Ask a Trainer: 'Keep walking, Fatty!'

Parking spots on my college campus were hard to come by and when you found one, it was better than finding gold! Find a parking spot was a treasure hunt in itself — there were strategies involved. One of the strategies of finding a parking spot was driving slowly behind someone walking to their car and taking their spot when they left. And when you found a spot, you held on to it as long as you could.

One day while switching out my books in my car for my next class, a guy who thought I was leaving waited patiently ready to take my spot. When I closed my door and walked away from my car he jumped out of his pick-up truck and tried to fight me… over a parking spot! Now, I’m not getting into a fight over a parking spot, so I just kept walking to class. And, frankly, I was surprised to see that he was so passionate about getting to class! He was shouting all kinds of expletives at me, but the one thing that stuck was, “Keep walking, Fatty!” Truth be told, there was an expletive included with that, but I cleaned it up for this article.

I was so confused by that comment. I’d always been athletic and never thought about my weight. I guess pizza and beer were more prominent staples in my diet than they had been before. And I guess I was significantly less active in college, since I didn’t play organized sports like I did in high school. Was it possible that I pick up weight and didn’t know it?

Surely my girlfriend would tell me if I’d picked up some weight. Me: “Do you think I’m fat?” Her: “I love you just the way you are.” Obviously no one wants to be appreciated for physical appearance alone, but this was not the answer I was looking for.

Consequently, I joined a gym and began working out with my roommate. I learned the value of having someone hold me accountable and help push me past what I thought my limits were. Workout buddies and personal trainers are invaluable in this regard. Coupled with cleaning up my diet, I lost 75 pounds over about 6 or 7 months, going from 250 to 175 pounds.

I’m not a personal trainer, but I connect with people every day who are joining a gym for the first time, coming back to exercise after a long hiatus or struggling to reach their fitness goals. The most common challenge I hear from all of them is their struggle to stay motivated. “I just lost motivation.” “I got busy and put my fitness goals on the backburner.” “How do I stay motivated?”

That single event in my college parking lot was the impetus to my lifestyle change. What I’ve found over the last 15 years of fitness involvement is that not everyone is motivated by the same things. Those people who have a fire for fitness all have different reasons. Those who workout and don’t have a fire for fitness also have different motivations. Some people, like me, are more extrinsically motivated. Meaning, they’re more motivated by external factors, like that guy calling me fat. Others are more intrinsically motivated, meaning they’re driven by internal factors, like those who just love to workout and be in the gym. Others, still, have a bit of both, where I believe the intrinsic develops over time after the extrinsic gets them going. That extrinsic motivation helped me develop my intrinsic motivation.

It won’t be the same journey for everyone. For most, it will be all extrinsic all of the time. But the important thing is to keep focused on that extrinsic factor and when you reach it, find another and keep that in front of you. The prospect of a job interview; an upcoming family reunion; that beach vacation (and beach body) you’ve been dreaming of; or that “wow” factor from your friends one day. All extrinsic motivators that will help keep you going, just like mine did.

Speaking of keeping your motivators in front of you: I occasionally ran into that guy, who called me “Fatty” in that gym that I joined in college. It reignited my motivation to keep going every time. That’s how I know the importance of keeping your motivators in front of you.

Go find your motivation!

Patrick McGaha Jr., member experience manager at Anytime Fitness, Winter Park, is dedicated to building a welcoming environment in the club, conducive to helping members and clients reach their health fitness goals. To get your fitness and nutrition related questions answered by a certified personal trainer, or for a free personal training session, call 321-972-5833 or email [email protected]