Motivation

[SmokinHunter]

We all get motivated here and there, but what do you guys do to stay motivated? I feel like I'm good at getting the workout in, but I struggle to stay motivated enough to keep with nutrition for a long enough period of time to make me shed lbs.

 

[Poser]

Generally speaking, getting my ass handed to me in the mountains on some type of regular basis keeps me motivated to get better and come back and repeat that ass-kicker, whatever it was, with better style and do something more challenging. I apply that mentality to backpacking, hunting/scouting/ backcountry skiing, peak bagging etc.

In the gym, I'm always trying to be as strong as I can within the context of the season and mountain performance. I've long since peaked at my best strength metrics, but always looking to get more weight on the barbell throughout the year in some capacity or another. Whether I'm in maintenance mode or on a strength cycle, being able to add 5 lbs to the bar from the previous workout or the previous week always holds a bit of gratification.

Nutrition: my knee blew up back in November and I was down and out until April, missing most of ski/snowboard season (though, there were a few powder days I just couldn't resist despite the high risk for further injury and the resulting recovery setbacks + a few days of pain repercussions). Once I was through the backside of that recovery, I came back with a vengeance after sitting out winter, however, my knee is now super sensitive to the slightest amount of inflammation, so I had to go 100% clean eating and stick with that or my knee is inflamed which impacts mountains sports and gym performance alike. I ate pretty well before, but it was more like 70-75% "clean"

Overall, when I'm performing well, I feel a lot better, mental health is better, confidence is better....life is better. Everything above feeds into performing well so my motivation is intrinsic. That being said, in order to know what "performing well" is, you must have a back catalogue of terrible, poor, mediocre and average performances to set a standard. The timeline of improvement behaves a bit like the stock market and so does motivation.

 

[justinspicher]

I just eat. I’m extremely lazy when it comes to nutrition. Calories are just a number to me, so in that context I just have to stay busy to keep the weight off and the capacity up. Someday it’s going to catch up to me, but until then I’ll just continue to send it.

 

[Seeknelk]

All I know is motivation is a fickle b&tch so don't rely on it at all and make it all about discipline. Use motivation when it's there but don't count on it... building the correct habits is hard. And worth it.

 

[mtwarden]

When you train the vast majority of the year (and when not training it’s hunting season or some adventure) and then do it for multiple years, it just becomes habit. A good habit.

I look forward to hitting the trails and look forward to going to the gym when I go.

I’m with @justinspicher on the nutrition thing; I eat relatively decently, but don’t give it much thought. I’m fine with hot dogs, pizza, whatever sounds (and tastes) good.

I will say that my sheep hunt last year did motivate me to take my training up a notch. If I ever draw a sheep or goat tag, guessing it will do the same.

 

[waspocrew]

I just booked a NWT sheep hunt for 2026. I have plenty of time, but that’s my current motivation to get in shape haha.

 

[wildwilderness]

The answer is not motivation. It is self discipline.

Those who are able to control themselves will most likely achieve their (realistic) goals.

Are you the type of person to wake up and make your bed everyday? Brush your teeth everyday? Get to work on time? Have a set of principles you adhere to and follow?

Making the good habits (and as important stopping the bad habits) no matter how small Is the only way to see consistency.

 

[northernalpine]

The human mind will create powerful reinforcement to support goals, some will be habits, others will be subconsciously related to that goal. On this forum, lots of guys have goals of easing through high altitudes and endless endurance come whatever hunting season. They build towards that as the end goal, sometimes preparing throughout the year for a singular event.

The issue with that, is that most people don’t stagger or pyramid their training to achieve peak performance walking into whatever event, instead, they flow through a general training program and plateau, and when they plateau, their motivation/habits/discipline take a nosedive.

It’s hard to continue improving on a long time scale without excellent programming for the average person.

One of the best ways to circumvent this issue is to have multiple events throughout the year that mirror, mimic, or support physical movement characteristics of the end event. Running 5k’s (or longer), archery events, shooting competitions, powerlifting events, triathlon races, MTB races, long duration or multi-day hikes…you name it, give you a short term event that supports performance in the long term goal. Find something quarterly, or monthly, that pushes you to be ready to perform.

I arrived at this conclusion a number of years ago and it works for me. Full disclosure, from Thanksgiving to Christmas I pull back on weights and focus on aerobic activity to give the joints a break, and let my diet slide a bit because it’s good for my own personal morale.

The last thing I’ll add is that there is a unique social label being the guy with certain discipline types. I started getting weird looks, side-eye, and off remarks from people when I stop drinking, am on a tight diet, and schedule social events around an event training schedule. It doesn’t bother me, after a while I realized I just had different goals than many people, many of which are my friends, not because I am a super athlete competing for recognition, but because I am willing to park short term wants to be that guy who doesn’t bat an eye when things are going to get difficult on a hunt or in life in general.

Somewhere in your basic motivation that seems to falter at times, is a deeper and more powerful one. You just need to peel back the onion and find it.