Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews - Motivation Monday: 6 Reasons to Get Fired Up For Your Workout

Episode Date: April 16, 2018

This episode is part of a weekly series that I have dubbed “Motivation Monday.” (Yes, I know, very creative of me. What can I say, I’m a genius…) Seriously though, the idea here is simple: Every Monday morning, I’m going to post a short and punchy episode that I hope gets you fired up to tackle the workouts, work, and everything else that you have planned for the week ahead. As we all know, it’s one thing to know what you want to do, but it’s something else altogether to actually make yourself do it, and I hope that this series gives you a jolt of inspiration, energy, and encouragement to get at it. So, if you like what you hear, then make sure to check back every Monday morning for the latest and greatest installment. Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter! Click here: www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

This episode is brought to you by me. Seriously though, I'm not big on promoting stuff that I don't personally use and believe in. So instead I'm going to just quickly tell you about something of mine, specifically my 100% natural joint supplement Fortify. Now Fortify helps keep your joints healthy, functional, and pain-free by reducing joint inflammation and preventing cartilage loss. And its ingredients are scientifically proven to alleviate joint pain, inflammation, and swelling, and to help keep your cartilage healthy, strong, and intact. All of this is why Fortify has over 200 reviews on Amazon with a four and a half star average, which I might add is fairly impressive for a joint supplement and another 90 plus reviews on my website also with a four and a half star average. So if you want healthy,

functional, and pain-free joints that can withstand the demands of your active lifestyle, then you want to head over to www.legionathletics.com and pick up a bottle of Fortify today. And just to show how much I appreciate my podcast peeps, use the coupon code podcast at checkout, and you will save 10% on your entire order. And lastly, you should also know that I have a very simple 100% money back guarantee that works like this. You either love my stuff or you get your money back, period. You don't have to return the products. You don't have to fill out forms.

You don't have to jump through any other hoops or go through any other shenanigans. So you really can't lose here. Head over to www.lesionathletics.com now, place your order and see for yourself why my supplements have thousands of rave reviews all over the internet. And if for whatever reason, they're just not for you, contact us and we will give you a full refund on the spot. Alrighty, that is enough shameless plugging for now at least. Let's get to the show. Good morning, evening, afternoon, whatever time it is over there. This is Mike

Matthews from Muscle for Life and Legion Athletics. And it is time for another podcast, another Monday motivation podcast, which of course means we start with a quote. And this week's quote I particularly like and can relate to, and it comes from the writer and philosopher Alain de Botton. And he said, of many books, one feels it could have been truly good if the author's appetite for suffering had been greater. And just to take that a little bit further, I think that sentiment can be applied to pretty much everything in life. If something, anything is not excellent, it's mostly because the creator's appetite for suffering was not great enough. And you know, I think that applies to people's lives themselves. Their lives

could have been truly good if only their appetite for suffering had been greater. All right, so let's move on to today's episode, which is going to be about motivation, workout motivation. So there's a reason why you don't see very many fit people walking around. It's pretty simple, of course. Sticking to a workout program and sticking to a diet can be hard. It can be really hard. You don't get to eat all the foods that you want to eat whenever you want to eat them. You don't get to drink all the alcohol that

you might want to drink whenever you want to drink it. You often have to sacrifice some of your free time or maybe even your sleep to fit workouts in. I'm sure you can think of many more inconveniences and difficulties that come with getting and staying fit. And anyone can drum up enough emotional resolve to get started, but staying the course, making it into a lifestyle is another matter altogether. Doing that takes deep, lasting motivation and dedication. So how do you develop this? Well, that's a tough question with a very multifaceted answer, of course. And I'm going to be providing my best answer in my newest book, which is going to be out this summer. Sometime in June is what we're looking at. It's

going to be called The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation. And it's going to be, of course, black book of workout motivation. And it's going to be, of course, all about getting and staying motivated, but it's not going to be your typical rah-rah self-help book full of tired cliches and platitudes. It's going to be a very unique and I dare say compelling combination of storytelling science and powerful and practical tools and takeaways. In this episode, though, I want to keep things simple and I want to share with you six motivating reasons to get in the gym and stick to it for the long term. And yes, of course, it's a healthy lifestyle. You probably know that by working out regularly, you're more likely to live a longer, healthier life. You're going to be generally more energetic. You're going to be better at warding off disease and less likely to get sick. You're also probably

