Developing more self discipline is an essential skill for those who are training for a marathon. Completing the race is an incredible achievement, but it’s the journey of training for 12-16+ weeks, that leads to a true sense of accomplishment.I’ve always believed that busy people get more done.However, the fact is that people with a higher degree of self discipline spend less time debating whether or not to indulge in activities and behaviors that prevent them from achieving their goals. For some people, simply being undisciplined can cause them mental anguish.
Over the years, I’ve encountered numerous middle age athletes who successfully achieved their athletic goals because they had the discipline to follow a training plan, even while leading busy lives. I have also coached people who struggled to keep up with a plan because they admittedly had a hard time staying focused. Developing more discipline takes time and effort, but there are numerous ways you can make this process easier for yourself. In this article, I’ll discuss a few tips that will assist you in becoming more disciplined, so you can achieve your goals.
Finding your motivation or identifying your “why”
To start the process of getting more discipline, you need to recognize why you may lack discipline and what you stand to gain by gaining more discipline. You may be unhappy with your appearance and believe that training for and ultimately completing a race will help you lose weight and improve your health.Another motivation may come from the desire to “get back in the game” after a long layoff from regular exercise.Having clarity of purpose will help you with each of the next steps.
Make a strong commitment to your goals
Use a training schedule to prepare you for your race. If you work with a coach (which I strongly recommend), he or she can put together a have a schedule that fits your goals, athletic abilities and specific situation (like work and family commitments).The workouts should be laid out for you in a calendar format. Now all you need to do is plan at which time you will complete your daily training.
Understand your weaknesses and rid yourself of temptations
If you are trying to follow a training plan, it’s essential that you plan your workouts. Just like you schedule appointments in your calendar, do the same with your workouts for the week. I like to plan the times and specifics of my workouts on Sunday.If I didn’t take the time to plan ahead, I would find dozens of excuses or other activities to take up my time. Years ago, when I was coming off of injuries that slowed me, I had convinced myself that I had become too busy to train for races. Now I simply work around important things like Church and family commitments. I don’t neglect these important activities, instead, I ensure that I also include time for exercise.
“Ultimately, working out becomes a part of my life.It’s something that I just do almost everyday.”
If you want to improve something like your productivity at work so you don’t have the excuse that you’re too busy to exercise, try turning off social media notifications and silence your cell phone. Make a list of “to do’s” for each day and commit to minimizing distractions, so you can stay focused on accomplishing your goals.
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Just as important as committing to regular exercise is eating healthy.Another common weakness for many, including myself, is sweet and processed foods. I know that having these foods around becomes incredibly tempting when I’m hungry. Having the willpower to avoid unhealthy food is far easier when you are not surrounded by it. If you want to eat healthier, remove the junk food and soda from your house and don’t buy it when you’re in the store.Shop only from your list and only go grocery shopping after you’ve eaten, so you avoid the temptation to get food you don’t need.
The bottomline is that you set yourself up for success by “ditching” bad influences.
Create new habits by taking small actions – the key to Self Discipline
Start getting better a self discipline by accomplishing a small/easy task.If you haven’t been working out regularly, schedule 30 minutes of exercise.Don’t overdo things, with a workout that will leave you sore or unable to workout again the next day.Instead, start with 20 minutes of run/walking and finish with 10 minutes of stretching.The key is to build momentum with consecutive days of exercise. Once you start seeing results, it will be easier to make exercise a part of your routine
Another variation is the time version
This strategy is where you say “I will spend a certain amount of time on this project.” For example, say to yourself “I will just do this for the next 15 minutes,” you may find that you actually get into the flow of what you are doing and end up spending a longer period of time on it and getting more done.The same thing goes for exercise. Just getting out the door for 20 – 25 minutes may be enough if you only have 30 free minutes.
When you find yourself struggling, dig deeper into your motivation
If you’re training for a race so you can be healthy or for a charity, don’t forget that you’re doing something not only for yourself, but as an example for your spouse, kids and others who might benefit.
Plan non-working times
You cannot work all the time, or you will burn out very quickly. So be sure to schedule times where you have fun activities, or even just a half hour of relaxing. This gives you something to look forward to, and gives you a chance to recharge your batteries. This is especially important if your work requires a lot of creativity like writing, designing, and other such endeavors.
Celebrate your victories, but don’t get too down when you fail
Give yourself something to be excited about by planning a reward when you accomplish your goals. Just like when you were a little kid and got a treat for good behavior, having something to look forward to can give you the motivation to succeed.Also, recognize that failure can actually be a victory, because failure means you tried. Hopefully you learned something too, so you now know what doesn’t work. Next time, try something a bit different. This is why it’s important to practice your pre-race routine. Whether it’s in 10k or 1/2 marathon before your marathon or just a long run, find out what foods, drinks & gels work best for you.
