Where Does Your Mind Go When Your Body Wants to Quit?

I’ve stopped using headphones 🎧 during workouts. I’m not against it, it is just a preference.  Headphones help get us through cardio & strength-building exercises.

Yet, there are multiple techniques when fitness limits are tested and the will to continue is in doubt.

To manage the exertion involved in better performances, the best athletes use a mix of:

1️⃣ Dissociation 

2️⃣ Association 

Dissociation helps to make long workouts feel shorter and helps time pass by. It can also divert attention away from aches and even pain. 

This can include simple mental tricks like listening to music or focusing on the surrounding scenery, specific colours & objects or even other competitors.

Affirmation 🗣️ - Since the 70’s aligning physical motion with positive self talk has been shown to solidify the quality of workouts. Personal language, slogans and evocative words are widely accepted by personal trainers as significantly improving fitness outcomes. Muhammad Ali knew what he was doing when he expressed, 

                 

Use phrases like:

* I will __

* I am __

* I do __

* I feel __

Gamification 👾 - Turning workouts into a game is used by ultra marathon runner & 2013 pull-up world record holder, David Goggins who has an infamous Pac-Man-style game that motivates him to overtake his peers & complete races. These games include:

* Breaking it up into segments

* Getting to the next milestone by x time

* Keeping the same pace for a fixed time              
* Doing just “one more” rep

Picture Making 🖼️ - Not only an excellent distraction tool but a proven neuroscientific technique for getting the brain accustomed to the end game. In the book, Sporting Body Sporting Mind, rehearsing mental images improves confidence, consistency and coupled with the kinaesthetic (feeling) aspect, is a language easily understood by the body.  

During the workout rehearse:

* Crossing the finish line

* Earning the medal

* Wearing the t-shirt

* Celebrating the win/personal best

Association (Focus on the body) helps us to direct attention towards:

* Physical form & cadence 

* The feeling within the body 

* Control of the workout. 

Another top association method is:

Breathing 🫁- Sounds easy right? Not necessarily, especially in:

🏃🏾♂️ the first 30 minutes into a run

🏊🏾♀️ the penultimate lap of a swim 

🏋️♂️ the last set of a weight training routine

Deep diaphragmatic breathing, inhaling through the nose and out the mouth, helps us to:

1️⃣ Relax into the workout

2️⃣ Releases tension

Paying attention to:

* Foot strikes

* Pedal rhythm 

* Stroke timing

gives us that edge as we give that workout our best shot!

Every workout has a moment where quitting feels like an option. The men who keep going aren’t tougher or stronger, they’re just better at choosing where their mind goes next.

So over to you, what method helps you to “get through” a physical workout?