going to be less stressed and all that other good stuff. But let's be honest, those reasons are not incredibly motivating after a long, stressful day at work with your couch beckoning and your TV glowing. And so I want to share with you a few things that help motivate me whenever I'm on the fence. I hope that these emotional triggers will help you remember why you started working out in the first place and will get you fired up to get your butt off the couch, into the car, and under the bar. So the first one is working out is a great way to enjoy a natural and healthy high. And I'm not just talking about mental satisfaction here. I'm talking about the actual physical high that results from exercise. You see the brain altering chemicals that are released by exercise act similarly to opioid drugs, meaning that when

you work out, it is a very healthy and natural way to just feel very good every day of your life. This is why many studies have shown that regular exercise is a powerful way to increase mood. And if you want to get bonus points, work out first thing in the morning, because studies also show that your mood in the morning generally dictates your mood for the rest of the day. So if you can get into a really good mood first thing in the morning before you dive into all the fuckery of life, you're much more likely to feel better throughout the day. So the next time you need some motivation to get your workout in, just think of how physically satisfied you feel after. All right.

Reason number two is working out is a fantastic way to silence your critics. Now, while I'm all for, you know, doing it for you and not having to prove yourself to anyone. We all take satisfaction in doing what other people say we can't do. And we've all known people who are just compelled to criticize and doubt us whenever we undertook anything positive. And you know the type of person, you tell them you're starting a new workout program and they question why, they roll their eyes, they snicker or otherwise tell you they just don't think you can do it. Well, you can use those people as workout motivation, get in the gym and prove them wrong, and then relish the look on their faces as you transform your body, as you lose fat,

as you build muscle, as you build the body you've always wanted and probably the body that they've always wanted too. You know, why don't you just take a minute right now and write down a list of people that you want to silence. Who cares who they are and who cares why you chose them exactly. Just write them down. Then the next time you are thinking of skipping a workout, scan over that list and chances are you're going to get a nice jolt of motivation. Okay, the next reason is obvious. It's getting sexier because let's face it, the number one reason most people start working out is to look better for other girls or guys. That's why I started hitting the weights back when I was 17, 18. My goal wasn't just to be cuter, but sexier, that primal, universal, irresistible kind of

attraction that just bypasses critical filters and makes people physically want you. And hey, I was a teenager, cut me some slack. I've matured since then. And I don't really care so much about that anymore, but it definitely was a strong motivator in the beginning. And of course, vanity is still part of the reason why I keep working out. I don't know if I would say it's 50%, but I'd say it's probably no less than 30%. I definitely enjoy looking a certain way and that will never change. And that's okay. No matter how humble a guy is, he can't help but smile when a beautiful girl is checking him out or wants to feel his arms. And even the classiest of girls can't help but smile when a beautiful girl is checking him out or wants to feel his

arms. And even the classiest of girls can't help but enjoy it when all eyes are on them at the beach. And again, I don't think there's anything wrong with these things. It's just the way we're wired. So remember that when you are training and dieting correctly and consistently, every workout you do and every meal that you eat results in minor improvements that you may not see right away but that over time transform you into a bolder and sexier version of yourself. And don't think that matters only if you're single either. While emotional connection is vitally important for a good relationship, research shows that ongoing physical attraction plays a major role in relationship stability. So when you're having trouble dragging yourself into the gym, just remember that the workout you are about to do is going to make you a little bit sexier. And if you add up enough of those little bits,

you're now a whole new irresistible you. All right, the next point kind of goes hand in hand, which is working out builds your self-confidence. Yes, that's right. Lifting weights doesn't just build muscle. It also builds self-confidence. Now, of course, some people go to the dark side and just become narcissistic, neurotic egomaniacs. But those of us who are mentally balanced generally just become happier, calmer, nicer, and nicer to be around people. This self-confidence boost extends to all areas of our lives as well. Do not be surprised if working out regularly also makes you want to push the envelope in other areas of your life and strive for more to challenge yourself and tackle

difficulties that maybe you previously wanted to ignore or run away from. And not only that, but getting into good shape can help you believe that you actually can do all those other things that you want to do. I've seen it so many times now over the years, working with thousands and thousands of people. They start with improving their body and end with improving every other area of their lives. So just as you make yourself sexier one workout at a time, you also make yourself more confident, secure, and effective. Okay, moving along, the next reason to get in the gym is being strong is awesome. Because while we may not be able to fulfill our childhood fantasies and become full-blown superheroes, we can become super strong

