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71bbo455
06-27-09, 4:53 pm
Fellow Animals,

I come to you my brothers for some help. I am 37 years old and have been very inconsistent with my training, for various reasons, for the last 10 years. I may go great for a month and then completely off for a month or two. When I start I really want to but things get in the way like job, sickness, kids, and life in general. I really need help not getting motivated, but staying motivated. Here is some backround as to my situation.

I have a very physical job delivering liquor. Average day is 12 hours and can be as short as 10 hours and as long as 15 hours. This job has left me strong in some areas but weak in others. I also am usually in some type of back or shoulder pain. This does tend to get better after I have been training for a few weeks consistently. I also have 2 young kids that I would like to spend some time with. Doesn't leave a lot of time for training and sleep. But I NEED to make time for training. Here is what I plan on doing and would like your input as to how to keep going when I'm tired, sore, sick and weak.

I can train everyday but Tuesday and Friday usually. So I intend to do
Monday Back
Tuesday Off
Wednesday Shoulders
Thursday Arms
Friday Off
Saturday Legs
Sunday Chest

Let me know what you guys think and any pointers on how to stay at it will be greatly appreciated. I am really tired of being tired and weak. Also feel pretty much like a whimp seeing as I am not tough enough to keep with it.

Thanks Again Brother.

boar
06-27-09, 10:56 pm
Fellow Animals,

I come to you my brothers for some help. I am 37 years old and have been very inconsistent with my training, for various reasons, for the last 10 years. I may go great for a month and then completely off for a month or two. When I start I really want to but things get in the way like job, sickness, kids, and life in general. I really need help not getting motivated, but staying motivated. Here is some backround as to my situation.

I have a very physical job delivering liquor. Average day is 12 hours and can be as short as 10 hours and as long as 15 hours. This job has left me strong in some areas but weak in others. I also am usually in some type of back or shoulder pain. This does tend to get better after I have been training for a few weeks consistently. I also have 2 young kids that I would like to spend some time with. Doesn't leave a lot of time for training and sleep. But I NEED to make time for training. Here is what I plan on doing and would like your input as to how to keep going when I'm tired, sore, sick and weak.

I can train everyday but Tuesday and Friday usually. So I intend to do
Monday Back
Tuesday Off
Wednesday Shoulders
Thursday Arms
Friday Off
Saturday Legs
Sunday Chest

Let me know what you guys think and any pointers on how to stay at it will be greatly appreciated. I am really tired of being tired and weak. Also feel pretty much like a whimp seeing as I am not tough enough to keep with it.

Thanks Again Brother.

As Jim Wendler once said I can teach my clients any type of lift but I can not teach motivation. Thats on you my man. Don't go looking for other people for motivation its internal.

I would recommend taking weekends off to be with your family and kids. You only need to train 2-3 days a week. I would go for more full body split. You can look at the animal manual they have good beginner training splits.

Young&Hungry
06-28-09, 1:50 pm
As Jim Wendler once said I can teach my clients any type of lift but I can not teach motivation. Thats on you my man. Don't go looking for other people for motivation its internal.

I would recommend taking weekends off to be with your family and kids. You only need to train 2-3 days a week. I would go for more full body split. You can look at the animal manual they have good beginner training splits.

Agreed 100%. Life is not all about bodybuilding or whatever your gym goal may be and that's totally understandable. A 3 day full body routine may suit your needs best, so you cover all of your bases but you're not living inside a gym and ignoring the other aspects of your life that you choose to prioritize.

About the motivation thing, Boar is right. No words on an internet forum can ever give you the internal drive and thirst it takes to succeed and go far in whatever discipline of weight lifting or exercise that you choose to undertake. That comes from within and it is something special, you know it when you have it and you cannot fake it if you don't. Do some soul searching and if this is really right for you, you will want it no matter what. However, if you have to question yourself every time you train and ask "why am I here", don't waste your time and refocus your attention to other aspects of your life. That will either inspire you to hit it harder than ever before or pursue other interests and forget about this whole working out thing. Either way, the choice is only up to you. Good luck.

71bbo455
06-28-09, 8:57 pm
Agreed 100%. Life is not all about bodybuilding or whatever your gym goal may be and that's totally understandable. A 3 day full body routine may suit your needs best, so you cover all of your bases but you're not living inside a gym and ignoring the other aspects of your life that you choose to prioritize.

About the motivation thing, Boar is right. No words on an internet forum can ever give you the internal drive and thirst it takes to succeed and go far in whatever discipline of weight lifting or exercise that you choose to undertake. That comes from within and it is something special, you know it when you have it and you cannot fake it if you don't. Do some soul searching and if this is really right for you, you will want it no matter what. However, if you have to question yourself every time you train and ask "why am I here", don't waste your time and refocus your attention to other aspects of your life. That will either inspire you to hit it harder than ever before or pursue other interests and forget about this whole working out thing. Either way, the choice is only up to you. Good luck.


