Be careful what you wish for....

Pre-pandemic, if you'd asked me what I needed in order to be able to get my #baguazhang training on track, without hesitation my response would have been an emphatic "more time at home". Now that I actually work from home and have regained the lost commuting hours back into my day, though, I find it harder than ever to work up the enthusiasm to practice. Spending all day indoors, with our lovely comfy sofa within arms reach and all the food, drink and spectator-fodder (internet, films, etc) that I can handle has sounded the death-knell for my productivity.

It's really hard to volunteer to do difficult things when so many pleasant easy things are within reach. At least when I went to work, I was out of the house for maybe 10+ hours a day. Going for a walk, hitting the gym or practicing (outside) just meant maybe 30 extra minutes of my day away from home. No biggie.

There are methods for overcoming laziness, of course...

Now, working myself up to any level of activity is a gargantuan task in and of itself. What I'm hoping, though, is that by sharing methods of shaking off the laziness on here might help me to overcome my self-imposed lethargy.

Watch this space!

Getting up early

Taken from an article at: http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/how-to-get-up-early



Squeezing in a workout before the rest of the world is even awake takes an extreme amount of willpower and dedication, and maybe a bit of insanity. But if you work at it, anyone can become an early riser, says Men’s Health sleep advisor W. Christopher Winter, M.D.
So learn from the masters. These six guys get up every morning at 4 a.m. to break a sweat. Here’s how they do it.


Name: John Burk

Location: Fort Stewart, Georgia

Occupation: Instructor at the Fort Stewart Noncommissioned Officer Academy and veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Burk’s a former drill sergeant, but that doesn’t mean a 4 a.m. wakeup call comes easy. So Burk remembers an old military mantra to drag himself out of bed: “You may be tired or hurting, but there is someone somewhere training harder to kill you.’”

He then applies that saying to his current goals. Right now, the vet is training for a bodybuilding competition. “All I can see is this blank figure, this silhouette, and he’s training even harder than me to beat me on that stage,” he says.

Want more incentive to get out of bed and into the gym? Check out 6 Ways Your Health Suffers When You Skip Your Workouts.

Make It As Easy As Possible

Name: Richard Rees

Location: Fort Langley, British Columbia

Occupation: Executive director of Rees Family Services, a company that provides assistance for foster children and personal trainer at Rees Personal Training

Rees’ alarm clock goes off at 3:50 a.m., and he’s out the door on a run just minutes later.

His quick turnaround is due to the fact that his clothes, coffee, and breakfast are all ready when he wakes up. Even his socks and the coffee scooper are laid out waiting for him. He doesn’t need to think about anything.

The longer your to-do list in the morning, the easier it is to stay in bed, Rees says. So prepping every last detail the night before eliminates excuses.

(Prep one of these 5 High-Protein Breakfasts You Can Make Ahead to fuel up in no time.)

Remember How Crappy You Feel When You Miss a Workout

Name: Tom Carpenter

Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana

Occupation: Executive at Waste Management and Ironman

There are a million excuses to not get out of bed—you’re tired, it looks like rain, you’re sore. But Carpenter says to ask yourself one question: Have you ever regretted a workout?

The answer is probably no. 

You’ll definitely be sorry you skipped a workout, though. “If I miss a workout, I’m in a bad mood,” says Carpenter. Thinking about that may just be enough to outweigh the pros of sleeping for an extra hour. 

And you don’t even need to go anywhere. You can get a great total-body workout in the comfort of your own home with Bodyweight Cardio Burners, a cutting-edge fitness DVD that packs three intense 20-minute workouts that require zero equipment.


Think about Tomorrow

Name: Joseph Eazor

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Occupation: CEO of EarthLink, a managed services provider; and Ironman

When Eazor wakes up early to train for 140.6-mile Ironman races, he thinks about the long-term benefits. Sure, devoting early mornings to training will make him faster and stronger. But they’ll also make race day more bearable—maybe even enjoyable, he says. It’s the difference between crossing the finish line with a smile or a grimace on his face.

So remind yourself of the end result—the whole reason you’re doing this. Whether it’s keeping up with your kids in the backyard, going shirtless at the beach, or running your first 5K without getting winded, imagine exactly how you’ll feel in the moment that you conquer your goal.

RELATED: 10 Things All Busy, Successful Men Do

Have a Bedtime Routine

Name: Craig Ballantyne

Location: Denver, Colorado; and Toronto, Ontario

Occupation: Certified Turbulence Trainer and author of Turbulence Training

Getting up early starts the night before. Ballantyne recommends setting an alarm to go off an hour before the time you want to hit the hay. 

Use those 60 minutes to wind down. Stop looking at electronics, make tomorrow’s lunch, or read a book. The goal: Get your mind to shut up so you can go down for a full night’s sleep. 

If you’re still buzzing with ideas or to-do lists, dump it all onto a pad of paper, Ballantyne says. Writing out what’s on your mind will help clear your head.

Combatting apathy and keeping on that training regime

“there is nothing outside of yourself that can ever enable you to get better, stronger, richer, quicker, or smarter. Everything is within. Everything exists. Seek nothing outside of yourself.”
― Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings


I have many fine character traits that have served me well over the years and, gods willing, that will help me for a good few years to come. I'm pretty clever, good natured and calm. I flatter myself that I am a good father to my daughter and I try to be a good husband to my wife.

