Flex Your Motivational Muscles

As a child I remember my mother always having a special thanksgiving day turkey. This was a big deal for me. She would always take one of the biggest and rather expensive, turkeys you could ever imagine and surprise us with it. My siblings and I would race to the kitchen and get her that turkey. When she opened up the turkey she always sang "How's your chicken?" I can remember her voice, smooth and sexy, as she slaved away on that turkey until finally it fell apart on the dining room table.

Running half-marathons is a lot of fun, and when you run your own half-marathon it gives you the opportunity to work your motivational muscles in another way. By running your own half-marathon you have the chance to run those same half-marathons over again. You have that familiar "feeling" of victory every time you run another marathon, and it keeps your competitive juices flowing.

But what about those of us who are not as strong as our fitness models? Do we really need to build those muscle tissues so that we can go for those more arduous races with the same gusto as our models? Of course! Let's look at some of the other ways that working towards a goal can help you build those muscles and get your motivational factors working towards a steady pace. Some of these may surprise you.

Flex Your Motivational Muscles Every Day - Runners never stop trying to better themselves, and the road to success is invariably long and bumpy. Look at any runner and you'll see that the road to long-term fitness and happiness is a steady pace, a focus on improving your performance, and a commitment to excellence. What many runners don't know, however, is that there is an unwritten law of running: As long as you keep up the good work, you will be rewarded. For example, running downhill at a fast pace is a great way to improve your performance in the marathon. If you run downhill at a very fast speed, on the other hand, you're less likely to be rewarded with an injury and a failed attempt at a half-marathon.

Runners who run consistently at a strong pace for at least half an hour each day for an entire year will find that they improve their fitness levels by about fifteen percent. That improvement will pay off handsomely when they attempt that half-marathon next year. It is the same for runners who dedicate themselves to working on their faster paces and developing their leg muscles. On the Thanksgiving Day, those same runners will celebrate their half-marathon success with a hearty breakfast of turkey and grits, just as they did 50 years ago when they started training for the half-marathon.

So what does this law of progressive overload tell athletes who are considering bulking up? It tells them that it pays to stay persistent and keep trying new things, regardless of whether the task seems hopeless or seemingly insignificant. Just because you can't do something now doesn't mean that you have to give up. Keep pushing forward with your efforts no matter how long it takes. Your muscles will reward you.