Bodybuilding Motivation: A Few Simple Tips to Get Motivated for an Intense Workout

  Sometimes it’s tough to even get out of bed in the morning.  Even the most motivated and driven among us sometimes ask the question “how can I get motivated?”

I’ll share a few of my favorite ways to get amped up and ready to crush the weights.  In another post, I've shared reasons not to skip your workouts and now you may find that some of the following tips to be powerful motivators.

When employing some of the following strategies, it doesn’t take long to feel energized and prepared to annihilate a workout. Try some today or bookmark this page for future reference.  You’ll be amazed at how these few, seemingly simple, common sense tips to improve motivation can be. 

Photographs

Often just looking at pictures of people who have achieved success in bodybuilding or who possess the type of physique that you aspire to can really kick start your motivation. 

Looking at still photographs of bodybuilders or athletes who you admire can stimulate your brain to release endorphins and other hormones that can get you fired up and ready to hit the gym with full intensity. 

Posting photographs in your home gym, on your wall or on your refrigerator can help keep you motivated and will help you remember what you are working so hard for.  Sometimes I’ll just fire up my laptop and browse some of my favorite bodybuilding images for a little pre-workout motivation.  

 Keeping a visual log and documenting your own personal progress is a technique that many people use to keep on track and to stay motivated.  Those who have fallen out of shape can look back at old photos and see what they are truly capable of. 

Trust me.  When you’ve had an extended lay-off and feel like you will never return to your former glory, just glancing at some pictures of yourself will remind you what you are capable of genetically, mentally and physically.  

In most cases, it’s easier to get back to your previous condition, or better, in no time at all.  Just pull out some of those old pictures and get your imagination going. 

For even greater motivation, as you see you're physique take shape, you can fine-tune how to appear even more muscular in photographs, especially your biceps. 

Videos

Like still pictures, videos stimulate your mind and enhance your motivation.  What I really like about bodybuilding videos is they are difficult to alter, unlike photos.  Sometimes I look at a picture of an athlete or bodybuilder and wonder if the image has been embellished in any way.

There’s really something about watching a human being move heavy iron in the gym.  I get psyched up when I see bulging biceps with big, fat veins; huge pecs with deep striations; and huge shoulders that look like bowling balls, all swollen with blood as each repetition leads to insane muscle growth. 

One of my best workouts ever was preceded by watching about ten minutes worth of a natural bodybuilding video.  The bodybuilder was drug-free.  He wasn’t the largest guy on the planet, but he had rock hard muscles and was extremely vascular.  I hammered the weights hard that day and felt great for hours afterward.  Even though that workout occurred nearly five years ago, I still look back on it as a reminder of how powerful visual stimulators such as hardcore bodybuilding videos can be. 

Music

No matter what your personal musical preference, music can be a great motivator on many levels.  I have spoken to many people who chose easy-listening or jazz for their primary auditory entertainment but crush it in the gym when they are exposed to loud, hardcore heavy metal music. 

When I worked out at my first gym as a teenager, there was a paper sign taped to the wall in the weight room that stated, “Put Away Your Weights or We’ll Play Classical Music."  Now you can imagine all of the inappropriate comments that were scribbled on that sign, but that was the cleanest, tidiest weight room I’ve ever been in.   Yes, I used the word “tidiest."

I have gone to great lengths over the years to ensure that hardcore gym music is cranking when I’m moving heavy weight.  I’ve had an old fashioned walk-man tape player, a portable CD player that I strapped to my waist, a boom box and, of course, an IPod.  Now that I have my own home gym, I am able to play heavy metal music at such eardrum busting volumes that my neighbor’s dog complains. 

I have read that listening to hardcore music with many beats-per-minute can interfere with concentration and even mess with the nervous system, making an otherwise intense workout no so productive. 

On the other hand, I have heard that listening to loud, noxious music while exercising can increase stress levels and can promote a growth hormone response.  I like this logic.  I think I’ll stick with it. 

I hope you have found these tips helpful in increasing your motivation to exercise.   Nothing is like easy, free motivational tools that can be put to use immediately.   

Also Read:

Six Tips to Make Your Arms Look Bigger Instantly