Get Support
Form a support team by reaching out to the people around you, and asking for their help. It really helps to have a coach who understands your goals and specific situation.Don’t hesitate to ask for suggestions when you’re struggling to follow a plan.Another alternative is to work and discuss your challenges with a training partner or partners. Remember, that you’re not on an island by yourself. Develop and use your support team.
I’m happy to help you. Please contact me if you’re having challenges staying or getting motivated to train for a race or to simply resume running.
Losing motivation to keep training? It’s very common with busy middle age athletes. I’ve worked with a number of clients over the years and developed some proven “tricks” to stay motivated to continue your training despite poor weather, being busy or when you miss a few workouts. With a little preparation and solid planning, there’s no reason why you can’t stay motivated all the way through race day.
Here’s how….
1. Start with the big picture.
What is it you’re trying to accomplish or what is your why? You need to write this down, because the clearer the vision, the more likely you are to keep going, even when times get tough. Start by asking yourself what it is you’re trying to achieve.Are you simply trying to finish a particular race, like a 1/2 or full marathon? Maybe you have a goal time (PR) in mind.Another “why” for many athletes is that they are trying to raise money for charity they may be representing on race day.
The visualization of accomplishing this goal is essential. Picture yourself standing at the starting line on race day.You’re fit, confident and ready to get to the starting line. Now picture yourself finishing the race. We tend to perform in the way we expect to. So if we expect to fail, we do. By seeing success, you’re more likely to attain success.
2. Re-confirm your “why,” take time to ensure it’s truly YOUR goal.
This may seem like a waste of time, but I can assure you that your success depends on you “owning” your goal. I like to ask prospective clients about their “WHY.” Inside my athlete profile/questionnaire which is used to develop personalized training plans, I want to understand what’s behind an athlete’s why. If the word “should” comes up, chances are the person may haveset a goal because they feel like it’s something they’re supposed to do, and not something they want to do. In my experience, more often than not, people are less likely to stay motivated when they’re on the path of “should.”
3. Break down your training into weekly buckets (or microcycles) instead of looking at the entire 12 – 16 week plan.
In other words, follow a training plan. Once you have a goal and and a “why,” it’s normal to feel a little overwhelmed about how you’re going to accomplish that goal. Consider hiring a qualified coach to write you a custom plan that will help you meet your goal while fitting your athletic abilities and specific situation. Don’t use a generic plan off the internet.In coach speak, we refer to an entire plan as a macrocycle, which depending on the length of the plan, is comprised of 3-4 mesocycles, which are each made upof 3-4 microcycles (think weekly or even 4-5 days of workouts).By breaking it up into smaller pieces, you regain the feeling that you’re doing something possible.
4. If you’re overwhelmed or feel like you’re not following your plan, talk to your coach or a running partner with whom you have been training.
It might be that you don’t feel prepared to run your race because you’ve been injured or missed some key workouts.It may be necessary to slightly adjust your goal. Figure out what you need to do next and then go about making sure you do your best to move forward. You might have to pick up where you left off on the training plan or you may have to back track a week or two and redo some workouts.The important thing is to get some momentum by simply doing some kind of workout followed the next day by another workout.
5. Always remember your “Why.”
Post your why on an index card or post it, where you can see it daily. Just this little reminder can provide you with the fresh motivation to keep going.
Pro tip: Celebrate the small successes (such as completing a long run or challenging interval workout). This will help keep you motivated to continue your journey.
Motivation is something many lose during training. However, I found that you can regain it or keep your levels high with a little planning and with the help of others (this last one is huge). By keeping on track with your goals, I’m confident you will find you will maintain your motivation and continue training.
If you need help or just have a simple question, please reach out to me through the contact link at the top of blog.
Your goal may be that you need to lose some weight or perhaps you want to qualify for Boston. Oftentimes many people fail to achieve their goals not because they lack talent, but because they can’t stay motivated to train and they ultimately quit. I’ve coached a few busy athletes who purchase a plan with the best of intentions, but after a few weeks, they simply disappear. Motivation is one of the biggest challenges faced by athletes. In this article, I’ll show you some proven strategies to get started and maintain your schedule of working out & training for a race.
You don’t need to get caught up overthinking thinking, taking action is easier than you think.
“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”
Leonardo Da Vinci
I’ve been there myself when I was plagued by injuries.I’ve also coached many runners who fall into this category. In this article, I will discuss how you can make a change. The following three steps are a proven strategy to help you Stop Thinking and Start Doing!
Set Your Priorities & Define Your “Why”
Start by defining your priorities. What do you want to achieve the most? Think of this step as defining your “why.”You want to feel connected to what you’re doing.It’s not just setting a goal, but it’s having clarity for why the goal is important.
Some examples may be losing some weight or simply improving your health. You might want to run in a race to raise money for a cause that’s important to you.Your why might be setting a Personal Record in a certain race or distance because you want to challenge yourself and improve upon previous performances.
One strategy I use to help stay motivated anytime I’m thinking of skipping a planned workout, is to think of my “why.”If it’s really important I know that I’ll figure out how to get out and complete the workout.