As Jim Wendler once said I can teach my clients any type of lift but I can not teach motivation. Thats on you my man. Don't go looking for other people for motivation its internal.

I would recommend taking weekends off to be with your family and kids. You only need to train 2-3 days a week. I would go for more full body split. You can look at the animal manual they have good beginner training splits.

Thanks guys. I don't ever question why am I here. I love it and really want to do it. Things just get in the way. No excuses . I agree that motivation comes from within. I guess motivation might not be exactly the right word. I need to be pushed a little bit. I train at home in my basement. I guess that the gym atmosphere of having someone to workout with might help. This post is more to call myself out and maybe some of the guys on here are in the same position that I am now. But you guys both have in a whay called me out. That's a great thing. You guys have given me a little bit of what I need. Now it's time for me to get my ass in the gym and start hitting it hard and seeing some gains. I have worked out now for a week not missing a day. I think that I'm on my way.

Thanks again brothers.

fenix237
06-29-09, 12:36 pm
bro, it aint easy- if it was, everyone would look great. remember, normal people do normal things- a normal person would look at his/her life and say "i'm way too busy/tired with everything to be working out" an Animal says "no matter what my situation is, i will succeed regardless" you gotta have heart...

start a journal, or even a journey here in the Forvm, to keep you on track. get yourself on a 3 day split, whatever split you want, and stick to it- maybe get it done in the morning before anything else- the benefit is you will start out the day feeling great! Also, i'm guessing time is a big issue as well- you HAVE to have your meals prepared ahead of time or you will skip or eat stuff you shouldn't. visit this forum often to stay motivated

live2lift
06-29-09, 1:36 pm
As Jim Wendler once said I can teach my clients any type of lift but I can not teach motivation. Thats on you my man. Don't go looking for other people for motivation its internal.

I would recommend taking weekends off to be with your family and kids. You only need to train 2-3 days a week. I would go for more full body split. You can look at the animal manual they have good beginner training splits.

I hear where you are coming from with wanting to spend time with fam...I have a 1 year old myself that I want to spend every minute with. That being said, what has worked best for me is to wake up early and get to the gym right when it opens...which may or may not work for you. I also agree with boar...you only need 2-3 days of training...I only train 3 and have made the best gains of my life training this way.

Peace

NJC_Manhattan
06-29-09, 1:42 pm
Motivation is a funny thing. On the one hand, others can motivate us, but on the other, we can motivate ourselves.

A brief overview of Motivation:
http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/motivation/motivate.html

This works for me, but realize that everyone is different....
I imagine what I want to be, I picture it perfectly. I try to go out of body to experience what my feelings/perceptions/thought process would be in this 'image'. Then I try to recall what I did to get to that level. I think of how much I overcame. Back to reality: this is what I have to do to get to that level. This is what I have to overcome.

Or you could try this, look at overweight/sloppy people. That gets my ass in the gym every time.

This phrase stuck with me for a while... Nothing tastes as good, as looking good feels.

Anyways, just find your mental harmony and the rest will follow.

fatbackgoal
06-29-09, 1:50 pm
I hear what you are saying. My biggest thing was staying with a program. I expected results overnight not remembering I didn't get like that overnight. You have to find it within yourself a reason for continuing to do the right things in the gym and at the training table. A couple of things that did it for me were finally putting on a pair of jeans my wife had bought me over a year ago and then the biggest was playing outside with my kids. I never would play outside because I was out of shape and would get sore. I finally had more energy to play and they loved it.

So find that thing that gets you burning when you start then make sure you continue. Constantly set new goals. If you read about successful people in business they never really reach a goal. Once they come close to reaching a goal they set a new one so that they never reach and can say "I made it now I can rest".

You have that fire inside you. Don't be afraid to throw a little gas on it and let it burn bright!!

Wasteland
06-29-09, 2:01 pm
As Jim Wendler once said I can teach my clients any type of lift but I can not teach motivation.

Very true. There is plenty of motivation here in this forum and on Animalpak.com, many inspirational articles. On the specific subject, here is also a thread you might find helpful: http://forum.animalpak.com/showthread.php?t=4635&highlight=motivation

nawaaz
06-29-09, 2:06 pm
Fellow Animals,

I come to you my brothers for some help. I am 37 years old and have been very inconsistent with my training, for various reasons, for the last 10 years. I may go great for a month and then completely off for a month or two. When I start I really want to but things get in the way like job, sickness, kids, and life in general. I really need help not getting motivated, but staying motivated. Here is some backround as to my situation.

I have a very physical job delivering liquor. Average day is 12 hours and can be as short as 10 hours and as long as 15 hours. This job has left me strong in some areas but weak in others. I also am usually in some type of back or shoulder pain. This does tend to get better after I have been training for a few weeks consistently. I also have 2 young kids that I would like to spend some time with. Doesn't leave a lot of time for training and sleep. But I NEED to make time for training. Here is what I plan on doing and would like your input as to how to keep going when I'm tired, sore, sick and weak.

