ashamed of myself

[bnsafe]

last year i got in true elk hunting shape. i was hiking 6 miles with 80 lbs on my back, an hour on either a tm set at 25 incline 4 mph or ellypicall, and maxed out my ability on wts. and was doing core training as well. to keep that up i started eating mre than i normally do. well after my elk hunt i have never got back inot a regular routine of working out and have put some fat around the mid section. while i can still do more cardio than i could a year ago i sure dont look as good and because we have been in the process of moving out west and i havnt had access to wts for about 3 mos i pretty flabbly. problem is i just cant seem to get the desire i had last year to work out consistently. im hit and miss every week and always end up saying "next week". im not whining and realize its all my fault, just thought i would share my struggles of motivation so whoever else out there thats struggling would know they arnt alone.

 

[shaun]

Those struggles are common! I find myself falling off the wagon every now and again and it gets hard yes but you just try and focus on the big picture. Once you try to get back on you "make time" even if you can only work out for 30 minutes or less atleast you are getting yourself back in the swing of things. I always find myself falling off the wagon every year from about Dec-Feb due to holidays, long nights "darkness" etc. What I have done to help overcome that is I have a routine I do every weekday that I continuously follow throughout the year and it helps big time. I get up at 330 am at the gym by 4 am workout till 6 head home drink my coffee and get ready for work. Than when I get home from work I no longer have to worry about gouing to the gym or anything along those lines and can just relax and spend "family time". This year has been extremely harder than most years due to the fact that we just had our son the first part of December so sleep depravation plays a major role in wanting to "slack off" but I keep reminding myself that while I am laying in my cozy warm bed the animals are always gaining on me. One thing thit might help if you are one of those that normally try and go early AM is putting your alarm clock somewhere you will have to get out of bed and turn it off. Pre workout powders such as Jacked3D, 1MR, Super Pump 250 etc immiediatly when you wake up.

 

[Slim Jim]

Don't let it bother you, I seem to slack off a little every year from mid January after my last hunt of season till about mid march when it starts warming up. The short days, cold weather and hunting season being over kind of takes away motivation. I never let myself get over 5-10 lbs out of shape but I understand how it can happen.

 

[Ridge Runner]

I've struggled with this problem most of my adult life. It wasn't a big deal in my 30's. I would kill my self getting in shape then kind of hit a wall after hunting season and take some time off. Always would gain a few lbs but would start again in the spring and be ready to go again. As I hit my 40's I have found I get further in a hole and can gain 20 lbs in the blink of an eye.

At 45 I just finished my most consistent fitness year ever. For me it was signing up for a local bootcamp that motivates me because of the $ is spent to get out of bed 2 days a week. I've found that if I can get a couple workouts in a week I'm usually good for a few more during the week. May not be your thing but consider signing up for a class that motivates you to attend.

Good luck

 

[outdoor hunter]

All good advice here. I too got out of shape. I also started getting up in the morning and working out and do a boot camp on select days as well. I struggled for about 8 weeks saying " next week ". You just have to have that mental break through and decide to get up in the morning and GO. Once you start the routine it gets to be like clock work.

 

[Beastmode]

This is always a tough time of year for me. I get out of my routine do to working a fair amount do to storms taking out power lines. Luckily I work in the mountains a lot and hiking around in the snow and climbing lots of poles keeps me in descent shape. I will get in my routine for about a week and then another storm hits and screws it up for another week. I can normally get back in my routine regularly around april.

 

[ctdad]

I have to find motivation beyond my annual elk hunt. Join a basketball league, run a 5k, do a sprint triathlon (short distances), etc. I just returned from a downhill skiing vacation that was good motivator. Looking for a spring race to sign up for now. If I keep the goal with two months, I stay motivated. Elk are the real motivation, but when it is so far away, I focus on short term goals.

 

[bnsafe]

thanks guys, the older i get the harder it is to get motivated. right now i dont have a place to lift and cant do cardio til the mover brings our stuff, so ive been doing 100 pushups, 50 set ups, 1 minute on abs and 1 on back. im hopin when we get settled, new job becomes a routine, and it warms up i can shed the lbs and get back in better shape. also, frankly im not in horrible shape for 42, at some point i will start going down hill, just not sure how long and how fast.