Instead of spending your April Fool’s Day playing pranks on your kids or your coworkers, it might be time to try to fool yourself. Your mind is incredibly powerful and plays an important role in how difficult your workout will
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be. With a few simple mind tricks, you can push yourself harder and see results faster!
Play a game. Maybe the idea of a sixty minute workout seems daunting first thing in the morning or after a long day of work. Instead of thinking of the entire block of time, break it into smaller chunks. Tell yourself you only have to get through a six minute workout ten times. The six minute workouts will fly by and you’ll conquer sixty minutes more easily.
Visualize your workout throughout your day. When you’re brushing your teeth, sitting at a stoplight, or even before you get out of bed, take a few minutes to visualize what your workout for the day will include and how you’ll feel during and after your workout. This trick is so effective it’s used by high performance athletes and successful business people every day. When you step into FitClub at the end of a long workday, you’ll be more mentally prepared to face the work that lies ahead and eliminate time wasted trying to decide what to do.
Focus on a benefit. When we’re feeling great and motivated to workout, we can all name hundreds of benefits of exercise. When you’re in the middle of a particularly hard workout or find yourself doing an exercise you don’t particularly love (hello burpees!), focus your mind and attention on the positive changes happening to your body because of that exercise. While you plow through a mile on the treadmill or knock out your reps in the weight room, put all of your mental attention on the muscles that are growing stronger, or your lungs expanding with each breath of air. Focusing on the positive changes happening inside your body may be the motivation you need to get through even the hardest workouts.
. When you’re struggling during a workout and want to push yourself harder, imagine what your life would be like without a fitness routine. Maybe before you joined FitClub you were living a less healthy lifestyle. Let your mind wander and imagine how your life might look if you hadn’t made a commitment to your health. Would you be unhappy? Unhealthy? Overweight? Get as creative as you can while the minutes fly by. You might find yourself running faster or lifting heavier and feeling more grateful that you’ve made the commitment to make it to FitClub and give yourself a healthier lifestyle.
Do you play any mind games with yourself to get through a harder or longer workout? What works for you?
