Igniting Your Drive: The Secret to Unwavering Fitness Discipline

Sarah, a 37-year-old mum of three, employed me as her personal trainer on the Wirral a few years ago. She told me she had reached a plateau in her fitness journey. Despite her initial enthusiasm, the grind of daily workouts began to feel more like an obligation than a passion, causing her motivation to wane.

The dips in motivation resulted in her losing consistency with her exercise and nutrition habits, which had the obvious impact of neutralising her previous results. Sarah, like most people wanting to get fit, lose fat, and gain strength, had reached the dreaded peaks and troughs cycle.

During the consultation process, I ask every person who wants to achieve their goals the same question: 'What is the deep, meaningful reason why you want to change your body?'

Most people give answers like 'to be more body confident' or 'to look great on holiday coming up in six weeks' (good luck with that). Although these are perfectly good reasons (other than the delusional time frames), I probe deeper to establish why.

Most people struggle here and are unable to overcome their top-of-mind insecurity or desire. Sarah followed suit and couldn't give me a more meaningful reason to achieve her goal.

Side note: During my consultations, I help coach you through this process of clear goal setting and establishing your reasons why. If you wish to book in you can visit this page here. 

Back to Sarah... I said, 'If you had more energy and vitality because you had good cardiovascular fitness, do you think you'd be an even better mother to your kids?' 'Yes, absolutely,' she replied. I continued, 'If you were physically stronger, would you be able to do more in your day and be more active with your family?' she nodded. I then delivered the big punch, 'Do you think having a fit, lean, and toned body would make you more appealing to your husband?'. From her expression, I could see that one landed hard.

I then told Sarah that if she considered the combined power of all of these reasons, she could tap into a deep internal driving force directly connected to her fitness journey.

Some people will think my questioning is manipulative or emotionally intrusive. Bottom line, you'd do very well to find no truth or evidence in those answers. I'm simply pointing people toward the facts of human behaviour and the reality of life.

If you're too tired to put time into your kids, don't be surprised if they grow up to be the kind of people others don't like. If you don't spend time being active with your kids, then don't be surprised if they become obese teenagers (just so you know, 40% of teens in the UK today are overweight/obese).

And suppose you become less sexually attractive to your partner. In that case, it shouldn't come as a shock if they stray away, leave the relationship, or allow the relationship to lose intimacy. Sorry, but the facts are the facts!

Back to Sarah, she had thankfully accepted the realisation of how important this is for her, her kids, and her relationship. I remember the determination in her body language, and her words were, 'Right, Lewis, let's get this started.'

Fast-forward three years, and Sarah has become a fitness queen. She runs 2-3 5km runs a week and functional strength training three times a week. She also has a fit and toned body that a lot of bikini competitors would be happy about. Although she finished her personal training journey with me after one year, Sarah had everything she needed to stay consistent due to the powerful driving force she was consciously aware of.

Sarah's story is a testament to the power of discovering a deep, intrinsic drive—the fuel that keeps our discipline consistent even when life is chaotic or energy levels are low. When the driving force is strong enough, you will never run out of energy or will to continue.

This concept of 'Drive' as a visceral inner force that propels us toward our fitness goals is crucial. It's brilliantly encapsulated in Daniel Pink's book, "Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us." When I read this book, I was immediately motivated to achieve my own goals and share this information with my clients.

Let's delve into how understanding and cultivating this drive changes the game to transform your body.

Understanding Drive in the Realm of Fitness

In his book, Pink's exploration of motivation through Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose provides a framework that can dramatically enhance our engagement and consistency in fitness:

• Autonomy: Choosing activities that resonate personally makes the fitness journey more enjoyable and sustainable. Whether selecting the type of exercise that excites you or setting your workout schedule, autonomy ensures your fitness routine is tailored to your life. Make your fitness regime fit your life and not the other way around.
• Mastery: The desire to improve continuously at something significant keeps the motivation fresh and makes the process rewarding. Regarding your own body transformation, this might mean setting goals to beat your personal best in the gym, improve your endurance, or master a new sport. Start getting fixated on improving your performance metrics.

Gamify your fitness performance is an excellent way to keep motivated because you can literally see tangible progress every day/week. So, get focused on beating your scores!

• Purpose: Connecting your fitness routine to a higher purpose—such as improving your health to better care for your family or preparing for a charity race—can provide powerful motivation that transcends aesthetic goals. This leads back to Sarah's example of connecting all the things that matter most to you in your life. Make your goal bigger than just you! This also leads nicely into edition 2 of the Fit Body Code Newsletter, where I share key strategies for creating a balanced life. 

