Struggling to hit peak fitness? You need to focus on training your mind as well as your body
There’s no debating the fact that in order to achieve your physical goals, you need to also improve your mental fitness, so here are a few tips to help you to train mind and body.
Accountability
It’s important to take responsibility for the success of your routine, specifically for avoiding obstacles in the form of mates trying to tempt you to go the pub instead of the gym, demands of your job or family issues. A personal trainer and supportive circle of friends and relatives can help, but the truth is that you have to be prepared to put in the hard yards yourself.
Consistency
There’s a reason this term is so well-used in fitness circles – it’s the difference between achieving your goals and not! Now this doesn’t mean you should stay in your lane and do the same thing over and over, as varying your workouts will keep you motivated and ensure you don’t hit the plateau. However, you must stick to your bigger plan, constantly seek to improve and quickly get back to your routine if something throws you off.
Work ethic
You know the old saying about anything worth having is worth working for? Well, be in no doubt, this applies to the fitness domain as much as anywhere. Use your will, be persistent and stay disciplined but be patient as results take time. Rest assured that every drop of sweat you shed is an investment in your future results.
Mantra
The renowned US industrialist who founded his own car making company, Henry Ford, once said, ‘Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.’ Try telling yourself ‘I can’ or ‘I will’ whenever the alarm rings, you’re fading in the last 1km or it feels like you’ve not got another rep in your body. You may surprise yourself at what you can achieve by keeping this thought in your head. Why not take it up a notch and create your own mission statement?
Reframing
Subtle tweaks to the language you use can significantly impact your psyche, leading to positive actions. Saying to yourself, ‘I don’t eat junk food’ instead of, ‘I can’t eat junk food’ is reported to help you to avoid it because it gives you a sense of ownership rather than it being beyond your control.
Imagery
Create a picture collage of what fitness means to you, what you love about training and how you think you’ll feel when you achieve your goals. You can store social media pages on your phone or even go old-school and cut out photos from MF, stick them on a board and add motivational statements. Regularly taking a look will fuel your fire.
