anything to bank your success upon.
Our clients, however, still generally believe that motivation, or lack thereof, is the reason that fitness hasn’t been a regular part of their lives. True only in part, their level of motivation shouldn’t have been the primary player in their fitness lives in the first place. We as trainers know they were setting themselves up to fail from the beginning.
What our clients need, and what we trainers provide, is a system: a system of working out and eating well that makes good habits a part of their life, whether motivation is present or not. We provide accountability, a routine, guidance, (and yes, even a little motivation) as a system to ensure they workout, eat right, lose weight, and feel better than they have in decades.
Jan. 29 2010
