I get asked on a constant basis what keeps me motivated. How I can wake up early and go to the gym before work or go directly after work before I do anything else. It's hard to explain to people that don't know the whole story. People that don't know why I started going regularly and when this became more than just for a sport but a lifestyle.

Somedays it's a lot easier to get up and go to the gym than others. Some mornings I wake up and want to hit the snooze button 20 times and just call it quits. But then I remember why I started. I go back to where I was when I decided that my health was more important than anything else.

What keeps me motivated isn't a bunch of fitness models. It isn't being able to wear a bikini on a beach or fit into a certain pair of shorts. I don't do fitness competitions and I probably never will. What keeps me motivated and what keeps me going is going to be different than anyone else's... because it's my journey.

It's hard to explain to people that it's not just one thing that keeps me motivated but several. It's the feeling you get after a workout. It's the feeling you get when you walk into the gym or when you hit a new best. It's the feeling of being strong, stronger than you've ever been before. It's being able to do things that you couldn't do a year ago or even a week ago. It's being able to look in the mirror and not break down into tears. It's being able to eat cookies without freaking out. It's about not being the person that I was just over 3 years ago.
Sometimes it's not even about goals or bests... sometimes it's just straight therapy. The burn you feel in your muscles. The mental escape you get when you step up to the bar and turn your music up as your pre workout kicks in and sends goosebumps throughout your entire body.

Motivation can be found anywhere through out the day. It's hard to give an exact answer when people ask me. When people ask me what keeps me motivated so that they can use the same... when the truth is, You need to be your own motivation.

I look back on what got me started, and what I used for motivation when I first started... it was me. I needed someone to save me, so I saved myself.