What do you think about when you workout?

MeanderingMammal

It depends, sometimes it's about form and assuring that my footstrike is correct, sometimes I'm just enjoying being out on the trail, watching the scenery and the various animals that are out and about.

If I'm in town and running it becomes quite meditative, so not thinking per se, but giving my mind space to run free. That helps with stress, and also puts me in a place where I can work through issues related to work without consciously thinking about them. I'm involved in a lot of commercial and legal negotiations, so it helps me come up with answers.

lisalsd1

When lifting...lifting. When running on the treadmill...Dr. Phil (it's the only talk show on at my gym time).

AllanMisner

Approach the bar, imagine how good form feels, grab the bar, breathe, relax the muscles that will be worked in the lift, breathe in, breathe out, check position, breathe in, breathe out, un-rack, breathe in through eccentric, breathe out through concentric, repeat for each planned rep, re-rack. Look at clock to get rest count. Think about form of last set, assess weight used, get some water, shake out worked muscles...

jenncornelsen

kzzr wrote: »

When I'm doing cardio I think about what I would do if there was a Zombie Apocalypse, it keeps me moving lol

bahaha i have so done this too! i think man i dont have enough ammo. i should buy a flamethrower.....

fat2fitshley

I think about the food I can eat now that I've worked out... Oh and whether or not I'm actually going to die or if I'm just that lazy. It's always the latter.

chivalryder

I often find myself pacing myself by singing stupid short repetitive tunes out loud to myself.

Note: I usually ride a real bicycle on the road or in the forest. I find it great for setting a tempo I can maintain. Once I have to change the tempo, the music changes or I just cringe while I sprint up a hill, or I just completely focus as I race down a hill. In mountain biking, you can't think about anything but the trail. IF you lose focus on the trail, you're going to go down. Hard.

eeelizabeth2012

I have a Fitbit so I think about how the longer I keep going the more steps I will have to try and win challenges with. I also listen to music and try and trick myself into thinking I am dancing and having a blast haha. I also think about how my cats stalk me and I have to be careful not to step on them or lay on them (during pilates) haha

prettygirlstorm1

what i am going to eat when this workout is over! lol

randomtai

Sex.

jlruiz719

I think about how to fix problems at work or with my family. I run through conversations or confrontations I need to have. When I'm on the treadmill, I play math games with the numbers to keep me from getting bored.

ljones27uk

i count my steps, in groups of 100, and then compare it to the fitbit ( and its pretty much bang on). feels like it makes a few thousand steps go past quicker. I might just be weird thought :-)

chivalryder

randomtai wrote: »

Sex.

randomtai

chivalryder wrote: »

randomtai wrote: »

Sex.

nikkib0103

wizzybeth wrote: »

I keep thinking ... soon it won't be torture anymore and then I'll have to crank it up to make it torturous again. Lol

Has. that's what I mostly think about, too!

hollie894

When running I like to think that I'm either:

A.) Being chased by a rabid dog or something equally as terrifying such as a human sized spider
Or
B.) That I'm running towards something like Robert Downey Junior or a pair of Jimmy Choos and if I get there quickly I can keep them both

Unknown

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PAtinCO

Yesterday while working out my wife told me that my daughter didn't turn in some homework, which made me really pissed for the entire workout. Afterwards, I grounded her for a month. Felt better.

chivalryder

PAtinCO wrote: »

Yesterday while working out my wife told me that my daughter didn't turn in some homework, which made me really pissed for the entire workout. Afterwards, I grounded her for a month. Felt better.

Parenting 101.

knitapeace

Zombies.

Also, "Only three more hills on this route...only two more hills on this route...this is the last hill, come on lift those knees baby..."

Need2Exerc1se

Strength - I think about form and how much I hate strength training
Treadmill - How much I like this song and how much I dislike walking on a treadmill
DVDs - mostly just trying to follow and keep up
Yard work - how hot it is, is that poison ivy!?, OMG that spider is huge!, we should plant something on this hill so I don't have to weed eat up here, ...
Gardening - How much I like this song, how well these plants are doing, what I need to do to improve these other plants, how delicious these plants are going to taste tonight
Hiking - How marvelous life and the world is

Zx14chick

On the stationary bike I watch television shows or read to pass the time, so I don't think a whole lot about other stuff. When I am lifting, I am focusing on doing it right and counting.

