Motivation And Accountablity

By Paul Dexter, Copyright 2014

The #1 reason why people have a personal trainer is for the “accountability”. Having to answer to someone, and having an appointment to exercise is what keeps the consistent, consistent. Most of my clients admit that if they didn’t have an appointment with me – they would be still on the couch after work.
I always tell my clients that I know firsthand that motivation is sometimes a little late. Sometimes I sit at my desk and wait for motivation to hit me before my workout and it just never shows up – and I work at a gym!
What we all have to remember is that it may be late – but it does show up, sometimes you just have to start without it. Many of my workouts I have to force myself to start (a little caffeine helps), and once those endorphins start kicking in I start to enjoy it and feel motivated again. It may take me 4-6 sets into a workout before those voices telling me- “just take the day off, your tired- workout tomorrow”, actually go away.
But you know what? 45-60 minutes later, I’m happy I stuck it out. I’m in a better mood, feel better, and realize that I’m keeping myself healthy. Giving into those voices can be a snowball rolling down hill – inactivity breeds inactivity. Once you start letting yourself skip, it gets easier and easier to quit, and harder and harder to get back into a routine.
Even when you go on vacation, you shouldn’t take a “vacation” from your fitness program. It should be even more enjoyable when you don’t have to rush to get it in. No matter where you go on vacation, you can always exercise – where there is a will there is a way. Most hotels have exercise rooms, or gyms nearby that you can pay for a day pass (and I’m sure your trainer would be happy to write out some workouts for you to do on your own).
Last week, Laura, the kids and I went to her grandparents lake house in Skaneateles, NY. Nice little town, but Its in the middle of nowhere about 45 minutes past Syracuse. People go there to “get away from it all” – actually saw the Baldwins eating lunch at a tiny, little country store up there…..but enough of my name dropping. My point is, I am a self-admitted work-aholic. I have a very hard time sitting still and relaxing – I get bored. So whenever we make a trip to the lake,  I plan some workouts to break up the monotony of “appreciating nature”. The only problem is the nearest gym is 30 minutes away. That wasn’t a problem when we had no kids and Laura could lay on a float sunbathing while I took my sweet time getting my pump on. But now, with 2 kids, that is not an option (unless I want to sleep on the couch).
So, in the center of town, 10 minutes away, they have a beautiful playground, and an outdoor exercise area, consisting of step-ups, parallel bars, pull-up bars, and a 1/4 mile track. More than enough to get creative.
Knowing this, I planned ahead, and brought a 35lb kettle bell and a jump rope. I designed a fun circuit that would get my heart rate up and also stress my muscles a bit. Here it is…

20 kettle bell swings
5 pull ups
20 BW squats
10 push ups
60 sec jump rope
rested 60-120 seconds then repeat

I did that circuit 8x in about a half hour. My heart rate was between 165-180bpm (appr. 80% of max) which is ideal for a High Intensity Interval Training Workout.
I finished the workout with a 1/2 mile run around the track. Cooled down and stretched. Had a great workout. Endorphins got released. Felt fantastic. Was only gone for an hour. Keep the wife happy, keep me happy. Everybody wins!

…..and yes, I proudly wore a Red Sox hat in New York!
#REPRESENT