Carrying the mail. Old School.

 

Racers,

I probably owe you a bit of an apology. In the first 6 months of Racers Workout Magazine, we've spent a lot of time on nutrition and workout tips. Check out Monday and Friday's posts for a rundown of where all we've been. Nothing wrong with focusing on giving you value in those areas. However, let's be clear that any program, be it Racers Workout or Pilates or Yoga are only going to work if you do. Bringing that level of energy and effort means you have to be engaged emotionally and mentally. The fact is, we sometimes are less than engaged.

How do we get back to excited?

Today's Mail Time!


Hi Russ,

Read through the thread and I must admit I hesitated a lot before deciding to post. I see you're undoubtably enthusiastic about fitness, nutrition, and developing a wining attitude for motorsport. And that's great for people trying to make a name for themselves, particularly the young and talented. What I'm struggling with is how to apply your ideas at a much lower and less ambitious level in the world of motorsport. Being completely honest, the main problem is motivation.

A little background is probably in order: I drive a classic sports car in club events around the UK. I've developed the car over the years and as its performance increased it became more and more exhausting to drive. I read a book called Think to Win by Don Alexander and that gave me a lot of inspiration and a lot more focus. I took on a personal trainer and that was a great benefit, but as time went on and prices increased I couldn't afford to continue the sessions. Then I had a major accident and whilst I was unhurt, the car was a wreck. I've spent nearly two years rebuilding the car and in the mean time my fitness and attitude have slipped.... a lot. At a few weeks shy of 50 years old I'm not overweight (6'2" - 170lb) and my fitness is 'reasonable' but I'm definitely not as sharp or fit as I was. I'm back to struggling to keep up with the car.

I sort of know what I should be doing to get back on top but with no championships at stake, and no career to develop, I'm finding it hard to generate the motivation to do what needs to be done.

Any suggestions?

 

Rocky 4 is a great watch. The fire he brings to his rustic spartan training is fictional but the portrayal had great energy. It's a must for racing preparation and racing to have that focused excited energy.

My Answer:

I am glad that you brought this question out for everyone. I think we can all agree that racing is a sport different from others in that it is impossible to do well if you aren't fully emotionally and mentally vested in what you are doing. Working out my way or any other way is only as good as the fully motivated person behind the workout.

I get more questions about the physical and not enough about the mental and emotional and how to maximize performance in those areas.
My suggestions:

--Upgrade your peer group. I am doubting you are around motivated people who share your aspirations and love of what you do. Prune your trees of stinker thinkers. If they happen to be people in your immediate family, limit your time around them.

--Think on paper. Write down your goals for tomorrow, 1 week, 1 month, 1 year and 5 years down the road. Start with the furthest out time frame first and work back to more recent. With the 5 year goals, don't worry about what you think is possible. With the more recent goals break down your 5 year goal into action steps. This not only creates accountability as far as what actions you should be taking but gets your mind geared towards what you want rather than what you don't. This is your new habit of thinking.

-- Be mindful of your media exposure. Replace your tv, radio, reading and internet habits with more positive and valuable information. Reading Mr. Alexander's book was a great start but consistency over time is the key to reprogramming our attitude which brings new actions and then better results. I highly recommend Brian Tracy's "Psychology of Achievement" either in audio or book form as a great starting point. The sad fact is that the media loaded with energy draining cynicism.

--Make a pact with yourself to write down the biggest difficulties in your life right now that are keeping you from where you want to be. Then make another pact to ask one person for help everyday in getting those difficulties solved. Men especially have a habit of going lone wolf in tough times. The reality is that none of us are self made. We all need a hand and it is usually as simple as seeking out the right people and asking.

--Get into a workout program, preferably a structured one. A structured workout program is best because it encourages accountability from start to finish and also encourages recording of results and goal setting. Exercise itself is very beneficial mentally in taking our minds off all the external junk going on in life. Here is the link to my Racers Workout Blueprint. http://budurl.com/mkh6

It is the actual workout portion of the Racers Workout.

My gift to you. You'll be so involved in what your doing and get results so quickly, I am betting you get inspired.

--Volunteer to help less fortunate people for an hour or two a week. One of the things about our tough times is the best medicine is to step outside ourselves and experience people who have it worse and take in their serenity in dealing with it. We can often be a prisoner to our goals and lose perspective. By this I mean that we take it all to seriously and don't fully enjoy the process towards achieving what we want. Many people could never even begin to do what we aspire to do because of some unfortunate condition or ailment. Yet they maintain great happiness and attitude. There is much we can learn from them.

Let me know if I am hitting the target for you here. If not, I'll keep trying until we get you what you need.

Russ

 

 

Filed under: Motivational Messages • Workout Tips

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