Staying motivated is a science!

Psychology researchers have been studying for decades what makes us persevere or give up when we want to adopt and maintain new habits. Here are five tips inspired by their research to help you stick with it.

At Cartel Lab, our research center for optimizing cycling performance, we are interested in what happens in the body, but also in the mind.

Because to improve, you need both your legs and your head. 

Motivation simplified (to the max)

The science of motivation is broadly part of what is known as behavioral psychology. 

To put it simply: it is the study of what drives humans to act in a certain way, or not.

Two major forces come into play in determining whether or not we will have the determination to achieve the goals we set for ourselves in all possible areas.

On the one hand, there are extrinsic, or external, factors. These include how we want to be perceived, the expectations of our friends, the results others expect of us, awards, and honors.

Then there are intrinsic factors, which relate to oneself. These include personal ambition, a deep desire to change one's behavior, and self-esteem.

In general, most of the goals we set for ourselves contain internal and external elements. For example, your desire to keep up your cycling training throughout the winter may involve several sources of motivation, such as improving your physical fitness (internal), being recognized by your peers and being part of a group with goals similar to yours (external and internal), and participating in competitions with the aim of achieving a good result (external).

We have combed through numerous scientific and specialized texts on sports motivation. Here are five tips we have extracted to help you stay on track throughout the off-season, as well as during the summer.

Set realistic goals

Let's start with the basics: you need to think big, but not too big. Before setting your goals, you also need to consider how much time you can devote to training, your fitness history, and your willingness to make the necessary sacrifices.

By setting achievable goals, you avoid becoming discouraged along the way and giving up.

Having multiple markers on the way to the ultimate goal

Sport is like chewing: smaller bites are easier to chew and swallow.

Divide your training program into stages (Coach Bru can help you with this!) and set yourself achievable goals, once again. For example, you could aim to improve your best time for 5 minutes by 5 watts each month for three months. Since this is a measure of your VO2 max, a very effective indicator of performance on the bike, you'll be happy and motivated to see that number climb. 

Become liable

Sign up for a class, get a membership, and arrange to meet up with friends to train as a group. Not only will you push yourself harder, carried along by the collective spirit, but having people counting on you to show up greatly reduces your chances of choosing to go for a beer on Thursday after work instead of going to your workout.

Publicize your goals

Do what people who quit smoking do: tell everyone about your athletic goal. Especially your cycling friends. It's a little silly, but sometimes we feel more guilty about disappointing others than ourselves.

Measuring change

Fitness tests that measure your progress aren't fun, but they're undoubtedly the best form of motivation to prove your progress. You'll be proud of yourself for resisting that little voice telling you to stay slumped on the couch when you see the numbers changing as you progress.