Linking Drive to Discipline

When your motivations are clear and deeply rooted in your values, discipline becomes less about forcing yourself to follow an exercise routine and more about pursuing something you genuinely care about. This alignment transforms discipline from a battle to a more effortless adherence to a lifestyle that you value.

This is exactly how you become dedicated to your pursuit. You might even be called obsessed by those around you, and that's fine. You just keep focused on what matters and try to find others who are on the same path as you!

Sustaining Drive with Vision and Goals

Setting visionary goals is essential for maintaining drive. These goals should be challenging, exciting, and deeply aligned with your personal aspirations and life values. They should inspire you and make the path toward achieving them fulfilling. Once you've answered the questions below, create a vision board of all the benefits of how your life will look when you achieve your goals. Look at these questions and visions every morning whilst drinking that all-important coffee.

Harnessing Emotional Drive

The emotional rewards of drive—like the great feeling of hitting a personal best, the elation of progress, and the satisfaction of overcoming tough challenges, will all significantly enhance your motivation. Celebrate these wins, no matter how small, as they are the milestones that mark your journey. Keep enjoying the wins.

The Science Behind Drive and Motivation

The research underscores the importance of finding a deep, internal drive to maintain motivation. Let's look at two studies that illustrate this dynamic:

1. Intrinsic Motivation and Exercise Adherence: A study published in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology found that people who engaged in exercise for intrinsic reasons, such as the joy of the activity or the challenge it presents, were more likely to stick with their routines long-term compared to those motivated by extrinsic factors like appearance or external approval.

2. The Role of Autonomy in Exercise: Research in the Journal of Health Psychology demonstrates that when people feel they have autonomy in choosing their fitness activities, their intrinsic motivation increases significantly. This autonomy leads to better adherence to exercise regimes and more enjoyment in the process.

Practical Strategies to Cultivate Your Drive

Identifying and nurturing your 'why'—the deep reasons that motivate you to stay fit—is crucial. Here are some strategies to help uncover and sustain your drive:

• Identify Your True Motivations: Reflect on what truly drives you. Is it the desire to be healthy enough to enjoy adventures with your children? Or is it the challenge of pushing your physical limits? Understanding these motivations will anchor your fitness routine in deeply personal goals. Here are 5 questions to ask yourself when setting your health & fitness goals:

1. What are my true reasons for wanting to be fit and healthy? Delve deeper than just surface-level desires like wanting to look good. Consider more profound motivations such as wanting to live a long, healthy life with your loved ones or feeling energetic and mentally sharp so I can progress my career.
2. How does my fitness journey relate to my overall life goals? Connect your fitness routine with your broader life aspirations. How does being fit improve your daily life, job performance, or interactions with others?
3. What emotions do I associate with working out and being active? Reflect on the feelings that exercise evokes in you. Are they positive? If not, what can change about your approach to make it more enjoyable?
4. When have I felt most motivated about my fitness, and what triggered it? Look back at times when you were highly motivated. What sparked that motivation? Understanding this can help you recreate those conditions.
5. What would achieving my fitness goals really mean to me personally? Think about the personal significance of reaching your fitness objectives. How will it impact your self-esteem, your self-image, and your overall lifestyle?

• Set Goals That Inspire You: Instead of generic goals, set ones that connect to your motivations. For example, if you love nature, training for a mountain trek might be more inspiring than simply aiming to lose weight. The weight loss will be the bioproduct of being able to run on mountain trails… trust me!

• Celebrate Small Victories: Recognise and celebrate each success along your fitness journey. This could be improving your pace, adding more weight to your lifts, or sticking to your routine consistently. Each victory reinforces your drive and strengthens your enthusiasm to keep consistent.

Conclusion

The journey to unwavering fitness discipline starts with igniting your drive. Understanding what motivates us from within—whether it's the autonomy to choose how we exercise, the mastery of our physical challenges, or the purpose behind our efforts—can transform the routine of exercise into a source of daily inspiration.

Embrace these insights and strategies to fuel your fitness journey with a renewed sense of passion and perseverance. Remember, the power of drive is not just in achieving fitness goals but in transforming how we view discipline and motivation in every aspect of our lives. Let's move forward with a strong drive that propels us towards our fitness goals and enriches our entire life experience.

Feel free to contact me if you wish to book a consultation where I can help you find your Drive... Click here

Keep fit, lean, and strong.

Lewis