I can train everyday but Tuesday and Friday usually. So I intend to do
Monday Back
Tuesday Off
Wednesday Shoulders
Thursday Arms
Friday Off
Saturday Legs
Sunday Chest

Let me know what you guys think and any pointers on how to stay at it will be greatly appreciated. I am really tired of being tired and weak. Also feel pretty much like a whimp seeing as I am not tough enough to keep with it.

Thanks Again Brother.

Instead of keeping 1 day for arms, why don't you train triceps on chest day, and biceps on back day? That should get you three days of rest. You could do with the recovery time and spend more time at home.

Monday - back and bis
Tuesday - chest and tris
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - legs
Friday - Shoulders
Weekend - off/patch up whichever you missed during the week.

For the motivation, we all go through highs and lows. Everyone has his own journey. The important thing is to keep reminding yourself why you're in the game. I have Machine's Overcome on my desktop. It's something I relate to. If you want to see the dedication of our brothers here, just look under "your journey" to see everyone busting their ass. That SHOULD motivate you. It's on you bro.

nawaaz

71bbo455
06-29-09, 5:05 pm
I hear what you are saying. My biggest thing was staying with a program. I expected results overnight not remembering I didn't get like that overnight. You have to find it within yourself a reason for continuing to do the right things in the gym and at the training table. A couple of things that did it for me were finally putting on a pair of jeans my wife had bought me over a year ago and then the biggest was playing outside with my kids. I never would play outside because I was out of shape and would get sore. I finally had more energy to play and they loved it.

So find that thing that gets you burning when you start then make sure you continue. Constantly set new goals. If you read about successful people in business they never really reach a goal. Once they come close to reaching a goal they set a new one so that they never reach and can say "I made it now I can rest".

You have that fire inside you. Don't be afraid to throw a little gas on it and let it burn bright!!

I love the last line bro. I needed to hear that. Someone in my age group and position. Thanks bro. I'm on my way down into my basement to hit some hard back.

71bbo455
06-29-09, 5:06 pm
Instead of keeping 1 day for arms, why don't you train triceps on chest day, and biceps on back day? That should get you three days of rest. You could do with the recovery time and spend more time at home.

Monday - back and bis
Tuesday - chest and tris
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - legs
Friday - Shoulders
Weekend - off/patch up whichever you missed during the week.

For the motivation, we all go through highs and lows. Everyone has his own journey. The important thing is to keep reminding yourself why you're in the game. I have Machine's Overcome on my desktop. It's something I relate to. If you want to see the dedication of our brothers here, just look under "your journey" to see everyone busting their ass. That SHOULD motivate you. It's on you bro.

nawaaz

Some good advice nawaaz. I never really liked doing that. Felt like my arms weren't getting enough work. But you make a good point about having 3 days off. I think that I might try that.

hjayss
06-30-09, 6:50 am
We all bust our buts in the gym because we wanna do it point blank...I look in that mirror and that is my motivation...I popo in a dvd slap on some music..IF i AM NOT MOTIVATED ENOUGH TO GO TO THE GYM BEST BELIEVE i AM AT HOME BUSTING ASS...You want motivation......HERE IT IS TOUGHT LOVE GET YOUR ASS IN THE GYM ...TRAIN HARD BRO...(NO EXCUSES)...I wanna here of your progress as well...

Shamus11B
06-30-09, 6:54 am
Need some motivation......here ya go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my6IroYcyEI

live2lift
06-30-09, 11:36 am
Need some motivation......here ya go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my6IroYcyEI

That is one of the sickest training vids I have ever seen...thanks for posting that.

71bbo455
06-30-09, 8:09 pm
We all bust our buts in the gym because we wanna do it point blank...I look in that mirror and that is my motivation...I popo in a dvd slap on some music..IF i AM NOT MOTIVATED ENOUGH TO GO TO THE GYM BEST BELIEVE i AM AT HOME BUSTING ASS...You want motivation......HERE IT IS TOUGHT LOVE GET YOUR ASS IN THE GYM ...TRAIN HARD BRO...(NO EXCUSES)...I wanna here of your progress as well...

Thanks. Tough love is the best. You are correct NO EXCUSES!!!! Today is a scheduled off day but I've not missed a day in a little over a week. Baby steps but it's something. I worked a 12 hour day yesterday and still found time to do back and biceps when I got home. Was hard as hell but felt great after. Today was sore as hell but it's awesome to feel this way again.

71bbo455
06-30-09, 8:10 pm
That is one of the sickest training vids I have ever seen...thanks for posting that.

I agree. It's all stuff that we have seen from Pumping Iron but none of the other BS. Thanks for posting as well.