Threshold Performance Club | The fitness newsletter

Threshold #8 | Motivation through Christmas ❄️

Motivation is the fuel needed to propel yourself at a goal.

Dedication then ensures goal will be achievable - as you’ll put the work in.

With the Christmas break starting for many, motivation can suffer & dedication can wain. Yet with big goals in the next 6-12 months, if you’re able to motivate yourself to train over the Christmas break - “silly season” - as you enter 2023 you’ll feel like you’ve had a head start.

That’s the best feeling to have on January 1st.

How can you generate motivation?

How to channel motivation

I can only speak from my experience - motivation doesn’t come out of thin air.

Motivation is spurned when you have a goal in front of you you personally want to achieve. The size of the goal does not matter per se, what matters is whether that goal speaks to your inner ambitions. If the goal ahead of you pushes you beyond your current state, potentially unlocks something extra into your life the motivation will follow.

Growing up, I have always been motivated by professional athletes across many sports; from Leyton Hewitt to Tony Hawk. These individuals were at the top of their game when I was growing up & they embodied a way of life I found aspirational and inspiring. The motivation followed because my personal beliefs said to me “why not try to achieve what they have?”. I never seriously picked up a skateboard, I did however take tennis very seriously.

Fast forward to 2022, my entry into endurance sports is seeded in my personal ambition to see what I am capable of from a mental & physical perspective. Ironman is a global brand which embodies that exact goal thousands of people have around the world - to push theirselves to the limit of physical and mental abilities.

Defining your ambitions

Ambition is very personal, but given this newsletter’s description and the likelihood you’ve arrived from Instagram or Strava, I’m speaking about personal fitness and health.

Firstly you have to define what is most important to you. For me having a base of serious health & fitness - serious meaning a level a competitive athlete has - comes first. It is the foundation the rest of my life sits on. I just so happen to have jumped into triathlon’s, but prior to this new-normal I’ve intermittent fasted, been a Crossfitter, signed up to the 6am gym sessions 5 days a week, supplemented with added nutrients & removed alcohol from my life.

Becoming an age group triathlete has added a level of competitiveness to my health & fitness base, not created it.

As this is a central pillar of how I want to live my life, it becomes an emotional attachment. When goals are attached to emotions it’s far easier for ambition to appear.

If I did not think about health & fitness as a pillar in my way-of-life I can guarantee my level of ambition would not be as high - or even occurring - as it is today.

As the ambition is there, my motivation follows.

Staying centred with reality

It’s Christmas - or if you work in the insurance industry “silly season” (a.k.a. drinking excessively season) has arrived.

I personally don’t pay attention to new year’s goals, but it is impossible to not hear one person in the run up to January 1st talk about a resolution - even the gym will have advertising with targeted messaging talking about “start the new year with a new you”.

Cringy but it works.

My take is I always ensure the last few days of December - after most Christmas activity is over - to really go hard on the training. Whether that be a few runs, gym sessions or eating better nutritional food.

If I prioritise a better way of living for the final few days of December, mentally I will feel ahead before January has even hit.

As I write this e-mail I’ve just completed a heavy 3 week training block of Zwift, runs & technical swim sessions. I’m in great shape and have made good gains in my fitness before the Christmas week arrives and throws off all training.

I know Christmas will impact my training, so I literally do not have a training plan - I’m being realistic.

This enables two things. One, I won’t feel like I’m behind or missing out on improved fitness. Secondly, I know when the 29th or 30th of December comes around, I’ve mentally prepared to ensure I do go out and train. That way I know I’ll feel great on January 1st.

I’ll feel ahead of the game.

Be realistic - it’s important.

So, that’s how I stay motivated.

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Base Cycle: On Zwift (or other cycling platforms)

Warm up:

• 15 minutes @ 90-120 watts

Main set:

• 5 minutes @ 150 watts

• 4 minutes @ 180 watts

• 2 minutes @ 110 watts

• 5 minutes @ 150 watts

• 4 minutes @ 180 watts

• 2 minutes @ 110 watts

Recovery

• 10 minutes @ 90-110 watts

Have a fantastic final week in the run up to Christmas.

There won’t be a newsletter on Christmas Day - boundaries people.

Enjoy & rest up for a big 2023.

As always you can follow me on Strava.

Robert