Project How Life Will Be When Your Goals Are Met
If you have a goal that you really want to reach, focusing on the end result (or your why) is a great strategy to help keep you on track. Think of it as giving you a purpose to do what is needed to meet the objective.
Project How Life Will Be When Your Goals Are NOT Met
This strategy is particularly helpful if you’re running to improve your health.If you feel that your health is not where you want it, then you must “pivot” and do something different. Think about what your life may be like if you don’t lose weight or improve your health. Consider the effect on your family if your health were to decline significantly. Using this strategy is an excellent way to maintain your discipline.
Figure Out How To Reduce Stress
Stress is a big factor if you’re having problems staying disciplined and on track to meet your goals. Identifying the root cause of your stress is the first step in minimizing it’s effect on your ability to follow your game plan. Whether it’s work or family related stress, it’s essential to determine how you can reduce this stress, so you can workout. It might just be that running and/or exercise are the best ways to reduce your stress. Some people like to run in the morning, so they don’t have to stress about it later in the day.Other people like to run later in the afternoon as a way to reduce the stress that’s built up during the day. Regardless, once you figure out how to reduce stress, you will have a much easier time concentrating on the accomplishing your goals.
Put Accountability Into the Mix
Try to find a way to hold yourself accountable for whatever activity or goal for which you’re trying to stay disciplined.
If your “why” is connected to a running goal, I recommend setting both short and long-term goals. It’s important to set specific goals that are consistent with your athletic abilities and your specific situation.The long term goal can be a stretch goal, but the short term goals should be realistic and align with the long term goal. All goals should not only be specific, but measurable with some kind of time to completion.
You can start with the long term goal and walk backwards with goals and/or steps necessary to ensure your success.
One caution is to set realistic goals. Qualifying for the Boston Marathon might be a big stretch if you just started to run.This could be a great long term goal, but it’s more likely that you’ll be more successful by starting small with something like working out 3-4 times per week and then completing a 5k.
Give yourself due dates for each of these goals, but don’t get discouraged if you can’t achieve everything as planned. If you’re better off than when you started, then celebrate the progress.
Momentum Comes Through Actions, so do Anything That Moves You Forward
This is one of the best strategies to accomplishing your goals.Start by identifying small next steps that are “next to impossible” for you not to complete. Every small act is significant.There’s an old saying that may help you better understand this concept, “you can’t eat an elephant in one bite.” What can you do right now to take even the smallest step towards achieving your most important goal?
Break Down Tasks in Subtasks
Following along the previous step, sometimes when a goal seems too big to tackle, this puts up barriers in our mind. These barriers often prevent us from reaching our intended results. Try using subtasks or “small bites” to make the long term goal more manageable.
As you think about your sub tasks or what you can do next, hold the expectation that the answer will be something simple that can be done in the next 30 minutes or less.Whatever reasonable answer pops into your head, accept it and act on it immediately.
Once you commit to getting started, momentum carries you. Producing results builds positive momentum.With momentum you’ll get ahead and make progress much faster.
It’s also essential to look at your progress.If your goal was to lose 20 lbs while getting in shape to run a local 5 or 10k race and on race day you lost 14 lbs, celebrate your progress.It should easily be enough to keep you going because you’re now over half way to our weight loss goal.In addition to the weight you have already lost, my guess is that you have also lost inches off your waist.When you finish the race, you will also feel very accomplished.
Workout With Others or Get a Coach
When you regularly workout with others it can really help you to stay disciplined. Many local gyms have running groups that meet 2-3 times per week.Many races also sponsor group training where runners meet regularly to complete longer runs and harder track workouts together.It’s like having a support group that holds you accountable and keeps your motivated.
If you’re able to complete your workouts on your own, but your challenge is you’re not sure what to do to prepare for a race, then a coach can help.You can join a group that has a coach who will help 5-15 people who are training for the same race.Alternatively, you can pay for a coach to write up a custom training plan that uses the athlete’s input and is specific to their goals and athletic abilities.
Some coaches allow you to schedule specific workouts to fit your weekly schedule. This is a nice feature, but what’s equally important is showing the athlete how to make adjustments to the schedule when they miss a workout. For example, many people schedule their long runs for the weekend.However, if you had a preference for another day of the week, a coach could adapt the schedule to fit your needs.
If you desire regular interaction with a coach in addition to a custom plan, then personalized coaching may be the best solution for your needs.These plans are more expensive, but they provide the ability for instant feedback and to ask questions.
I offer a very affordable monthly plan or a discounted 5 month plan that’s perfect for anyone who has signed up for a race, like a marathon, that’s 4-5 months out.
Focus on the Positive
Psychologists advise us to stay positive for a good reason. A negative attitude fuels fear and anxiety, keeping you from reaching your goals. You always think of what could go wrong instead of keeping an open mind.
Keeping a positive attitude is good for your health too. It boosts your motivation and inner drive, helps you stay strong when times get tough and gives you a fresh perspective on the world around you.
