Which workout has the most influence over whether or not you achieve your results? Some people may think the biggest muscle of the body would be in their legs or their strongest muscle is their bicep!
Without a doubt the most workout involves the mind. The mind allows you to set the intention of not only your overall goal but also gives you the focus to ensure you maximise your training time and stay on track with your nutrition.
Have you ever seen someone in the gym that looks like they’re day dreaming? Perhaps they were on the leg press just mindlessly pushing the weight or on the treadmill staring out of the window. This is a clear indication that the focus is not on the training. To ensure you get the most out of your workout try connecting the mind to the muscle. Focus on visualising the area you are working and ensure you actually are feeling it in that particular area.
You will probably find that you will need to drop the weight you normally lift and you will actually perform the exercise slower as you concentrate on the targeted area. What you most definitely will feel is the difference in intensity and after a short time you will absolutely see the difference in your body. Remember where the mind goes, the body will follow. If your heads not in the game then ask yourself why you are there – if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing correctly.
The mind will also give you the discipline required to eat smart and the focus to stay on your chosen path and not stray. No doubt there have been times when you have doubted your ability or beaten yourself up about your fitness level, work or relationships. This negative self talk can have a massive detrimental impact on the actual desired outcome.
In these situations staying positive and utilising the power of your mind will be more beneficial to you than staying in a negative mind set. If you ever find yourself in this place, think about something that makes you happy or a recent time when you last really enjoyed yourself or laughed out loud and let the mind take you there. Remember the feeling of the experience also and then notice how much better you feel about the whole situation.
The mind is just like every other muscle in the body and needs to be exercised; it needs to be challenged so that it can perform at its optimum. When was the last time you sat reading a book rather then watching television in the evening? When was the last time you actually watched a documentary rather than the same old soap or reality show or tried to complete a crossword or Sudoku puzzle? These days there are plenty of online memory tests or games consoles that are easily accessible to stimulate and strengthen the mind. Regular ‘brain training’ will improve the quality of your life, your general functionality as well as keeping the body young and active.
About Andrew Simmons
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