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Butcher's Dog! Regular
outdoor fitness tips from the canine on creatine. Cold wet
nose and glossy coat guaranteed.
It's between your ears!
We've talked a lot about the physical
side of outdoor fitness but not a lot about the mental bits
and particularly how to motivate yourself to stick to a
training programme, so with summer rolling towards us like
an out of control orange combine harvester, here's a few
hints so you come out fighting...
Set Goals But Keep Them
Real...
There's no point setting unattainable
goals, that's just going to disappoint you, but setting
realistic targets can be a great way of keeping yourself
going. It might be the big picture - getting up Snowdon,
trekking to Everest Base Camp - that polishes your mental
gnashers, but don't forget small goals too.
Aim to add an extra five minutes a week
to your regular long run, for example, or pop an extra hill
into your run and then feel good about it. It's your body,
you know what's likely to bake your cookies. Don't worry
about competing with other people, this is about
you.
If you do miss a target, don't let it get
you down. Think about what happened - maybe you were tired,
or trained too hard the day before - and try and learn from
it.
Take Note...
It sounds a bit whacky, but try leaving
some Post It notes around the house, in your car, on the
bars of your mountain bike, with postitive messages. 'You're
A God!', 'You're A Dog!', 'Go Baby, Go!' or whatever.
Concentrate on the positive.
Reward Yourself
Give yourself little rewards to sticking
to your training. Preferably not beer, cakes and pies,
though the occasional lapse won't hurt. It could be a new
bell for your bike or a bit of gear you've been coveting for
ages or something less material and more cerebral - just use
your imagination.
Routing Rebound
If you're training after work, get into a
straight-in / straight-out mentality. Get your kit out and
ready the night before, come home, kit-up then get out. No
watching telly, drinking cups of tea, grooming the dog,
papering the spare room etc. And once you get back, you'll
still have something resembling an evening to do all those
things and more...
If you miss, don't get pissed
(off)
It's good to be committed, but equally
don't get too down if you miss a session or two. You can go
around a week without training without losing significant
amounts of fitness, so missing a run, a walk or a gym
session doesn't mean you're back to square one.
Find some training
buddies...
Some people are fiercely committed and
will get out whatever, others find it's helpful to get out
with other people at about the same level of fitness. You
can encourage each other, indulge in friendly banter and
compare notes, so it's a social occasion as well as just
training. If you don't know anyone in the same position as
yourself, check out a running club or stick up a notice in
your local gym or lesiure centre. The friendly competition
(!) will help motivate you in other sessions
too...
Fit it into your
life...
Try cycling to work or running home
occasionally, that way you're incorporating exercise into
your daily routine and killing two birds with one stone
(which means twice as many birds...) If you normally sit
around for an hour at lunch, maybe it's dead time you could
fill with a run or gym session?
Whatever else works...
We all get buzzed by different things,
the editor of this site, for example, visualises himself as
a dog chasing bunnies across a field during dull treadmill
sessions, alternatively, take - mentally that is - the
people who annoy you along on a run and channel all that
resentment into your running or riding. Use the conditions
too, if it's shite and wet and windy, visualise yourself
getting stronger and fitter through adversity while your
mate, who always seems to beat you to the trig point, is
loafing around at home with his feet up.
And above all, enjoy
There's no point in training if you don't
enjoy it. If you hate running, try mountain biking or
swimming. If the step machine at the gym bores you rigid
then try running outside. Yes, there'll always be days when
it feels like a grind, but if it's fun, you're far more
likely to stick with it. So what are you waiting
for?
Yours doggedly
The Canny Canine
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