Are you ready to learn ways to instantly motivate yourself when you’re
feeling too tired to workout, unsure about whether to sign-up for an event,
or tempted to give up during a race? Consider these Top 5 Jedi Mind Tricks
from the Rock Star Triathlete Academy at http://www.rockstartriathlete.com
to be your ultimate secret weapon for triathlon motivation. Are you ready?
1) 2 Minute Rule. Don’t get scared by the seven-syllable word in this
tip…but physiologically, several changes take place in your body during
the first 120 seconds of exercise. Namely, at about that 2 minute mark, your
cells begin to more easily utilize oxygen as a fuel, muscle temperature
begins to rise, and exercise suddenly becomes easier. So what is the
take-away trick for using the 2 Minute Rule in triathlon motivation? If you
just got home from work and you’re “too tired” to train, or you’re trying to
tear yourself out of bed at 5am, just tell yourself: get through the first 2
minutes. You’ll be consistently pleased with what happens after that point!
2) Use Irrational Psychology. This is a powerful trick for triathlon
motivation, and involves affecting the appeal of one workout choice by
comparing it to other choices. Here are some examples. Say it’s time for a
90 minute hard cycling session, and you just don’t have the triathlon
motivation to get on your bike and head out. So give yourself three choices,
and make two of those choices more unpleasant: Choice #1 – go on a 5 hour
easy bike ride; Choice #2 – Do a 90 minute interval run on a treadmill
instead; Choice #3 – do your 90 minute bike ride. The 90 minute bike ride
suddenly seems relatively not all that bad. Or imagine the pool is “too
cold” to go for a swim. So go in the locker room and take a cold shower.
Suddenly the pool becomes relatively appealing. Or imagine you’re running up
a hill and you have an overwhelming urge to walk. Start sprinting on the
hill much faster than you are running. Stop 5 seconds. Start running again
at your normal pace. The hill running will instantly feel easier (yes, the
brain is a strange thing).
3) Use Very Small Goals. In the middle of a race and feel like giving up?
This trick works very well. Tell yourself that you’re going to take just 200
more steps, or 100 more pedal strokes, or get to one more buoy. Promise
yourself that at that point you can either A) stop or B) keep going. By
giving your brain the reward of having completed a small, intermediate goal,
there is a slight infusion of dopamine that occurs which drives you to keep
going when you get to that point. Again, it is a strange phenomenon, but
works very well for triathlon motivation, especially in a race.
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