Mental PreparationLet’s face it; working out on a consistent basis can be tough. You have to make time within your already hectic life for you to better yourself and your health. Stresses can make it feel like it’s worthless, schedule constraints can leave you with less time than you had hoped for, and while you made it to the gym you might just NOT be ‘feeling it.’ While doing something is certainly better than doing nothing, if this becomes a regular occurrence in the gym you will NOT last. So what do you do?
Besides ensuring that you’re getting adequate sleep, proper caloric intake, and consuming enough water there are several tips and tricks to use once you walk through the doors to help flip that switch and make sure your workout is nothing short of the best part of your day. Here are three things you can try:
1. Channel The Negatives In Your Life As Your Motivation
Everyone has something they are dealing with. This can range from work stress, feelings of inadequateness, all the way to others trying to bring you down for your commitment to fitness. Whatever the case, you have the power to transform that negative energy into a dominate performance in the gym. Harness the energy you have and decide that each and every time you workout that you are not only exercising but proving to yourself that you have what it takes to conquer any challenge you may face. Sometimes anger and stress can have a way of turning us into monsters in the gym, while at the same time helping those feelings subside. You can choose to let outside forces hurt your workout, or you can choose to CRUSH them! Your call.
2. Remember Why You Are There
Many of us have reasons, other than just looking good for why we are in the gym. Some of us are doing it for our kids, others for our medical health. Whatever the case may be, by refocusing on the “why” you can help keep yourself on track both in and out of the gym. When you are in the gym, utilize your “why” for extra motivation to complete that next rep or set and give 100%. Remember that your “why” may change over time. Maybe your “why” was to get to a healthy weight and off a plethora of medications, but once you hit that goal your “why” became to never let yourself get to that point again. So why do you workout?
3. Give Your Full Attention To Each Exercise
Simply doing curls or squats for the sake of doing them is probably not going to get you to the goals you have. It takes effort to focus on the exercise at hand, to make the connection to your muscle your working and get the full benefit. But, if you make sure you are doing this the results can be incredible. There is nothing worse than that feeling that you could have done more, or done better in your workout. Rather than just going through the motions, take the time to visualize the set you are about to do, think of the muscle you are about to work and how to activate them during the set, and then get going! This rings true for any body part and any exercise. When you’re doing squats, go all out on squats, don’t be thinking about what the next exercise is or what to have for diner. Concentration is the key to success. Use your motivators to push through sticking points and find that energy for one last set, then focus. Focus. Focus!
So before your next workout take a second and ready yourself to walk in, tear it up, and walk out one step closer to the you’re working toward!