How Mindfulness can Improve Your Workout
Training is hard, understanding how to stay motivated and never give in is one of the greatest challenges of self-improvement.
It is a war, and EVERY day is a battle.
If you win the battles, you’ll win the war.
But how do you stay motivated?
As in the Buddhist practice of Zen, “THE ONLY TIME IS NOW”.
Read it until it’s ingrained in your mind.
During training your mind will play tricks on you. Don’t let it.
Practising mindfulness is a way to strengthen your mind.
Perhaps you notice thoughts like, “I’ll do this set then leave it there.” Or “I don’t feel up to it today”
STOP.
These thoughts are mental limits on your physical ability!
Remember that the only time is now :-)
Here are a few ways to focus on “the now” in your training:
The hardest step is showing up. Before you leave home, focus on small steps: getting your kit on, starting the car etc.
Presuming you’re ‘feeling weak’ might hold you back. Keep an open mind and see how you perform. It could be a great workout!
Focus on one rep at a time, perfect technique + perfect breathing adds up to perfect workouts.
Set goals in the future, set a deadline, but focus on a tiny action you can achieve NOW. Take action now!
Pick 1-2 tips, go deep on them, observe your thoughts and actions from a third person perspective (which is VERY difficult btw) and simply try to act in a smarter, more positive way than you did yesterday.
I’ll leave you with a brilliant quote which describes how negative thinking can affect your life.
Rise Above
Ant
“If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”
Bruce Lee