Start looking for your next win!
Have you ever noticed that during our lives at certain times we get a run where everything seems to go great for us and success comes effortlessly! Then you may get periods where things are the complete opposite to that. The times where you are in a rut and you try everything you can to get out of it but nothing seems to go your way. Well in this article today I am going to explain why the good times are great and the bad times are really bad! And try and get us all on the right track to ensure plenty of good times.
We will start off by having a look at what happens when we have a win. When I say “win” it can be any sort of personal victory e.g. take a few seconds of your best time for your morning run, a few more reps or a bit more weight when doing your workout, weight loss no matter how big or small the number, a promotion at work or even just a “good job” from the boss, these are all “wins”.
Think back to your last “win”….. How good did it make you feel? Did you feel full of energy? Alert? Focused? Hungry for another win? Probably all of the above and here’s the reason why…….
When we have a win the chemical dopamine is released in our brain giving us energy and a feel good feeling (we all love this feeling). In addition to this feel good feeling the release of dopamine also increases our concentration and problem solving abilities and makes us focus on the things that are of real interest to us, which in this case is MORE SUCCESS (another win).
So what we are now developing is a WINNING STREAK and ongoing success! Every time we have a win no matter the size of the win, the dopamine in your brain will cause you to be on full alert looking for your next victory!
Now let’s look at what happens when we get into a rut or start on a “downward” spiral. Our downward spiral usually starts when we fail at something or perceive that we have failed at something. What happens next is that we put ourselves under pressure to succeed the next time we try the thing we have failed at. And while trying to succeed we are consumed by negativity. This feeling then increases our nor-epinephrine chemical levels in our brain which increases attention and awareness but does not activate the feel good chemical dopamine so we are left feeling anxious and frustrated…… This is how a “losing streak” starts!
So now that we understand both sides of the coin, the good and the bad I can hear you all screaming “well how do I ensure I stay on my winning streak”? Or “thanks for stating that I’m on a downward spiral but how do I end it”?
This is your answer…… Start looking for your next win! That’s right set small goals regularly and once you reach that goal the dopamine will kick in, then you will start looking for your next goal! Set big goals you will likely fail. Set small goals that are more achievable then you will have a win! Here’s an example. You may say “I’m going to lose 20kg”. Well it will be a long time before we will have a victory. You may say “I’m going to lose 500grams this week”. This is a much better goal because we will see the result in a week’s time; we will release some dopamine, feel sensational about our achievement and start looking for our next success!
So get out there and set some small goals for yourself and START LOOKING FOR YOUR NEXT WIN!
My success story – by Amanda Muldoon
My name is Amanda. My “success” story background is I referee Soccer locally and in Melbourne. This year I was working really hard to get fit so I could do higher level games in Melbourne. Not even half way through the soccer season I was told I had stress fractures in both my legs and not allowed to run or do physical exercise that stressed my legs. After pleading with the doctor/physio I was allowed to referee one game a weekend and that was it.
My favourite fitness “activity” is running, so I was devastated about having stress fractures and decided “fine! If I can’t run I’m not doing anything!” I went from doing high intensity exercise every day to only a couple hours of exercise a week. I’ve always eaten what I want because I’ve always burnt it off, so of course I didn’t change my portion sizes or eating habits (i.e. chocolate, and ice-cream!).
Over the course of a couple of months I put on about 3-4 kilo’s and was no longer fitting into my clothes and had no energy to do anything. I got to 66kg, the heaviest I had ever been, and decided that was IT! I had to do something about getting fit again and losing some weight. So I took up Steve’s Spring Special – 5 x 1 hour PT sessions and 10 Boxing sessions for only $199.
Over the past 5 weeks Steve has absolutely smashed me and my boyfriend Luke (who was crazy enough to WANT to come along to the PT sessions). All the while Steve had me doing low impact exercises so my injured legs were not getting stressed (amazing what he can come up with!). Each week we still thought we were so unfit because by the end of the session Steve had worked us so hard we could barely manage to walk down his driveway to the car! But thinking back on what we have been doing, it’s amazing to see how far we’ve come and how fit we are now.
I found that the most important part of these 5 weeks was the food I was eating. Steve put me on only 1200 calories and 40grams carbs per day! I’ve been so amazed though, I’m eating a million less carbs and calories than before I started, yet I am rarely hungry and I have so much more energy. It’s amazing how good you can feel eating the right food (and exercising)!
At the end of the 5 sessions I’ve lost 4.5kg and am very happy to be going to Thailand this weekend, because many of my clothes are now too big and I NEED to buy some more! YAY!
Thanks for all the help Steve!
Steve’s notes: In only 5 weeks of training Amanda and Luke achieved amazing results. Amanda has lost 4.5kg of body weight, 2.5cm off her upper arms, 6.5cm off her waist (widest point), 4.5cm off her waist (narrow point), 4.5cm off her hips, 2.5cm off her thighs, 1.5cm off her calves and 4cm off her chest!! In addition to these results Amanda has reduced your body fat by 2.5% while maintaining her lean muscle mass. She has also reduced her BMI by 2 (22.86 = healthy range). Amanda also increased her muscular strength, endurance and overall fitness dramatically!
Luke maintained his already low body fat% (8.2% body fat) while adding an unbelievable 2kg of lean muscle! He showed amazing increases in strength, power and muscular endurance.
Congratulations guys! You are both amazing athletes that work incredibly hard in the gym and deserve all the great results that you have achieved!
Steve and Shelley Dargan
Pound 4 Pound Personal Training
“You will HATE me, but you will LOVE the results”