Motivation (Part 2)

 How to improve your motivation (Part 2/2)

In this article I will present concrete examples to improve your motivation. The
proposed areas of work are based on my previous article on the theme of
motivation in sport (Part 1/2).

As a partner of the E-ROAD BIKE GRAND PRIX (October 19, 2019 in Savoie Mont-Blanc) I have chosen to address myself more specifically to all cyclists who wish to
take part in this competition.

3 MINUTES OF BRAINSTORMING:

The first thing to do is to know WHY you want to participate in this event.

For the next three minutes you will answer this “WHY” by writing all the ideas that come to mind, without judging or censoring yourself. This is commonly referred to as “brain storming” but is usually practiced in collective work.

Here are some questions that may help you thinking:

• “What good will it do me to participate in this race? “,
• “What is the advantage for me of using the electric power-assisted racing bike? “,
• “What else could I do when I have achieved this first objective?”,
• “Why is it really important to me?”

1 MINUTE OF VISUALIZATION:

Once all these ideas are written in black and white, try to associate one or more images
with your motivations. It may be the landscapes you imagine seeing during the trip, the weight loss associated with your sports preparation, observing you at the top of the pass that you have never reached before, or even imagining yourself accompanying your grandchildren during their next cycling holidays thanks to this challenge…

The important thing is to have:

AN OBJECTIVE THAT INSPIRES YOU AND PERSONAL REASONS THAT DRIVE YOU TO ACHIEVE IT.

FILL OUT A TRAINING LOGBOOK:

The final objective is still far off: 3 and a half months at the time of writing this article. Your current capabilities may not allow you to make such an effort at this time. But nevertheless, with each session, each training, and day after day you will progress.

It is essential to evaluate this progress regularly in order to feel able to achieve
your objective. You can list several information in your training logbook but
to start I advise you to choose the main ones:

• content of the session (number of km, altitude difference, average speed…)
• context (weather, time of day, partners or not…)
• personal feedback (sensations, reaching the set objective, evaluating your physical
  fatigue…)

From a tedious constraint at first, filling it in quickly becomes a necessary and quick habit. You are free to add any information you wish to add as you go along, the purpose being to make it your own and to make it look like you and be personalized.

The training logbook has so many interests that it would be too long to describe them all here, but the main thing is that it will keep you motivated by observing your progress in the very short term (almost daily). A blow less well during your preparation, bad sensations during an outing, muscle discomfort…?
Take back your notebook since the beginning of your training and regain
self-confidence, you are on the right track, you have already made a part of
the way despite everything.

SANDWICH TECHNIQUE (or “hamburger”) :

After each training session or competition, use the following technique for your
debriefing:

– Note 2 specific positive points:

“I managed to stay with the cycling group that passed me down the pass.”

“My downhill trajectories were more efficient, I managed to keep as much speed as possible in the curves”

– Note 2 points to improve (formulate positively):

“I have to make sure I recover better during the downhill portions to give more effort on the uphill.

“Next time, I’ll drive another 100 meters without turning on the electric assistance
in this pass”

– Note 2 general positive points:

“I had the motivation to do the session despite the weather (heat, rain, wind…)”

“I had the motivation to do the session alone (friends not available, sick…)

This simple method will allow you to have a structured and constructive feedback for the
future, while strengthening your self-confidence and therefore your intrinsic
motivation (feeling of competence).

YOUR PROJECT IS YOURS:

I will present an effective way to formulate your objective in the next article but I
discuss in the paragraph below how to SELECT it.

As I mentioned in the previous article, it is necessary to take ownership of your
own sport project. To facilitate this, answer these questions before seeking
the advice of your coach or training partners:

• “What is my goal for the Road E-Bike Grand Prix competition on Saturday,
  October 19, 2019? »
• “What are the commitments I will make to achieve it? »
• “What am I missing or need to help me succeed?”
• “What can stop me from succeeding?”
• “What are my expectations towards my coach, my partners, for this project?»

Being an actor will encourage you to take on the commitments you have chosen to impose yourself.

Of course, your coach’s expertise or exchanges with your teammates will be used to regulate and rebalance the project according to your abilities.
At the end, everything depends on effective communication.

You can adopt the same approach for other deadlines:

– Build the session for the next workout yourself (objectives, content, equipment,
intensity, achievement and success criteria…) rather than following a
meaningless workout program.

Adopt this attitude of self-questioning as often as possible. Before you ask someone
outside for a return, ask yourself these questions first:

• “How did I feel? »
• “Did I succeed? »
• “What was the most difficult thing?”
• “What have I put in place to do the exercise and what should I change in the future? »

All these elements will help you to have a better knowledge of yourself and to have an
effective intrinsic motivation.

CHOOSE YOUR ROLE:

Being part of a group is not enough, it is especially important to feel part of this group and to feel recognized as a full-fledged individual. Knowing that our word
carries the same weight as those of others or that we can be a force for proposal is sometimes enough to satisfy this need for belonging and recognition.

If you wish, do not hesitate to propose:

– ideas for routes to your training partners,

– slots to do a muscular strengthening session between noon and two for example,

– extra-sport events (meals or other).

The goal is simply that everyone finds their place and occupies a role (sporting or not)
that suits them.

These proposals are simply preliminary avenues for reflection, so do not hesitate to
ask a mental trainer for more information.