Goal Setting And Creating Motivation

Getting motivation or having motivation to do things is what we all need to get things done in life. However after years of trying to figure out how motivation can be a factor long term, I’ve learned at this point in my life that action is how you will get the most motivation in life. While motivation will push you to get things done and keep you on a workout grind for a bit, that motivation that’s driving you will fade mentally unless you replace it with another piece of motivation to take its place. Last year I didn’t plan to run 483 miles (Which is the most I’ve ever ran in 1 year), but because of the action I kept taking by running and racking up the miles I got super motivated by my action and kept running. Before running used to be something I dreaded doing beforehand. Now it’s a simple thing to go running and know how much I’m going to benefit from the action I take go running. Here is some simple steps to take on setting goals that I wanted to break down for you guys.

Goal Setting ABC

A dream turns into a goal when actions are taken to achieve it. Successful ABC’s of goal setting strengthen your self-trust as well as self-esteem. You need a perspective with a positive mind.

The ABC’s of goal setting are simple if you can think SMART: Be Specific with a Measurable goal that is Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Goal-setting tips:

Start with what you want: “I want to be with my family for more hours this year.”

Figure out the measurable proofs that will help you reach your goal: “We will have fun activity and family meetings each week.”

What you have to do to achieve your goal: “Selected family member nominates family activity every week; all should be ready and able to get involved.”

Goal setting typically starts with wishful thinking. You have to turn the thinking into a concrete action plan, and that’s what makes it a goal!

Make your goal right. In addition to being specific and achievable, a good goal ought to hit a certain sweet spot. Success and motivation tie back to goal setting.

“The first law of success is concentration- to blend all energies to one point and go directly to the exact point, looking neither right nor left.” William Mathews.

Motivation Is Like a Muscle, It Needs Repeated Training

Empowered motivation has a positive contribution in helping you achieve what you really want. How hard do you push yourself to get motivated? Aiming to do something and motivating yourself are two different forces of upkeeps.

Motivation is what keeps us going despite hurdles and obstruction coming our way. It’s the internal drive to develop, produce, achieve and keep moving forward. When you are close to quitting your aim, you just need some motivation. Motivation is like a muscle; you need regular exercise to strengthen it.

How well motivated are you now? Motivation increases your productivity. It guarantees a path of success. Here are seven steps to maintain your motivation. It simplifies the ambiguous task of regular self-motivation.

Let’s follow:

Step 1: Set small and measurable goals (small goals are achieved within a short period, therefore offering a strong motivation itself)

Step 2:  Develop a mantra (statement that resonates you)

Step 3: Commit publicly (share with your friends for increased support)

Step 4: Create your own routine and rituals

Step 5: Be a good mental debater

Step 6: See your goals literally as a way of a

Step 7: Face your fears

Motivation is an objective, and mental will power is a muscle that requires an exercise just like the body muscles do.

Post 3.5 Mile Saturday Morning Run – Being Okay About Cheating On Your Diet

This morning I decided to take a 3.5 Mile Run and take responsibility for cheating on my diet; drinking beer and eating pizza last night. I go over why its okay to cheat on your diet once in awhile. It actually helps you continue do well on your diet because by cheating and giving in to cheating, you give yourself a treat and then the next day you get back onto it. I see a lot of people get to hard on themselves about cheating on their diet and then being hard on themselves by telling themselves “I fell off my diet.” This mindset sets you up to bulldoze your self confidence and ruin your self esteem which results in you not continuing to do well on a diet. That’s why its important to let yourself “Be Okay” about cheating on your diet once in awhile. Then promise yourself the next day to get back on it.

Happy Saturday morning everyone!

30 Day Breakaway: A Must Do Program For Runners Of Any Level

Lets get one thing straight. I never liked running most of my life. I was the high school kid that walked instead of running during gym class. I was the fat kid in High School that faked an injury just to get myself out of running all baseball practice. You can read more about that story in this blog post. I was pretty bad though. It wasn’t till 2020 where I realized that running is actually something that can be super enjoyable and fulfilling. I wrote a blog about how running became an incredible outlet to deal with the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. You can read it here. Both of the previous blog posts I mentioned are lead in’s to what I’m about to talk about in this blog post. While 2020 made me realize how much I actually loved running, it wasn’t until I discovered this new running program called 30 Day Breakaway that I realized the extra mechanics that running is. After this blog post I hope you’ll understand just how amazing this program is and why its a must do if you’re a beginner runner or if you’re a competitive runner that wants to get stronger and faster.

