modivation issues
modivation issues
My season is over and I have about 3 or 4 months until I go away to a camp for crew. I'm still in school and I'm having trouble modivating myself to keep working out. I need to keep in shape so I can preform at this camp. Does any one have any tips on modivating myself to keep working out.
Here's what I currently do to stay motivated.
1. Participate on a virtual team. The AZ Outlaws captain invited me to join them a few months ago, and it's been a great way to keep the meters going, trying to contribute to the team average, and help catch the team in the spot ahead of you.
2. Cross-train. If there's some other sport you're into, divide your time. For me, it's mountain biking. Some days I just erg, some just bike, some both.
3. Try the Fish Game if your PM supports it. It's a very easy way to knock off meters without just watching the numbers scroll by. Sometimes breaking up a long steady piece with a fish game is just the thing.
4. You're going to think this is incredibly geeky, but I think some others on this forum are doing something similar. For years, I've been logging my mountain biking miles on an Excel spreadsheet. We got our erg last December, so beginning on December 16, 2005, I started a combined biking plus erging tally, and I'm using the spreadsheet plus Google Earth to take a virtual trip around the world. I log my distance each day, and then click it off with the path tool in Google Earth. So as of today, I've logged 354.95 mt. bike miles and 338.39 erg miles, and have traced a meandering set of waypoints from Flagstaff AZ down to about Las Cruces NM. The goal for 2006 is Mexico City, which will require long rides over the summer!
All, some, or none of these may be your cup of tea. Just a few ideas; hope they help!
1. Participate on a virtual team. The AZ Outlaws captain invited me to join them a few months ago, and it's been a great way to keep the meters going, trying to contribute to the team average, and help catch the team in the spot ahead of you.
2. Cross-train. If there's some other sport you're into, divide your time. For me, it's mountain biking. Some days I just erg, some just bike, some both.
3. Try the Fish Game if your PM supports it. It's a very easy way to knock off meters without just watching the numbers scroll by. Sometimes breaking up a long steady piece with a fish game is just the thing.
4. You're going to think this is incredibly geeky, but I think some others on this forum are doing something similar. For years, I've been logging my mountain biking miles on an Excel spreadsheet. We got our erg last December, so beginning on December 16, 2005, I started a combined biking plus erging tally, and I'm using the spreadsheet plus Google Earth to take a virtual trip around the world. I log my distance each day, and then click it off with the path tool in Google Earth. So as of today, I've logged 354.95 mt. bike miles and 338.39 erg miles, and have traced a meandering set of waypoints from Flagstaff AZ down to about Las Cruces NM. The goal for 2006 is Mexico City, which will require long rides over the summer!
All, some, or none of these may be your cup of tea. Just a few ideas; hope they help!
Jeff
Favorite ergers: Schenley (MomOfJBN), Jonathan (10), Benjamin (8), Nicholas (6)
AZ Outlaws / 901,503 m since 12/16/2005
www.flagmusic.com
Favorite ergers: Schenley (MomOfJBN), Jonathan (10), Benjamin (8), Nicholas (6)
AZ Outlaws / 901,503 m since 12/16/2005
www.flagmusic.com
Motivation
Two ideas; first: join the Nonathlon, where you will get great satisfaction pummeling us old guys. And second, focus on that day only twelve or so weeks away when Camp starts, and everybody has to do a test piece, and you nail it.
>Modivation< is external, but Discipline comes from within...
>Modivation< is external, but Discipline comes from within...
Slow and Steady is my pace, so it seems,
Slow and Steady wins the race, in my dreams.
Slow and Steady wins the race, in my dreams.
Run Google Earth and zoom in to wherever you want to start.
Placemarks: To add a placemark, look in the lower right of the window for the pushpin icon (or just press CTRL-N). That lets you drop a placemark, which you can then drag to whatever precise spot you want. You can also edit its appearance, name, and so forth. You can organize placemarks sort of like you do email with Outlook, Thunderbird, or whatever you use...by category and subcategory, in the panel at left. I store mine by year and by month.
Paths: To trace a path, go to the Tools -> Measure menu (or press CTRL-6). That pops up the measurement dialog. Select the "Path" tab. You can then left-click the path, point by point, along your route, and the total distance will tally up in the dialog box. If you've clicked in several path points but made a mistake, or if one of your click points goes too far, you can clear them by right-clicking. Once you've figured out your workout distance, drop in a new placemark. For example, the image below is my log so far (red flags are erg days, orange are bike rides, pink erg+bike). To keep the map readable, I've named only a few of the placemarks with the date and location. As you can see, I was a total slug during March (work kept getting in the way), but have been doing better in April and May!
Like any software, it will take a few hours playing around with Google Earth to get used to it -- there are quirks with how the dialogs work that take getting used to. But this is a great way to keep the miles coming. I'm never going to actually see all these places in real life, so why not learn about them vicariously, and get in good shape to boot!
If any of the instructions above don't make sense, or you can't figure things out, let me know or email me. And don't forget...I'm just logging miles, not training for a team. For you, be sure that something like this is a complement to proper training to get yourself in the best shape for being successful on your team. With that understood, though, this is a fun way to set a really long-term goal and work toward it.
Placemarks: To add a placemark, look in the lower right of the window for the pushpin icon (or just press CTRL-N). That lets you drop a placemark, which you can then drag to whatever precise spot you want. You can also edit its appearance, name, and so forth. You can organize placemarks sort of like you do email with Outlook, Thunderbird, or whatever you use...by category and subcategory, in the panel at left. I store mine by year and by month.
Paths: To trace a path, go to the Tools -> Measure menu (or press CTRL-6). That pops up the measurement dialog. Select the "Path" tab. You can then left-click the path, point by point, along your route, and the total distance will tally up in the dialog box. If you've clicked in several path points but made a mistake, or if one of your click points goes too far, you can clear them by right-clicking. Once you've figured out your workout distance, drop in a new placemark. For example, the image below is my log so far (red flags are erg days, orange are bike rides, pink erg+bike). To keep the map readable, I've named only a few of the placemarks with the date and location. As you can see, I was a total slug during March (work kept getting in the way), but have been doing better in April and May!
Like any software, it will take a few hours playing around with Google Earth to get used to it -- there are quirks with how the dialogs work that take getting used to. But this is a great way to keep the miles coming. I'm never going to actually see all these places in real life, so why not learn about them vicariously, and get in good shape to boot!
If any of the instructions above don't make sense, or you can't figure things out, let me know or email me. And don't forget...I'm just logging miles, not training for a team. For you, be sure that something like this is a complement to proper training to get yourself in the best shape for being successful on your team. With that understood, though, this is a fun way to set a really long-term goal and work toward it.
Jeff
Favorite ergers: Schenley (MomOfJBN), Jonathan (10), Benjamin (8), Nicholas (6)
AZ Outlaws / 901,503 m since 12/16/2005
www.flagmusic.com
Favorite ergers: Schenley (MomOfJBN), Jonathan (10), Benjamin (8), Nicholas (6)
AZ Outlaws / 901,503 m since 12/16/2005
www.flagmusic.com