and that's pretty cool. And then we can imagine we're superheroes. You see, whereas I started working out just to look good, I've stuck with it so long because I've come to love getting stronger. I can't think of a better way to start a day than experience the intense rush that comes with deadlifting, squatting, or overhead pressing, or bench pressing hundreds and hundreds of pounds. So the next time you are looking for some workout motivation, just think about lifting some heavy ass weights to quote professor Ronnie Coleman and just feeling like you are the king or queen of the mountain. Next on my list is while strength is pretty awesome, mental toughness is even awesomer. Don't look into it, but that's definitely a word, definitely in the dictionary. No, but seriously, how many workouts have you missed because your mind seduced you into thinking you were too tired? How many reps have you missed because

the little voice in your head said that that was enough? You'd already done enough already. These aren't physical failures. They're mental failures. And they relate to something much bigger than just working out. If I had to choose one thing, one trait that sets extraordinary achievers apart from ordinary ones in any field, in any activity, it wouldn't be intelligence or wisdom, talent, luck, genetics. It would just be mental toughness, conscientiousness in psychological terms or in pop psychological terms, grit, right? That's kind of the trendy thing right now. But all grit really is, is the psychological trait of conscientiousness. The will to finish what has been begun. The discipline to not give in to temptations, to stray or quit. The willingness to make sacrifices,

to make hard sacrifices. And the ability to maintain high levels of performance, even when things are going well. Yes, when they're going well, that's the hardest time for most people to keep pushing because it's so easy to just become complacent. And that ability to avoid complacency, to never be fully satisfied with yourself is often overlooked. John Rockefeller said it best when he said, I've always been contented, but I've never been satisfied. Now, of course, it's no surprise that mentally tough people make better athletes, but research shows that people with high levels of

perseverance and grit lead the pack in just about every endeavor from spelling bees to military bootcamps. So the bottom line here is the more mentally tough we are, the better our lives will be. You can take that to the bank. Dollars to donuts. You can't develop true commitment to or consistency with anything if you have a weak will. And you can use your workouts to help build your will, like a muscle, and become mentally tough. Every day you show up to the gym, every day you put that work in, no matter how many reasons you had to do otherwise, no matter how much mental resistance you might have felt, no matter how drained your body might have been, you are transforming more than your physique. You are transforming your very being. So the next

time you start to convince yourself why you should skip or miss a workout, stop for a second and recognize the simple fact that the reason you don't want to go is why you have to go. If you don't go, you are making yourself weaker. And if you do, you are making yourself stronger. podcast on the internet, then please leave a quick review of it on iTunes or wherever you're listening from. This not only convinces people that they should check the show out, it also increases its search visibility and thus helps more people find their way to me and learn how to build their best bodies ever too. And of course, if you want to be notified when the next episode goes live, then just subscribe to the podcast and you won't miss out on any of the new goodies. Lastly, if you didn't like something about the show, then definitely shoot me an email at mike at muscleforlife.com and share your thoughts on how you think it could be better.

I read everything myself and I'm always looking for constructive feedback. So please do reach out. All right, that's it. Thanks again for listening to this episode and I hope to hear from you soon. And lastly, this episode is brought to you by me. Seriously, though, I'm not big on promoting stuff that I don't personally use and believe in. So instead, I'm going to just quickly tell you about something of mine, specifically my 100% natural joint supplement Fortify. Now, Fortify helps keep your joints healthy, functional, and pain-free by reducing joint inflammation and preventing

cartilage loss. And its ingredients are scientifically proven to alleviate joint pain, inflammation, and swelling, and to help keep your cartilage healthy, strong, and intact. cartilage healthy, strong, and intact. All of this is why Fortify has over 200 reviews on Amazon with a four and a half star average, which I might add is fairly impressive for a joint supplement and another 90 plus reviews on my website also with a four and a half star average. So if you want healthy, functional, and pain-free joints that can withstand the demands of your active lifestyle, then you want to head over to www.legionathletics.com and pick up a bottle of Fortify today. And just to show how much I appreciate my podcast peeps,

use the coupon code podcast at checkout and you will save 10% on your entire order. And lastly, you should also know that I have a very simple 100% money back guarantee that works like this. You either love my stuff or you get your money back, period. You don't have to return the products. You don't have to fill out forms. You don't have to jump through any other hoops or go through any other shenanigans. you don't have to jump through any other hoops or go through any other shenanigans so you really can't lose here head over to www.legionathletics.com now place your order and see for yourself why my supplements have thousands of rave reviews all over the internet and if for whatever reason they're just not for you contact us and we will give you a full refund

on the spot