OLYMPICMOTIVATIONThe summer of gold might seem a distant memory but with Physique’s

help, you can train and win like an Olympian all year round.

n the 27th of July 2012 we sat,as a typically glum nation, readyto be immediately under-whelmed by Danny Boyle and

his amateur cast of thousands. This wasto be the start of an Olympic games ofdisappointment. We wouldn’t win anyworthwhile medals, our ceremonieswouldn’t be as good as those in Beijing,the traffic would be unbearable, and atsome point someone was going to dig upMcCartney and let him squeak through10 chorus’s of Hey Jude. Only one ofthese British let downs became a reality.What actually awaited us was threeweeks of inspiration, motivation and un-precedented success.

From the left-wing triumph of DannyBoyle’s opening ceremony to Mo Farah’slong distance double. Jessica Ennis’ absof steel to Bradley Wiggins’ medal win-ning mutton chops. Whatever it was thatinspired you, Olympic and Paralympicfever not only swept the nation but en-gulfed it. To “Inspire a Generation” wasthe catchphrase of London 2012 and thatit did.

Some dove into their wardrobe to findtheir running shoes, some squeezed theirway back into an old pair of speedos to

splash out a few lengths, but a hefty ma-jority pumped up flat tyres or bought newbikes to regain previous fitness and gofor gold in their own list of fitnessachievements. With every medal thatTeam GB won hundreds more buddingHoy’s and Pendleton’s took to the streetsand gyms to try and replicate someOlympic success in their own life. Thiscould only have been seen as a goodthing. It meant that a great chunk ofBritish society were pushing themselvesto get healthier and improve theirlifestyles because of the inspirational ac-complishments of a few hundred athletes.

Olympic BMX rider, Shanaze Reade whonarrowly missed out on medals at boththe Beijing and London Olympics, spoketo Physique about her experience. “Iknow I didn’t win and everything but Lon-don was just the best. At Beijing I wasyoung and it was all new and exciting butthat feeling came back and more in Lon-don.”

“The crowds were amazing even for theless popular events. There’s no feelinglike having a home crowd behind you.”

Admittedly, there were problems, with thecycling population doubling or tripling in

some places, the roads became chaoticas inexperienced cyclists took to theirwobbly bikes and meandered their way toand from the left hand curb of our roads.This inevitably angered drivers andpedestrians but most people forgave it inthe spirit of the Olympics because thefeeling of the unmotivated amongst uswas that as the Olympics ended so wouldthe fitness craze.

Sam Watson, Cycle Engineer at Halfordssaid that "We've had a huge rise in bikesales since the Tour de France and theOlympics."

"It's been mostly racing bikes with thedrop handlebars as well, I think it's defi-nitely people who have seen BradleyWiggins and think they can have a go aswell."

Unfortunately, as winter set in and dead-lines and family commitments sapped allof the inspiration from your previouslyHerculean fitness routine, the runningtrainers went back into the wardrobe andthe tyres were allowed to go flat again.Now we face the problem of keeping holdof that Olympic motivation.

O

Set Yourself GoalsNot everyone will make it to Rio 2016 butwhen you decided to take up yourOlympic fitness regime a few months agothe goal was to get back into shape nowyou’re on the way to achieving that youneed something else to keep you moti-vated. There are challenges to take upfor every level of fitness so why not signup to a local 5 or 10K run? Or If theMoBot has got you pounding the hardyards then there are marathons and halfmarathons all over the place just be care-ful about trying to keep up with Mo, heruns at an unbelievable pace - 5000m(3.1 Miles) in under 13 minutes.

Plan Your WorkoutsFitting in your workouts around work,family and social commitments is one ofthe toughest parts of staying motivatedbecause by the time you’re finished atwork or putting your kids to bed a 20 milecycle couldn’t be further from your mind.To stop this problem, write down all of

your plans for a week andschedule your workouts inthe most available time. This way, youknow what you’ve got coming up and canmake sure you stick to it! This should en-sure that you enjoy your workouts andyour rest days.

Use YouTubeThe internet is flooded with cyber fitnessinstructors and their video blogs that tellyou how to lose 5 stone in 2 days. Ignoreit. Or at least ignore the majority of it.There are some worthwhile fitness chan-nels to follow but that’s not what youneed for this. Instead, re-watch Chris Hoypower his way to a 6th Gold Medal or re-watch Jess Ennis win the 800m race inher heptathlon even though she didn’tneed to. This will recall the euphoria thatmade you put on your running trainers inthe first place and motivate you to poundthe pavement on a cold winters morning.

Run away from the Take-AwayIf you eat and drink to stay healthy thenthat’s half of the battle. If you feel goodthen you are more likely to push yourselfto feel even better by exercising. Greasyand fatty foods will leave you feelinglethargic and unfit, especially as we ap-proach flu season, a good diet is key tostaying healthy and keeping up thatOlympic motivation.

So if you have found yourself strugglingto stay motivated try these techniques toget yourself off the sofa and back on yourbike, pedalling your way to an Olympicphysique.

There’s no feeling like havinga home crowd behind you“ “