Finding Motivation

When my day begins with a 5am nose bleed, I know its going to be an eventful 24 hours.  Here we go...

For the last 2 days I honestly cannot stop thinking about the whole concept of motivation.  I know, out of all the things in this world to contemplate....the 7 wonders,...Bradley Cooper,...why having a thumb is so important, etc....I am dialed in on motivation.
Perhaps some of it had to do with the fact that as I stepped on the treadmill yesterday to do my cardio, I literally wanted to say screw it, I'm done, I would rather give 4 pints of blood and risk a pass-out scene.  Why people think that trainers don't face those moments is baffling to me.  We are human, and some days training sucks.  Fact.  Actually, there are aspects of every workout that rank up there with taking a medicine ball to the face over...and over...and over. 
In moments like that, there is certainly no exact science to how I motivate myself.  I'm certainly not one of these people who has an internal cheerleader with pom-poms screaming "You can do it!  Great job!"  Yeah, definitely not me.  I might strangle her. 
If I say anything to myself its more along the lines of "Shut up and do it" (add explicit where necessary).   That pretty much gets me moving and leaves no room for excuses.  Honestly, we have none....at least none worthy of repeating.  I like the idea of simply being done when you're done, NOT when you're tired.  Thus, I had 40 minutes on that God forsaken treadmill whether I was tired, pissed off, or foaming at the mouth.

I asked one of our college lacrosse players yesterday if he had a favorite motivational quote or saying.  He thought for a second and just said two words: "Effort and Attitude......Its the only two things we can control 100% of the time in training and competition." 
I was blown away and totally engaged in a meat-head-bonding-moment.  Big words from a young player.  I loved it,...and he was completely right. 

The bottom line: what motivates us is beautifully unique from person to person.  And honestly, it can change on a daily basis.  The key is figuring it out, and start relying on yourself to overcome yourself and every temptation to give anything less than all you have.  We are often our greatest opponent and yet possess the very strength and resilience we need to fall down 7 times, but get up 8.

Heaping Spoonfuls

Monday MONDAY.
I thought I would feel more rested today, but I couldn't fall asleep until after 10 last night.  I'm old.  I know.  I took a nap at 6pm, which proved to be a bad move.  I woke up about 30 minutes later like a child ready for my bottle.  And by bottle, I mean protein shake.  Next thing I know I'm painting my nails and freaking out over Bradley Cooper having a mustache at the Oscars.  Mustaches are creepy.  But if he'd just taken off his shirt, I wouldn't have noticed it.  Wonder if he ever looks in the mirror and says "Yes, I'm hot"....and then God beams down "Uhhh....you're welcome"...
God: 1.  Cooper: 0.

And we are moving on...
Today was a typical Monday, but my body felt like a noodle after that 6 mile run yesterday.  Everything felt more heavy than usual.  I had shoulders, biceps, and then finished with sprints.  The only thing I don't like about training biceps is that my forearms usually go numb after the first 2 exercises.  I told Garret today that I wanted bigger biceps....he looked at me like I was nuts.  Fine.

Sprints were tough, but doable.  Hamstrings are still extremely tight and pulled on every single stride.  Boooo.  I did 15 seconds on, 30 off, for 20 minutes and then finished with 20 minutes steady-state on the treadmill and eliptical.  Pretty pooped by the end.  Glad to be done.  Tomorrow is chest and quads....better get my mind right.

Random interaction today...
I had a client hand me a "food journal" today so that I could go over some diet changes with her.  I've seen dozens and dozens of food journals, but it never ceases to amaze me that people have absolutely no clue what they put in their mouth.  It basically looked like this:

Monday:
cereal
manicotti
pistachios
salmon

Ummm...ok....estimated portion?  Are we talking 1 measured cup of cereal or 2 bowls?  skim milk or 2%?  How much manicotti?  20 pistachios or a 10 oz container?  Plain salmon or grilled with sauce...6 oz or 10??
Not to say that everyone has to meticulously measure everything, BUT if people took a little time to actually measure a few of their typical food choices, they'd be amazed by how much they're consuming.  Here's a little example....say you think you're eating 1 TBSP of peanut butter each night, but you're actually eating 2....that's an extra 95 calories....which is over 34,000 calories per year...equating to an extra 9+ pounds. 
And that was just 1 TBSP of peanut butter. 

Well, on that note I am heading to bed.  Its 9pm and that bed is calling my name. 

Question of the night:  What's the one food you KNOW you overeat unless you practice some serious will power and portion control??

Mine would fittingly be peanut butter.  I love it.  Creamy, crunchy, extra crunchy,...I don't discriminate :)