I’m sure that you’ll agree that the hardest part of getting the body that you want is not lifting enough weights, eating the right food or getting enough cardio. It’s programming the mind to stay motivated and focused.

So let’s get a bit of theory behind what’s happening inside your head.

Every man, woman and child has needs and desires, yet each one of us prioritizes our needs and desires according to our own individual personalities and situation. When we first set our goals our levels of motivation and commitment is at its highest. It’s easy to get up and get to the gym; it’s easy to eat the right foods, however some where down the track our desires conflict and we have to make a choice. We get an invite to a party or we go on holidays, we need to spend more time with the family and the list goes on.

Now that our mind is in conflict with our desires we begin to make excuses and we have a drink, eat bad foods or stop going to the gym.

The real problem with this is not that these situations came up, it’s that you tried to convince yourself that they were never going to come up in the first place. But life isn’t that simple.

So how do we create an effective strategy to manage when things they do come up.

1. Put them in your training routine. Plan a cheat day and days off, you will find training will be more focused and you’ll reduce the chances of over training. Remember muscle grows when you rest not while your training

2. Write down your goals and make them live. I call this your vision board. Create the person you want to be by using photos, positive affirmations and the steps you will need to reach to achieve you goal. Make sure that your vision board is as alive as possible and put it where you will see it everyday.

3. Write down your goals in smaller chunks. If your goals are to become Mr Universe and you look more like a biggest loser contestant then your goals are going to become overwhelming and your motivation will disappear quickly. Make your goals achievable.

4. Program your mind. You can be it if you can see it. Visualizing what you want to achieve has been proven many times to be one of the most effective motivators. The subconscious mind can’t tell the difference between a powerful visualisation and reality. So part of your training mantra should be “Think and Grow strong”

5. Reward yourself for good behaviour but don’t punish yourself for bad behaviour. You’re going to have bad days, get used to it however negative reinforcement of bad behaviour will never promote positive results. If you have a good week, reward yourself if you have a bad week just move on.

The rewards of becoming fit, healthy and strong are great, however the journey never ends so face your future with the confidence that you are a human being with human traits and you will slip backwards every now and then. It’s not how many times we slip that’s important; it’s how many times we get back up.

Jon Benson has created an amazing program for those of you that want to lose weight fast and build muscle
Click here to visit Jons Fit over Forty website