10 Motivational Tips to Enhance Your Energy!!!
By: Richard Chan
Last week, I was at a convention with old friends who were in the field of fitness and athletics. The past few months my training has been sub-par with my hectic schedule. Anytime I gain momentum exercising I would have to disrupt the consistency of my own routine due to the scheduling of people I train.
In this profession we are so busy helping others that we tend to forget about taking care of our own health. It's all about balance and this is something I've tackled a little better over the years since it can be a challenge if you don't make it a priority. Just seeing the condition of my colleagues has always put a reminder that you should also be on top of your game. I always thrive on a friendly competition and I look forward to seeing them once or twice a year to keep me on my toes.
Personally, this is the only thing that really keeps my energy levels up when I think about it because for me it is motivational to be in top conditioning when interacting with others in the same industry. Now that I've given you an example what keeps me motivated. Let me discuss 10 ways you can enhance your energy; it has given me dramatic changes as well.
1. Know The Difference Between Knowing And Doing
The majority of us know what we must do to achieve our dreams but we sometimes don't move forward with the endless excuses or reasons. Our excuses range from being busy, we don't have the money to continue, we don't have the patience, and we don't have the talent or skills, and so on.
In actual fact, with all these excuses we've probably burnt out a good portion of our energy just thinking of those excuses. Put away those excuses and write down what you'll be doing to achieve that goal.
Write down that message that motivates you. Carry it with you so you can look at the message and take heart in the knowledge. Leave these notes in key places such as your house, your car, or a locker before you step into the gym. When you begin to slip into the "excuses mode", pull out that message so you can be back on track!
2. Get A Picture Of A Physique You Hate
What I personally like to do is display photos or pictures of you that you hate or imagine you would look like if you stopped exercising. Grab a picture of yourself that you hate the most and carry it around with you, such as your wallet or somewhere you can access it.
3. Download Audio Clips
I'll sometimes download audio clips and listen to them while I am training. Some of my clips would come from the movie "300". A quote I enjoy very much is from King Leonidas declaring "Madness... This is Sparta", or "Spartans tonight we dine in h*ll".
You can also listen to clips of someone yelling at you for being lazy. The movie "Full Metal Jacket" comes to my mind when Sergeant Hartman is blasting down your throat to get back into the gym. What a great motivator boosting your energy levels.
4. Eat The Right Foods For Recovery & Energy
An important aspect is your diet which can develop or increase your endurance. By knowing you are eating the correct foods to help stimulate your body's recovery and energy levels gives you an edge and greater confidence in yourself.
5. Get A Visual Aid
Visual aids can be another motivator for some people if you need an additional push to head to the gym. For the single people like me, it's always good to have a sexy picture of a girl or guy motivating you to work hard in achieving that good body you want. Heck, don't you want to look good at the beach and impress the opposite sex?!
6. Use Aromatherapy
Using aromatherapy promotes your health, well being, and vitality by the use of plant essences. These natural plant essences are also known as essential oils and have been used by man for their therapeutic benefits in cosmetics, perfumes, medicines, and massage oils.
The oils deliver a source of energy that includes physical and spiritual affects. The physical side effects are contributed by components of essential oils (the chemistry, biophysics, etc): antiseptic, antibacterial and antiviral, to name just a few.
On the spiritual side of things - energy is present in all organic life. It flows through us all; it is also known as Qi, Chi (Chinese), or Prana (Sanskrit) - the life-force that emanates from all living things. You can use essential oils in everyday life through inhalation or oils for a relaxing massage. You can also use essential oils because it harmonically affects your physical, emotional, or spiritual level and thereby increases your energy.
7. Get Enough Sleep
This next point isn't anything new and we just sometimes forget to take care of our body. Resting your body allows you to recuperate and workout effectively for your next routine. Getting adequate sleep in conjunction with a nutritious diet will provide a foundation of energy and productivity.
8. Write Down Your Progress
Having a log book or diary can help you stay motivated by seeing if you've progressed from your previous numbers a few weeks ago. Concentrate on your strengths rather than your weaknesses. Concentrate on your potentials. By building on the positive things it will translate to your inner confidence.
9. Don't Forget To Breathe
A person's performance can dramatically increase if you were to understand proper breathing. Our breathing mechanism has changed over the years due to stress in our life. This change has increased the amount of tension in our body.
When we are born we naturally breathe through our diaphragm which is also called fetal breathing or natural breathing. The natural way of breathing is when you inhale and your stomach inflates and as you exhale your stomach deflates. We build the amount of stress in our life by the time we become an adult - this creates tension which also goes into our mind & thoughts and carries over to our face, neck, and shoulders.
Over time, we carry so much tension that it eventually effects our breathing mechanism. We then breathe shallow breaths and use only 1/3 of our diaphragm (also known as upper breathing) due to this. We need to relax the upper body and letting it sink or flow downwards to our body.
This is specifically important to any form of exercising or heavy lifting. The diaphragm is the most important muscle for lifting and the strongest as well. The diaphragm works as a pump, up into the lungs and to the remainder of the body.
Learning to fill the lungs from the bottom is important for your training. Let me explain how you should breathe properly. By simply relaxing your shoulders at a sitting or standing position with shoulder width apart. Place fingers tips into the soft part of your abdomen and be relaxed.
When inhaling, the muscles of your diaphragm push out and as you exhale your fingers go back in. So as you inhale you will inflate and exhaling you will deflate.
Proper breathing plays an important part in protecting your spine when you lift. It compresses your surrounding core area and contracts when you lift weight. By keeping it stable the contraction is generated throughout your body. Try lifting heavy without a belt and you truly know you've mastered your breathing.
10. Involve Your Mind, Body & Spirit
To get maximum results, people need to involve their mind, body, and spirit. Qi Gong and Yoga is an ancient system that has been around for centuries.
Qi Gong will help re-boost your energy levels helping you feel recharged. It can be practiced once or twice daily and will prepare you for your exercising. It will also assist those recent or old nagging injuries that will eventually be gone. Simply practicing Qi Gong will help promote the blood flow (Qi) within your body.
Anyone has the capability of becoming a healer to oneself or to others. Knowing you have this type of energy gives you a new profound confidence and allos you to do things more confidently. Drop me a line and I'll be glad to explain further how you can build Qi within your body!
Conclusion
Alright, I have to confess to everyone, being competitive isn't the only thing that motivates me. It's time for me to do that late night work out and I need an additional boost of energy. Ok, there are just too many selections and I just don't know which one to choose? Since it is a Wednesday I'll choose that nice picture of Jessica Alba from the Fantastic Four. Tomorrow... Scarlett Johansson!
