He says will power gets him 3 weeks, then he quits (motivation)

[Moyer]

I'm trying to get a friend of mine to start lifting. Apparently, he's tried about four or five times over the past couple years and each time he makes it through about three weeks of lifting and eating right before he gets off track and quits.

Part of this is probably due to his "all-or-nothing" tendencies. If he misses a workout or gets sick, chances are it's gonna make him quit.

It's odd because he's very interested in nutrition and exercise science and he probably knows more about it than I do. He also really wants to get big.

How long do you think it will take for a newbie to really get used to lifting regularly and feeling good about it?

I was thinking that if he actually worked out every day, instead of just lifting three days a week, he would get used to it a lot faster. Problem is he's an ecto and he doesn't need to run or hit the heavy bag four days a week.

Another one of my ideas is that he doesn't see very noticable gains in the first three weeks and if he could make it maybe six weeks, he'd be much more happy with his gains and also be more inclined to stick with it for good.

My only other idea is for him to start taking Swole or something similar after two or three weeks, maybe a preworkout stim.

I know you're thinking he should probably be asking this himself, but I kinda owe him a favor and I'd really like to help him with this.

You guys have any ideas? Helped out any newbs lately? Anything that helped you when you first started?

 

[ironviking]

You need more than motivation to continue to workout, you need desire. It sounds like he doesnt have any goals set in place, IOW he is not striving to accomplish anything. He needs to set something down in writing ie. gain X amount of weight or add this much to the bench - goals need to be specific but obtainable. Also he needs to get used to working out and going to the gym to make it part of his everyday routine, that is the mistake alot of new people make, they try and go all out before they actually get a routine down. Alot of people I trained I had them come in 3xweek and start off with about 15 minutes per workout, this was just to get them used to going to the gym. Maybe give that a try, ask him to do cardio for the first couple of weeks to get his heart in shape and then work the weights in as time goes. Another idea would be to get a set routine such as 10 week size surge or HST. This way he has more than 3 weeks planned out already.
To recap:
Set some goals
Try to get the gym to be routine instead of a chore
Try a workout that has a set time-frame

Hope this helps

 

[houseman]

Gotta agree with IV here. In this sport/lifestyle... you need to have passion about it. It's can't be something you do "to get in shape", it can't be something you do to pick up chicks. If you are going to do it and be successful at it you need to have the passion that goes along with tearing your body down and building it back up again.

God how I love this lifestyle. I swear, if not for sports and training, I'd be in jail or dead right now.

Good luck.

 

[Foster]

It took me a solid 6 months or so when I really started to notice results until I felt like it was worth it to work out so hard.

 

[WindowJumper]

Tell your bud about some of the great forums available and encourage him to read some of the articles, threads and such. I know once I started poking around online for some information related to working out I found out just how much is truely involved in improving your body. Thats what got me, I started feeling like I had the knowlege to change my body however I wanted and once I started anticipating practicing my new ideas- the gym became fun. I fight overtraining constantly because I always want to go to the gym.

 

[cable626]

make him get a huge tub of protein powder. MAKE SURE HE PAYS FOR IT, not u or his mom or anything, so this way he'll feel like "****, i spent the money i BETTER go work out!" Also, since he's into nutrition, try muscle milk, he'll like the flavor, and it'll be his PWO "reward".
good luck.

 

[skoal]

I've told any number of people this and I'll let you in on it too. The only way to really get motivated and stay motivated is to find something about it and make it your own. It could be the personal challange of doing a little more this week than you did last week or it could be the desire to just look good to women. There are no bad reasons as long as it gets your ass in the gym.

 

[Foster]

The best way has to be to learn to enjoy working out. If you learn to enjoy it, you'll keep doing it. The main problem is that some people's ego make it hard for them to enjoy in the begining when they're using such small weights.

 

[kwyckemynd00]

Maybe have him do his calves and abs on what would be his off days. that way he's always in the gym--since that what you seem to think he needs. If he's ecto, the last thing he needs to gain is cardio. So maybe have a 3 days split, plus 2 abs days, plus one calves day giving 6 days total??? I dunno, it's just a thought.

 

[Cuffs]

Well, I used to bounce around for years. 2 months on, 4 months off, 5 months on, 2 years off...LOL. One needs to realize this is a lifestyle change, and desire is key. I can honestly say this forum keeps me motivated, and my desire has been on track ever since I joined. I've pushed forward and have not looked back. Basically, I'm addicted. When I see old pictures of myself, I can't believe how I had let myself go. I was fat, and found myself breathing hard after walking up a flight of stairs. I'm a modest person, but I have found that when changes become apparent, I feed off the compliments and attention I receive from others, which also tends to embarrasses me at times (that's where the modesty kicks in I guess). The compliments and attention keeps me wanting to better myself. I still have a long ways to go to get where I want to be, but at least I'm on the road of where I want to go.