SunflowerCat74

Usually when doing cardio I think about how I wish someone I know would show up and get on the machine next to me so we could talk about anything, so I don't have to listen to my own thoughts...and food, always thinking about food!
When doing pilates/yoga/piyo...how good my form is and how much longer/how many more times I have to repeat it.
When lifting...my form and counting...and how crappy others peoples form is.
Push ups...how I'm going to blast through this and make the person next to me look like a wimp. (Hey it's what motivates me!)

rawstrongchick

During a lift - form and breathing. Between sets of the same lift I usually stretch, so I'm focused on the stretch and the length of time that's passing. Between different lifts I usually take 5 minutes to recharge and my mind wonders. All sorts of thing really - whatever is playing on my mind at the time. I have that problem when I do yoga, when it comes to the relaxation/breathing part I find it really hard to not let my mind drift to analyzing and processing things going on in my world.

MonikaNeely

When lifting or resistance training I'm counting reps and pushing myself and making sure I'm doing it right.

When I'm running I think about reaching a mini goal I made, like not walking until I've done x km or until I reach that car or something. Once I'm in the swing of things I think about random rubbish and organise my thoughts and stresses then eventually I stop thinking and start enjoying and it's lush.

Then when I'm walking to cool down I talk to myself to organise my thoughts with the benefit of feeling less stressed and pretty pleased with myself.

And my stats. I'm always trying to shave time off my pace. If I manage it I et excited then think about how awesome I think I am at that moment.

Then I get home and realise I'm not Wonder Woman but I still feel pretty good.

Sued0nim

I think "feck I'm gonna die, feck I'm gonna die...Ooo look at his muscles ripple as he does pull-ups...feck I'm gonna die"

And sometimes "must stop downloading mix albums, what is this sh1t I'm listening to"

And "please don't let me giggle when PT says 'on your knees!"

tracistock12

I like running. I have to tell myself, "Don't look at the clock or the calorie counter!" My treadmill is against the wall with the clock and I tell myself that each song is about 3 minutes, so I can't look until the song is over or I have heard at least 3 songs. Then to make it fun, I think of the dancing montage in the library of the Breakfast Club. Punch-dancing, and looking ridiculous keeps it fun for me.

jmiller1028

When on the treadmill, I watch netflix on my kindle. When walking my dog, i think about my day and about making sure that he doesn't run into traffic. While lifting weights, I visualize my muscles getting bigger. Sometimes I do think about baked goods when I workout though.

sst036

On the treadmill and exercise bike I listen to an audiobook so most of my time is spent telling myself to focus and listen, or cheering myself on (Yeah! 0.5km! You got this! Ain't no thing! / c'mon, dig in! Only xyz to go, woo!)

In the park it's more of "damn it's cold/hot, omgosh is that a snake?! Why can't people keep their dogs on leads? Uh oh, I need to pee and I'm on the wrong side of the lake"

Strength training is imagining how I will crush all of the people stressing me at work. Someone got kicked in the shins (leg extension machine), kneed in the groin (calf raise seat thingy), sat on (squats), had their head crushed between my knees (the don't make eye contact with anyone machine), and had their archilles bruised ( lunges with kettle bells).

I had a pretty bad day. Yay for exercise making it less rage inducing!

Ciler_80

This lol

EatAllTheCake wrote: »

I do videos at home right now as well, and all I can think about is "Is almost over yet?" Or "Wooo it's almost done!"

librislady

I use the Zombies, Run! app for the treadmill or running outside, and that keeps me occupied between the storyline and my music. I usually do bodyweight exercises for strength, and generally focus on my form. (With sporadic thoughts of, "Hey! Look at those shoulder/leg/etc muscles coming along!").