Carrot or Stick? What kind of motivation do you prefer

[leonardo1412]

I'm the sort of person, who will get going only when his back is against the wall. I have been extremely inconsistent in my workouts and thats kept me from good progress. Started on my Stronglifts 5x5 program last month, but managed only 6 workouts for the entire month.

So last week, i decided to burn my boats and I made a pledge with my wife, that I had to mandatorily complete 3 workouts per week to be reviewed every Sunday night. If by Sunday night, I had missed any of the mandatory workouts for the week, I would pay my wife $100 per missed workout. Thats quite a sum for me.

Seems to have atleast worked for Week 1. I managed to get 3 workouts in this week. Only need to see how far I am going to go with this.

The stick seemed to have worked for me.

Would love to hear from you folks, any quirky tricks that you may have to get yourself motivated for your workouts!

[paul]

once you start seeing results then you won't need that kind of motivation

[arehb]

Yep. I'm a progress junke. Adding weight each workout is a very good way to train just for that reason.

[MonteCristo]

I am definitely a stick guy, at least when it comes to working out. Despite that, I never missed more than one or two days of exercise. I just have to picture in my mind the following:

1. Myself as an obese slob, without a life, women and/or friends
2. My own father who got 4 coronary bypasses at age 45
3. My battery of diseased relatives, including an uncle and grandmother with diabetes, a terminally obese cousin on pills for various issues at 36, an aunt with failing liver.
4. All these diseases merging into the first image

...boy, is that motivating.

I always throw in a carrot though while I am exercising. If I am doing push-ups for example and my arms hurt, my back hurts, my heart is pumping but I am not still at failure.. I picture myself with the body I want (which also distracts me from the pain), and manage to pull off the last 5-10 reps.

In the end, it's all in the mind.

[Mouse]

Carrot or stick?

You people are strange...............give me a beer any time

[bluestreak]

Success builds on success. Once you have a taste for success, odds are you'll want more.

Hopefully you will keep doing this because you become truly committed to reaching some goal, not because of financial extortion.

[leonardo1412]

So i guess i need to expand the phrase to

Carrot or stick or Progress or BEER

cheers!

[hazmat]

I recently had a layoff due to concerns over my health. Checked out 100% fine last week and was actually TOLD by the doc to "get back in there and push the iron around". But getting over the mental hurdle, for me, requires the stick. I basically told myself last night what a loser I'm turning into, etc, and I WILL be at the gym after work this evening.

So stick....and self-denegration.

[leonardo1412]

lets take some score here...

right now we are 4-3 with Carrot/Success/Progress/Beer!! in the lead..

on the flip side we have "financial extortion"(lol...i didnt see it that way)/Self degeneration/Self pity

Keep voting folks!

[DJJ]

Neither. I force myself.

[hazmat]

lets take some score here...

right now we are 4-3 with Carrot/Success/Progress/Beer!! in the lead..

on the flip side we have "financial extortion"(lol...i didnt see it that way)/Self degeneration/Self pity

Keep voting folks!

I didn't pity myself...I told myself I was turning into a loser as a means to motivate myself to get back on the horse. Pitying myself would be then saying to myself "but it's okay, not everyone has to be uber-awesome...there, there, you're fine just as you are; even with the 3 Big Macs jammed in your mouth and your plumbers crack showing" <pats self on head>.

[thunderdownunder]

When I first got serious about lifting weights it was due to a big whopper of a stick. Basically if I didnt lift weights my lower back would degenerate over time and there was no way I wanted that to happen. But now I would do it anyway. I enjoy lifting. I enjoy the challenge. I love the feeling I get after a PR. I love the feeling after any workout really as long as I didnt overdo it and injure myself. Add to all that that it helps me keep in shape and add years to my life....well it started with a stick...but theres a lot of carrots dangling in front of me.

[Rugger]

I'm a combination of both.

I love what weight training does for me, but whenever I miss a workout I think of how I only have 200-250 training days in a year. I think of it as a missed opportunity to get stronger, which makes me pissed off at myself, and how much of a waste it is to not at least show up to the gym and lift something. It might be that one single training day that puts 100g on my deadlift, that will give me the win at a meet, or the inch I need to score a try in rugby.

[leonardo1412]

folks the stick has worked for me atleast. Ive completed second consecutive week of 3 weekly workouts...something i havent done for a long time....cheers!:d

[wrenchhands]

Sometimes, I get in bad moods, where its hard to drag my ass to the gym, or do anything.

Most of the time I have trouble holding off working out. I love it.