Surprising Sources of Training Inspiration!

Let’s have a moment of honesty, ask yourself, how are your fitness resolutions holding up? If you’re staying consistent with your training and diet, then kudos to you! However, not everybody is wired the same way. For those of you who recently decided to commit yourselves to a new way of dieting and training: it’s not going to be easy. The most in-shape people you can think of (Olympians, UFC fighters, college athletes, etc) have a difficult time maintaining constant discipline over their eating and training habits.

And that’s okay, we’re all human. Life is never one straight line. It’s full of peaks and valleys that aren’t always easily navigated, we all have moments of failure. However, every “moment” in time is temporary. Knowing that, you needn’t allow temporary failures to deter your ambitions.

Whenever you’re not feeling it, reach for something motivational that inspires you. For me, believe it or not, it was the anime: Hajime no Ippo. Being someone who experienced bullying, I related heavily to the main character, Ippo. Watching him grow from a helpless victim to a Championship boxer was greatly inspirational for me.

Before watching this anime, I was in a very dark place mentally and spiritually. What was supposed to be the best time of my life (college) was a period of self-induced misery. At the time, though, I couldn’t exactly tell what the problem was. I just always had this underlying feeling of powerlessness and unshakeable sadness. In hindsight, everything was caused by my own inertia. It was a lack of action on my part, caused by a victim mentality. I wasn’t into fitness at the time, and I lacked challenge. I had nothing to work towards, but Hajime no Ippo propelled me into action.

I left college, joined a boxing gym, began eating more healthily and these habits eventually snowballed, carrying over into other areas of my life, forming me into the man I am today. I changed from a victim to a victor! I grew alongside Ippo, taking up combat sports, improving my health through diet and exercise, as well as improving my mental health. I began taking responsibility for all aspects of my life, and if it wasn’t for this cartoon at the right time, I don’t know if I would have made it!

I emphasize that point not just to testify, but to bring you to the realization that you never know for sure where your inspiration is going to come from. Maybe you’ll find it in a magazine, or a kid’s show, or at the end of a tough hike. Literally, you just never know. Just keep searching and you’ll find it, or maybe it’ll find you. We all have low points in life, and by the same token, we all have goals we want to accomplish. Whether these ruts and goals are financial, mental, spiritual, or physical doesn’t matter.

It’s our responsibility to help ourselves. As humans, we may not be able to produce the strength right away, but there will be something out there to inspire you! When you find your ‘something’, you will rise to the occasion, smash that goal and recover, becoming exponentially greater than you’ve ever been. All it may take is that surprising source of training inspiration! So, what was your source of inspiration to train, get healthy or make some other change, was it something unusual? Let us know below, join in the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. (Check out our other motivational and mindset articles to help SWITCH YOUR Fit ON!)

Bryan Richardson

Inspired by his early life adversities and the desire to help others, Bryan who currently serves in the US Forces aspires to become a Light Heavyweight boxing champion and start a gym that specialises in conscious human development. Bryan likes researching useful info and insights that can be applied to his and others' lives. When he's not feeding his insatiable appetite for knowledge, he's found either in the boxing ring, on the dance floor, or busy downing some Ben & Jerry's "Phish Food"!

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