Amp Up Your Workout

Eight motivation tips from a former NASM-certified personal trainer, triathlete and coach

I’m a life-long athlete, but I’ve spent decades battling a genetic kidney defect. The chronic fatigue, pain, and systemic imbalances often zap my energy and motivation. Without my medical treatment in prison, I’m toughing it out against the odds. But the payoffs of exercise are huge and greatly reduce my symptoms. No-one here has it “easy”… but exercise makes it so much easier to deal with the hardships of life!

After swimming, water polo and volleyball in my youth. I competed in triathlons for 11 years. Triathlon is a swim-bike-run event with high-speed races ranging from one to 10 hours (no breaks!). I also coached athletes and clients. Strength and endurance are my specialties—we need these to face life!

Here are my eight go-to’s for getting going even when it’s the last thing you want to do.

It’s not all or nothing

What’s the number one reason for losing workout momentum? It’s also a top exercise myth: “It’s gotta be all or nothing.”

Have you found yourself having these self-defeating thoughts?

“I missed two workouts, so I might as well quit.”

“Oh no, I ate two pastries yesterday; might as well skip the workout and eat this one too.”

“I only have 25 minutes – not enough time, so I’ll skip it.”

“Even if I lose 10 pounds, I’m still not going to look good.”

Coach Lovejoy is here to clear the record: Never say all or nothing! Every 10 minutes counts. If you can only fit in a few minutes, DO IT. All of these minutes add up over a week or a month. Just 10 minutes of strength moves or slow jogging burns 100 calories on average. Sure, it’s possible to “crash-train” your way to dramatic weight loss. But the success is temporary because we can’t keep up that level of training. The key is to find a routine that you can maintain.

Ease into it

This one’s BIG. Start slowly, and you’ll be grateful later when you’re injury-free, full of energy and looking curvy in a good way. Your body and your mind need time to adapt. Even elite athletes do an “easy adaptation” phase after a break, to get ready to work out hard. Your joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles need to get strong enough to bear your weight. Skipping this can be a short road to injury.

If you plan to exercise five to six days per week, start with three days the first week and four days the second and third weeks. Do movements slowly and with proper form. For running, start with slow two-minute jog intervals with one-minute walks in between. Give yourself this chance to fit exercise into your lifestyle realistically—and get set up to avoid burnout and meet your goals.

Warm up

What feels worse than dragging yourself off the bunk in a Chowchilla January? The moment you hit the wall and can’t breathe because you started out too hard. Instead, ease into each workout with five to 10 minutes of movement that’s slower than the main workout. Your joints actually need about seven minutes to loosen up. It takes several minutes to boot up the cardiovascular system. And…don’t judge how you feel in the first five minutes. It’s just the warm-up!

Fuel up

Would you drive your car on empty? Are you dragging your tail after work, or feeling sluggish in the morning? It’s true that you can’t digest a taco bowl immediately before working out. But half a protein bar, a spoonful of peanut butter, or a banana can make the difference between fueled-up and failed. A small snack is an incredible brain trick too: When you’re under-fueled, your “survival brain” says “conserve energy… just lie down.” With a few calories in your tank, the workout suddenly feels fun.

Hydrate, hydrate

Did I say hydrate? All muscles require water plus electrolytes (sodium and potassium) to work. Your heart is one big muscle. Potassium shortage makes you tired and can cause the heart to over-exert or even fail. And, it causes those annoying muscle cramps. An extreme electrolyte shortage is called hyponatremia. Even an elite marathoner can suffer a heart attack by drinking water but not enough electrolytes. Add at least one state cool-aid to

your water bottle per day, two in a Chowchilla summer

Just get dressed

It’s another brain trick: Once your body is dressed for action, the mindset follows. We develop conditioned responses to what we’re wearing. Simply putting on shorts, sports bra and shoes can raise your heart rate and the “good stress” level to make you feel ready to exercise.

Know the benefits

Finding your reasons to exercise is the best motivator. Some of these benefits may surprise you:

• Anti-aging: Exercise speeds up metabolism, balances hormones, and strengthens cellular mitochondria (the “engines” of cells), which allows the body to repair tissue and fight illness more easily—like a younger body! And, muscles maintain bone density. Stronger bones = youthful body.
• Weight maintenance: Not only do you burn more calories by exercising, but carrying more muscle mass uses more calories even while you’re at rest.
• Clearer thinking, better memory: Suddenly math is less frustrating, and you’re making better daily decisions. Increased blood and oxygen to the brain actually helps prevent and slow dementia too.
• Way better mood: Any type of exercise balances the brain chemicals responsible for calm, happier feelings. It’s like having an all-day buffer against negative vibes. According to a 2019 article in Runner’s World, running and high intensity intervals can generate the same kind of neurochemical response that cannabis does. Exercise stimulates the release of endorphines. Yes, there is a “natural high!”

Change it up

Doing the same workout video or aerobics ’n’ abs every time? This can be a motivation drain all by itself. The body and the mind like variety and new challenges; that’s how we progress. Try out Shawn T’s Hip-Hop dance routine, some step aerobics, or even the same exercises in a different order. This also reduces repetitive stress and the risk of injury.