This program literally came out at the right time for me last October. After gaining running strength for the last 6 months my focus was on gaining more muscle strength. So when I discovered that this program focused on running and strength training it was the perfect combo I was looking for in a workout program. I signed up for VIP access as soon as it was available. I couldn’t wait to get started on this program. It would be my first Beachbody program I’ve ever done. Meet Idalis Velazquez, the Beachbody Super Trainer that created this program. She would be my first impression of what doing a Beachbody program is like. Right from the start on Day 1, I already got a great vibe with her. Her workouts in this program are two parts. The First one is a 20-30 minute resistance/strength workout that either targets all your muscle groups, upper body, abs, and lower body. During these strength workouts she is there every step of the way from warm up to pushing you when the exercises she’s having you do get tough. All the exercise moves are timed based. These resistance workouts are focused on helping you get lean and build strength to become a stronger runner. After each workout she finishes off the last 5 minutes with getting you warmed up to go running. This leads us to the 2nd part of the workout which is the running part.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about doing audio runs since I’ve always ran while playing some motivational music to pump me through a run. I can honestly say after this program Idalis Velazquez has changed my perception of audio runs. The running portion of this workout is one of the most fun parts of the workout. Idalis is in your ear the whole time motivating and guiding you through how she wants you to run. She has you focus on this RPE (Rating of Perceived Exertion) system that gets your mindset aware of how much effort you’re putting into each step of your run. In other words the runs she puts you through is her version of an interval run as she has you mix up your speed in these runs. In some of her runs she’ll have you work hard at 3 different speeds working your way from slow to faster and then back down to slower again. She also goes over form and cadence, which is the rate of how many steps you take per minute. The runs are all about 18-22 minutes long. Idalis makes all these runs fun and exciting by not only pushing you, but by educating you with useful info about running. I felt so good and accomplished after my runs. Some days I was super sore after the strength portion of the workout, but once you get outside for your run the body naturally gets moving and the running exhilaration kicks in.

I loved this running & strength program so much that I went for 2 rounds which was a total of 60 days of 30 Day Breakaway. This program helped me reduce my 5K time by 2 minutes and 45 seconds. Yes you heard that right. That’s a lot of time in the running world and I felt so good about being able to run a 5K in 21 minutes and 27 seconds. I also dropped 13lbs in the 2 rounds of utting myself through this program. This program helped prove to me how possible it really is to work towards gaining strength and seeing results. Idalis Velazquez is a vibrant and motivating trainer and I hope you will enjoy her instruction as much as I did. Whether you are just a beginner runner or a seasoned one, this program is a “must do.” If you put in the work that this program puts you through, you are just about guaranteed to come out of the 30 days a stronger and faster runner. I’ll be sure to put myself through a 3rd round of this program in the future.

For more information on this program click this link: 30 Day Breakaway

How The Covid 19 Pandemic Pushed Me To Become A Better Runner

I never liked running all the way through High School and my 20’s. When I was 320lbs I was the kid at P.E. that opted to walk and not even try. My outlook of physical activity was covered in my earlier blog post this week (Fat & Depressed at 16 to Passionate and Fit at 34). Even in my 20’s I just had no drive to push myself to run.  I would go through maybe a few weeks or 1-2 months where I would really build myself at running and get to 4-5 miles on the treadmill at the gym. Right. The treadmill as I never pushed myself to run outside much and if I did, it was once in awhile.  I lacked so much drive to continue going and never got my niche for running in my early 20’s. I’m pretty sure my depressed teenage years where I faked an injury while running during Baseball had a negative effect for me. However in my late 20’s and 30’s I did start building more of a habit for running, but I never ran more then 40 miles a month and averaged about 15-20 miles doing about 5-7 runs a month. For me, it was a simple way to get some cardio and change things up from going to the gym. It wasn’t till 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic that I would suddenly find my true passion in running.

    Losing the gym March of 2020 was a big blow and I was at a loss on how I would continue my fitness at first.  So I did the only thing I knew to do. I reverted back to doing mostly cardio except this time I had no exercise machines. No elliptical or treadmills to auto pilot on. All I had was the ability to run. So I ran I did and while normally I would’ve burnt out on running and doing the same thing in a month or two like I normally did in my 20’s. Yet this time was different.  I was unemployed thanks to this pandemic in April 2020 and I also had a baby on the way.  While most people would brood in negativity over this situation, it somehow drove me to continue my running and not give up. I began consistently using the Nike Run Club running app to track all my runs. I started out simple and ran 25 miles in April.  It then progressed to 38 miles in May where my wife and I had our first newborn.  The running for me didn’t stop there as I continued on to run 64 miles in the month of June as I hit a new monthly PR in running for me that month. I kept running steady at 55 miles in July and then charged things up again in August running 65 miles.  I had somehow pushed past my running limits that I had in my 20’s and no longer had anything holding me back. In August I had gotten a new job and was now a new Dad with a working job. However that didn’t seem to slow me down as I went on to soar to new heights in my birthday month of September and ran 100 miles which is a goal I set at the start of the month. However I didn’t make it easy for myself at all. I had only run 30 miles by September 19th and while it looked grim that I would meet my 100 mile goal I wasn’t about to give up.  I pushed hard and ran the 70 miles needed from September 20th to the end of the month and on the last day of September made it to my goal of 100 miles.  I completely became a competitive runner right before my very own eyes. I had no plan to do this. This seriously happen organically and it was something I never expected until it happened. I’m now inspired to join more running races in the future especially Spartan races.

    I’m lucky to be blessed with living in a peaceful nice town such as Foster City. I can run either at night or during the day and feel very safe.  I also have to give props to my Siberian Husky Leia who is a strong 5 year old running partner and she kept me motivated as well to keep pushing at my running. She ran over 120 miles herself in 2020 while I topped out at 483 miles of running in 2020.  I had never even ran 100 miles in a year before 2020.  I hope this blog post proves to anyone that no matter what happened in your life or what is happening in your life in the present, there is always a chance to make a big change that’ll impact your life for the better.  I look forward to when this pandemic is over and I can enter into some races and Spartan races. I’m so motivated and driven to kick some ass in some competitive racing when it comes time.  Until then, I will stay training hard and continue to work on getting stronger and stronger till its time to unleash all the running strength I gained from 2020.