Tag: motivation
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Tail of the snake
When you’ve built up your strength and fitness, it’s tough when you realise you’ve lost fitness. You’ve slid down the snake and there aren’t any ladders in sight. And the square you used to be on seems unreachably far away. It can happen so easily – injuries, illness, life events or just getting older. It…
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Fun and motivation
Runners often talk about type 1 and type 2 fun. Type 1 workouts are the ones that are actually enjoyable at the time. And type 2 are those that aren’t fun at the time but feel good to get done. I’m lucky enough that I mostly enjoy my runs, rides and gym sessions while I’m…
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Be smartly stubborn
I’ve had a few tough weeks with a frozen shoulder which is really getting in the way of my marathon training. It’s a weird but painful condition that comes out of nowhere and takes its own time to go away. I’ve tried to keep going as best I can, really wanting to keep my goal…
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Does flexibility suit you?
Some people thrive on options, others do better having just one thing to do. I was coaching someone today and we were coming up with a plan for her to look after her physical and mental wellbeing to help deal with work stress. She had a good sense of what worked for her (running, yoga,…
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The weather is never perfect
If you wait for the perfect weather, you’ll never go for a run. Maybe it’s too too cold. If it’s not too cold, it’s too hot. Too wet. Too dark. The side of us that doesn’t like being uncomfortable is incredibly creative at finding reasons not to go. Even if the weather’s perfect, it will…
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New shoes
Today I got new running shoes. I’d been putting it off because my old shoes were comfortable. Maybe a bit battered, but still functional. And it seemed an unjustified extravagance to get yet another pair of running shoes! So I kept putting it off. But over time those old shoes had broken down, and weren’t…
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Trackers and streaks
Trackers and streaks can be really helpful in motivating ourselves. But if we’re not careful, they can be counterproductive. For over 500 days I’ve consistently done a minimum of 8000 steps a day. I often do more, but 8000 is a good baseline that I can still hit consistently when I’ve spent a few hours…
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What’s keeping you stuck?
Seth Godin has a great question which I find comes up in so many of my coaching relationships. My version of this: Stuck is a state of mind, and it’s curable. Either You don’t know what to do. You don’t know how to do it. You don’t have the time or other resources. Some emotion,…
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New year
With the new year approaching, it’s a great time to start making plans for what you want to achieve in the new year, whether in your life, your career, your fitness, or all three. But those plans can easily lose momentum in those dark January days. I’ve pulled together some great tips to help you…
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True grit
I’ve never been someone who found physical things easy. At school I could ace a chemistry test but completely miss a netball thrown right at me. It became easy to inhabit that space of “the person who’s rubbish at PE” because I didn’t have to try. I focussed on the things I found easy. But…
Jessica Smith - Life, work and fitness coaching 