The 3 Truths About Why Your Body Transformation Hasn’t Worked

How many times have you started the journey to your ultimate transformation?How many times have you veered off for some reason or another and then started again?How many times have you done that?As much as I do believe everything starts with us and we must take 100% responsibility for where we are in life, I also believe that many times we don’t have the right information or environment to achieve the goals we set out for ourselves.Rather than pointing fingers, I want to provide some knowledge that raises awareness.Remember, awareness precedes change!With that said, I will share some knowledge that may shine a light on why you may have not been able to create your ultimate transformation and keep it (a.k.a. made it your lifestyle).Knowledge is only potential power. Applied knowledge is power!Let me start by asking you something; what motivates you?I love motivational quotes.

I love motivational videos. I watch them daily. Matter of fact I love them so much that every year we shoot at least one for Vigor Ground.

I love someone firing me up when I train which is why I train with my Vigor Ground Renton Gym crew.

I love inspiration from others that are doing things I aspire to achieve.All those things and more help me push through the tough times and train harder, work harder, and push past my perceived limits.Are you the same?

External Motivation

Here’s the thing; the majority of people get fired up from those motivators.All those are external motivators.Quotes. Videos. Books. Coaches. Environment.They are VERY important.But what happens when the gym is empty, there are no quotes in front of you, the coach is gone, and its just YOU. How sustainable and effective is this type of motivation long term?Motivation shouldn’t just come “at you”, it should be “within you.”What’s missing in most journey’s towards a transformation is the role of the individual (knowing and understanding that the person themselves is a big part of the process) and the role of the environment (the person knowing that people that are coaching them and they’re surrounded by are willing to run through walls for them – an environment of support, success, as well as no judgment – but there is more….read on).

Creating Intrinsic (Internal) Motivation

For a true transformation to happen three basic psychological needs to be met for true motivation to emerge:

Autonomy (Control) – The opportunity to govern one’s self-freedom from unwanted external control and influence; self-directedCompetence – The ability and belief in one’s ability to successfully or efficiently perform a task; self-efficacyRelatedness – The connection one has with others; shared empathy and the ability to understand another person’s point of viewWhat that really means is...

#1.

You have to be able to get to a point where you make the choices and know you control your destiny without any one else’s external influence.

#2.

You believe you can accomplish tasks that you set out to do whether it’s starting with something as small as doing an exercise correctly.

#3.

You are part of a community or a support-group that empathizes with you, understands you, hears you and helps you become better with no judgment.The key here is that it’s a work in progress to get there.Progress over perfection!Without the internal (intrinsic) motivation it is very difficult to achieve a long-term transformation and lifestyle change (have you done contests, challenges, diets, and did well for 4-12 weeks, or even longer, then fell off and it frustrated the hell out of you?)When most people come through our doors they are on the right side of the chart (at best in the middle) and our goal is to not only get them awesome results but also move them towards the left side of the chart below.If you stay on the right side of chart it will be near impossible for you to create a lifestyle change that lasts.

Motivation: Weight Loss Example

There are important factors that influence what we mentioned above; from motor learning to a motivational environment that provides autonomy, competence and relatedness.Here are important points to consider when it comes to choosing a coach, environment and what will help you create your transformation:* Make sure you find coaches (and support groups) that create autonomy supportive environments and behaviors, which means they take your perspective, acknowledge your feelings, and provide you the right information and opportunities for choice, while minimizing the use of pressure and demands.Avoid controlling behavior environments where you are pressured to think, feel, or behave in specified ways, thereby ignoring your needs and feelings. These are power assertive with pressures to comply and they do not SERVE your transformation.You may already have a boss at work, when it comes to a transformation you need a business partner.Empowering with education and choice is key.

* People learn better when they are given a controlled choice and when given the opportunity to control feedback. If you are always being told what to without knowing you can give feedback and it’s a process of working on it “together” and the plan is rigid with no wiggle room – this should be an indicator that it may not be something that will work long term.I warn you that many times I hear clients say “I just want to be told what to do and not think” and although coaching does mean creating a plan and guiding you, the point behind coaching is to help make modifications and give choices so that it is easier for the client to reach their goals and keep them – and not to “tell you exactly what to do” and if you don’t stick to it, let you know that you messed up and you “just need to stick to it!”* People learn better when they have received positive feedback and do not learn well when they receive negative feedback. People will also ask for feedback more after successful trials vs. after poor ones.Are the people around you pointing out all the things you’re not doing right or congratulating you on the things that you are doing right?If there is something to correct we always praise-praise-correct-praise. It’s easy to find all the things someone is doing wrong but more difficult to congratulate people on what they are doing right – the latter is what improves your learning and motivation and drives transformation.I’ll repeat. Positive feedback drive motor learning and motivation; there should be much more reinforcement of the good than correcting the bad.* Having choice in your training program and the coach explaining the rationale behind it as well as for any limitations creates trust, includes you in the process and empowers you to make joint decisions on your path to success. This is why your feelings and perspectives need to be acknowledged or the environment becomes more “threatening” and you cannot learn as well and motivation drops.Simply put, get rationale on programming/nutrition/recovery, have choice, ask and receive questions, and be in a non-controlling environment. * You must be empowered by your coach and/or support group to take initiative within and outside of the training process* The training and nutrition should have a “purposeful struggle” which will help you engage and preserve your sense of achievement. If it is too easy you don’t feel challenged and that drops your motivation, and yet the same happens when something becomes too difficult and you feel helpless in trying to achieve it.Find the sweet spot or surround yourself with coaches that constantly know how to challenge you the “right” amount for you to progress and build confidence and belief.

* When we do give positive feedback and receive it, it should be on the “process” and not on the “person.”For instance, “great job Kathy” is feedback on the person, where as “great effort in getting your meals prepared for the week Kathy” is feedback on the process.* Group training environments create the strongest opportunity for relatedness. Find one that has a positive, belief based, supportive, yet challenging characteristics and helps you create your individual challenge within the context of a unified group. Find a common bond.We have a core value at Vigor Ground – Rise As One. Every person is on their own journey but it is important to be part of a group, a community that will rise with you, through the ups and the downs. There is a culture where individual and the team success are one (we are a team).

* In environments like the one mentioned above client interaction results in peer coaching and observational learning. This means you learn from everyone including your team mates as well as helping coach them too (everyone’s experience is helpful and can guide another to their goal – while empowering you in helping them).Natural opportunities come up for you to be social, share success and discuss limitations.Some of the best long term friendships get formed through a common struggle and overcoming that struggle together.

We Rise Higher As A Team Than We Will As Individuals

There are many components to a body and lifestyle transformation and it is important for you to know what environment you should be in to make sure your transformation is real and becomes a part of you rather than a yo-yo affect.Look back at the times you have taken action and started training, dieting, etc. and how it ended up. Did you have the conditions that I talked about above?You CAN do it and you WILL do it and now you have information that will help you choose the best coaches and environment to help you achieve your goals for good.They say knowledge is power. I say knowledge is potential power. There is one thing that must happen for everything to start moving and that is...