JakeDentonPT

  We all have times when we can't be motivated. And things we can't do.    But, for me, the true barriers to progress, are excuses.    I've had a few weeks of losing motivation myself, but I am back, I admit that I could not be bothered, and am moving on feeling a bit more inspired and motivated.  It is entirely normal to lose motivation for a few days, weeks and even months. It's natural that we aren't all experts at something. It's natural that life stops us doing what we want to do sometimes. And, naturally, we all come up with excuses, either true, exaggerated, or not quite true.    But self-acceptance is important!    For me, the time spent coming up with excuses, is time that could be spent doing something better.    The picture (above) from is from BBC Radio One, where Tom Hardy was interviewed. Of course, he could have said his rap career flopped due to illness, or traffic, or circumstances. Instead, he chose to recogni...

  I'm sure you are aware of the 10,000 steps a day suggestion... But, do you know what it really is and what it means? The 10,000 steps a day is suggested to be the ideal amount of steps you should aim for each day. So, why 10,000 steps? And what about individual variability?   The 10,000 steps advice was coined as an advertising ploy decades ago to encourage everyone to buy a step counter. And how much science and research went into deciding 10,000 was ideal? None, 10,000 was just a nice, round number.    Obviously, some people may be able to easily do 10,000 steps a day or more, while others may struggle with 1,000, so what really is an ideal amount of steps per day?   For me, I would say there is no ideal step count each day. On days with heavy training sessions, more steps could be detrimental, by reducing your recovery periods. On rest days, more steps can be beneficial (presuming a light intensity walk) to help improve blood flow and keep you moving a bit....

  Do you struggle to stay motivated?   Do you find that you hit one minor bump in your goals and struggle to carry on?   Here we look at some psychological theories of motivation - and how they may apply to you.  There are four important theories of motivation. These are: Achievement Goal Orientation - Are we focused on mastery or the outcome? Attribution Theory - Are the factors that determine our successes and failures what motivates us? Self-Determination Theory - Are Intrinsic or Extrinsic factors our motivators? Need Achievement Theory - Are we focusing on achieving success or on avoiding 'failure'.    The Achievement Goal Orientation suggests that we are either motivated to become better ourselves (mastery) or by beating others (outcome). It argues that by focusing on improving ourselves we have better control of success and are therefore more motivated. By focusing on beating others we can easily give up, and make excuses, rather than control our suc...

  In a recent Twitter post, King Henry VIII said 'Don't believe everything you read on the internet, else you may lose your head'. Of course, that is not true. It does act as a prime example of how easy it is for something untrue to be shared on the internet. Within our current technological world, information can be spread around the world in a matter of moments. Obviously, this has some major advantages, including the ability for intelligence services to share intelligence, the ability of scientists to share data, and for me to share information with you, wherever you are in the world.    And there are disadvantages as well. As easy as it is for true information to be shared, false information can also be shared. This false information can be outright lies (like the texts I get from 'delivery companies' asking me to pay for redelivery), misleading (like the absolute best workout ever), or just misinterpreted (like a  gym buddy saying that cardio is bad for muscle ...