However, I do have a major, recurring fault. Laziness. When that monkey mind of mine starts its mischief and tries to convince me to sit my arse on the sofa all night, I rarely put up much of a fight. That makes improving my martial arts really difficult. Daily training is hampered when reclining with a hot drink and some snacks in front of the telly feels just so damnably good.

I've tried reading a few sites for inspiration. Some are quite good, such as How-to-stay-motivated-in-your-martial-arts-and-fitness-training"



I’ve been training since 1976. The martial arts have been my profession and way of life since the early 1990s. During that time, I’ve often been asked how a person can stay motivated. How does a student get up every morning and jump into his or her training routine? How does a practitioner avoid becoming part of the majority, the people who give up before reaching their goal?

“Difficulties should act as a tonic. They should spur us to greater exertion.” — B.C. Forbes

If someone asks me what a martial artist ought to devote the most time to, I always say training. Train more than you sleep. I attribute my ability to keep on training, decade after decade, to Mister Mo.

Mister Mo is motivation. Mister Mo means no retreat, no surrender — no retreat from hard work, no surrender to laziness or sloppy form.

Mister Mo should be the most important person in your life, even more so than your teacher or your classmates. It’s good to have an end to journey toward, but it’s the journey that matters in the end.

Mister Mo is the one who urges you to attend class when you’d rather stay home and watch television. He’s inside you when you do the extra kick, punch or takedown. He wipes the sweat from your eyes so you can crank out a dozen more reps of that technique that’s been so difficult. He keeps you training month after month, year after year. He drives you to face your physical and mental limitations. He forces you to confront laziness, failures and the fear of success. He makes you walk the endless path of the martial arts. He encourages you to push yourself to your limit and beyond. He helps you tune out the pain as you drive yourself to victory over yourself.

“A desire can overcome all objections and obstacles.” — Gunderson

Teachers can open the door, but you must enter by yourself. Avoiding pain might be the biggest motivational factor there is. Doing a proper technique to avoid a broken nose is an example of external motivation. Most people who train in the martial arts do so, at least initially, because they want to learn self-defense. They don’t want to get hurt if they’re attacked. For those who enjoy the sport aspects of the arts, external motivation may be the next tournament trophy. For some, it’s the next belt. A student will sometimes quit after reaching a particular rank. The belt was the goal. Once it’s earned, the student no longer has motivation. Mister Mo leaves the building.

Unlike external motivation, internal motivation is a more difficult concept to understand. Internal motivation is the desire to excel for the sake of pursuing excellence. Internal motivation means you’re competing against yourself, not others. It means you want to do as well as you can, regardless of how others do. Internally motivated students tend to persist in their training. While they’re satisfied with each promotion, they’re driven to succeed beyond rank or trophies. They train because they want to improve, not because they want to impress others. If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?

***

How can you stay motivated day in and day out?

• Search for that drive to succeed.

• Become mentally motivated. Mister Mo is in all of us. You can call on him at any time when things get tough.

• Don’t worry what others are doing. If you’re trying to surpass someone else, you’re limited to what that person has done. You must have no limits. Always strive for excellence.

• Set more challenging goals and record them in a journal or diary. Pick a time to review your goals and evaluate your progress. Then set new goals.

• Focus on your growth and development as a martial artist and as a person. Learn joyfully, then share joyfully. Daily improvement in every aspect of your life is the overall aim. Don’t just think positive; act positive.

• Be yourself, but be the best of yourself. And when you feel discouraged, don’t be afraid to call on Mister Mo.





Other, similarly titled pages are often considerably less so. None of them offer any real solutions.

I guess, really, there is no substitute for simply forcing yourself to do what you can - however begrudgingly and however little. Once results begin to show themselves, then the motivation should, I hope, become easier.

More obstacles to training

Okay, so it has been ages since I attended baguazhang class. Other than the odd chance here and there to eat bitter, I have done very little in the way of training full stop. That said, the main reason for this lapse is that we are currently looking for a new home. This is taking up a lot of my time. I reconcile myself with the thought that, once we get moved, I will have a garden in which to practice and, hopefully, a spare room that can double as a baguazhang/yoga room (my wife does Iyengar yoga). So, in the long run, I am envisioning my bagua routine to improve by virtue of no longer being confined to a small apartment where I can only really practice jiben shou fa and a few, limited, lines and forms. Imagine having a whole garden to walk a proper circle in! :) So, watch this space and hopefully I will soon be coming to you with tales of extended practice sessions out in the summer heat.

Changing habits//Convenience

I managed a minor victory today. I got up at 5.30am and did some bagua practice before my day properly began.

I have to confess I'm feeling it a little now. Is is that my imagination?  I probably feel no worse than I do most mornings.

If I can keep this up, training will become much more convenient for me. I should easily manage an hour a day. My girlfriend goes to the gym some evenings now. There is danger of a clash there - unless I train in the morning.

Kinda suits the usual image of the IMA
player practicing at sunruse, too.  Doesn't it?