Alpha Mindset Pillars: How ‘Intrinsic Motivation’ is a critical performance factor for success.

What is ‘intrinsic motivation’? It’s being motivated by internal feelings of satisfaction rather than external rewards.

Why is it important?

When an individual is intrinsically motivated, they are more likely to be consistent and persistent in training even when results are not immediately evident.

How does it apply at ALPHA?

Athletes train at their own intensities. High intrinsic motivation allows athletes to push themselves to the next level during hard training sessions when the work itself is not necessarily “fun”.

How does ALPHA help athletes to be intrinsically motivated?

ALPHA uses @trainheroic as a way to track weight and reps of exercises completed during training sessions. Athletes can look through their history of each exercise and use it to:

1. Know what weight to lift

2. Motivate themselves to push their limits and lift more in future training sessions.

At the end of the day, an athlete with high intrinsic motivation will likely be more fulfilled with their training because their hard work provides feelings of accomplishment rather than reliance on a trophy (that may only come once or twice in a season) to provide the same sense of accomplishment.