Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Pep Talk Walk

by Kris Pitcher

Motivation is not pouring out of my heart and soul at 4:30 AM when I get on the treadmill. I'm sorry if you thought it was going to pour out of you whenever you do your cardio.

There are times when we have to dig deep to find the motivation to get it done. And I've said this before, I have never been sorry afterwards that I did it. I have always felt proud that I'd completed my cardio.

This is where the pep talk comes in real handy. It goes like this: "Come on, we can do this. We did it yesterday, and we'll do it tomorrow. But for right now, we just have to get going. Really? Has it only been seven minutes? Ok, halfway. Halfway is good. Five more minutes. This incline isn't so bad. See! You did 5 more minutes! Ten more minutes. You're almost done! Let's go, you can do this! See? That wasn't so bad...45 minutes, no big deal."

There is no shame in the cardio pep talk. The five more minute trick works on me every time. Somehow, it's easier when we break it into little chunks. I can reach these mini-milestones along the way. Before I know it, I'm actually done.

Along the way, I'm listening to my ipod, or watching TV, or whatever else I can do to help the time go by. But for now, 45 minutes still takes 45 minutes. I'll let you know when I figure out how to compress it, or time travel or something.

If you find you're cutting your cardio or workout short, or not quite getting to it at all...you need the pep talk. It might feel silly at first, but you'll soon find you are your best cheer leader!

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