# Good days, bad days....



## nowhereboy (May 22, 2012)

This is aimed mainly at beginners but i guess it could apply to anyone.

Does your motivation and how you feel about yourself vary much?

One day i can be feeling highly motivated, i feel like im making progress, looking bigger etc and then the next day i can feel like im getting nowhere, i feel small and like im just going round in circles.

I sort of yo yo between the two mindsets all the time, it's pretty frustrating.

I guess this is the male equivilant of when a lass says "im having a fat day", my ex used to say it all the time and it made no sense to me, she always looked the same! It's obviously psychological...

Ive also started experiencing quilt when eating somthing i know i shouldnt. This is not somthing im used to and I HATE it!! Yesterday i ordered steak and chicken from a resteraunt and forgot to get it with jacket, it came out with chips and i ate the lot. I felt **** about it for the entire day, this brought on the negative mindset i was just talking about.

Im now two weeks into my first ever go at dieting, im not even being strict, im just keeping it clean for now. I never imagined it would be as hard as it actually is, it doesnt matter what i eat i always seem to feel hungry! Im craving a proper meal so badly (pizza, burger, curry lol), i even feel a bit sick and run down. I think all this clean food has shocked my system or something?

Im sticking at this, i just guess i have been a bit optimistic about how quickly i could shift this belly! I feel like im busting my ass and getting nowhere at the minute, i always look bloated too. Hopefully il feel a bit better after the gym tommorow.


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## rob w (Aug 27, 2012)

Dude, try to remember that this is something you've chosen to do in your spare time instead of playing computer games, watching tv or any other past time.

Whilst it's always important to have a goal or target, whether it's weight or body fat etc.., it's important to actually enjoy the life style.

If your motivation is waning early on you're going to see the whole process as a chore and start to dread workouts and start missing more and more.

Remember also that it is a long process. A lot of hard work is in front of you. My motivation is ultimately - I wanna look bigger with minimal body fat. However, I love the lifestyle. I love the atmosphere in the gym. I get up on a sunday morning and leave the missus and young 'un in bed to get down the gym because ultimately I get pleasure from doing that. If you're losing sight of where you're going change it up. Don't punish yourself for eating, that'll lead to some sort of eating disorder. Self discipline is obviously needed in this game, but remember - it should be fun!


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## phoenixlaw (Mar 5, 2012)

It's as hard as you allow it to be.


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## Ste7n (Jul 12, 2011)

I think we can all get up and down at the drop of a hat, it's having a goal set and trying to acheive it and then setting a new goal, it maybe helps to take a picture every month and you will see changes if you have everything nailed...


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## hugh janus (Mar 29, 2011)

rob w said:


> Dude, try to remember that this is something you've chosen to do in your spare time instead of playing computer games, watching tv or any other past time.


For me, this says it all. In a positive way.

My training partner will sometimes mutter about some of the very skinny lads in the gym that are clearly just starting with strength training. He'll make equally disparaging remarks about the amount of weight that some of the bigger (either fat, or muscular) people are shifting. Then he looks guilty when I point out that I'd rather see people in the gym and working out than getting square eyes and RSI in their thumbs on the X-station or whatever it is.

Much the same as the chubby runner that can't run more than 100m at a time. It's 100m more than being sat in front of the TV.

So, even if you're feeling a little down about your training, remember that...

1 - It's better than being a couch potato

2 - You'll have a healthier lifestyle through exercise and better nutrition

3 - You're in this for the long-haul. You won't see overnight results - it took (me) years to become fat and lazy, it'll take me years to reduce the fat bit.

4 - Set mini-targets along the way to your main target and reward yourself when targets are hit


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## DigIt (Jun 20, 2012)

didnt read past the first bit - answer is yes of course everyone has good days where they feel big, strong, lean and stick to their diet 100% smash it at the gym and feel great all day. then another day the motivation just sinks, you feel fat & weak, less energy in the gym

it's life...what goes up must come down!  apply to motivation lol

i just stick at it no matter what, a bad day at the gym is still a day at the gym! slow progress is still PROGRESS!


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## BigTrev (Mar 16, 2008)

This week im feeling quite low tho i still automatically go to the gym.I treat the gym just like going to work when im feeling low.It just has to be done and i go.

Then i look in the mirror and say,,,your one big handsome fu2ker lol:whistling:


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## haza (Nov 19, 2010)

Yeah happens to all of us, some days I can't be ****d at all for the gym, then next day raring to go, weird


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

I have lifted weights and trained for over 35 years, as long as you stick to it, that is all that counts.

As for the emotion thing, I would not worry about it, it is like the seasons and some days it rains, some days it does not, but remember, rain is good.

Having control over your emotions is a good thing, not like a boat that gets tossed around in the surf.


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## a.notherguy (Nov 17, 2008)

gotta take the rough with the smooth.


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## hometrainer (Apr 9, 2003)

i think we all have our up and down times at times its hard when everything aches but i think of the time and effort i have invested and some of the things i have had to give up along the way.maybe i'll have a change of routine or a few days off and it all falls back into place


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## Ser (Aug 10, 2008)

Only read the op...

you think a 'real' meal is pizza over steak? I LOVE pizza, but i don't kid myself! Pizza are what cheat days are for!

Anyways, my point in answering wasn't the above, it was only that we all have our bad days....i can hit pb after pb...then suddenly lose it...just the way of the game!

I HAVE walked out of gym half way through workouts cause i suddenly lost it, i try to get it back, spend alot of time on my own, in a corner giving myself a good talking too...but if you seriously can't get it back or see it through...then leave it, walk out and go back tomorrow having spent the whole of the rest of yesterday angry at yourself for quitting and i guarentee a better session!


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## Milky (Nov 30, 2008)

Ser said:


> Only read the op...
> 
> you think a 'real' meal is pizza over steak? I LOVE pizza, but i don't kid myself! Pizza are what cheat days are for!
> 
> ...


Spot on this.

we all have days where we question it then when the little pieces of the jigsaw fall into place, you realise it was worth it.


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## C.Hill (Nov 21, 2010)

Suitable.


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## Lou Lou (Aug 27, 2012)

I definatly have days where I lose my mojo but I always think its better to have trained than not to have trained, I thought I had a bad session on Tuesday but I ached yesterday so obviously I achieved something! I'm back in the game now and bang up for the gym today 

The whole food thing is a constant battle too but I try to just eat clean with a bit of dark choccie every now and then to keep me happy lol.


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## Rusky87 (Jan 15, 2012)

my motivation ebbs and flows depending on which mirror I look at myself in.


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## 2H3ENCH4U (May 23, 2012)

Happens to me all the time.

I look at other people and think to myself "they always seem level, why arn't I" truth is everyone has goods and bads and its just the course of life.

If I have a bad session in the gym (feel tired, not motivated) I take one excercise and make sure I acheive something from it, be it an extra rep, extra set or just really focussing on the form and feeling/understanding the muscle I'm working.

As long as you have something postive to take form it you have won.

When you focus only on the negatives (didn't lift as much as last workout, wasn't pumped) you will beat yourself up mentally and be stuck in a defeatist mindset.


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