How do you maintain focus?!

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asizesix
asizesix Posts: 134
in Fitness and Exercise
I realized last night how much your mind really has control over your body.

I was running at the gym last night (not a great runner here!)- ran 8 minutes with no huge problems, and then had to run a straight 8 minutes again. (Doing the C25K)

All of the sudden in the middle of my second round, I lost focus - started feeling insecure about not being able to finish it, started thinking about how my shirt keeps rolling up as I run, started to notice everyone else in the gym around me and what they were doing....and I had to walk some of the way until I finished.

What tricks do you do to keep focused in the gym and keep your momentum going?

Replies

  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,472 Member
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    i serious daydream, the minutes, hours fly by, put myself in another world.
  • petstorekitty
    petstorekitty Posts: 592 Member
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    my mind wanders a lot when I workout too.
    When I run on a treadmill I often end up staring at myself if there is a mirror or window in front of me. Or I will stare at the screen just watching the blinking lights and what the numbers are doing.
    I also listen to music - I have playlists of songs that keep me going. I will get lost in them and then I would have been running for 30 minutes.
    If that is too hard I would focus on each song and tell myelf how many songs are left that I must listen to before I am done.

    I have recently started listening to Audio books at the gym. I really like stories though so just listening to a book while on a machine is very relaxing to me. This is more for everything BUT running.
  • mlclarke22
    mlclarke22 Posts: 551 Member
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    if I am running I try and focus on my music..or sometimes there is something good on the tv so i try and focus on that...If i really cant focus on what I am doing I move on to a different machine or I go and life weights...hate losing focus!!!
    I also try and think about how I will feel when I reach my goals...if I dont focus I wont reach them!
  • jennyredfern
    jennyredfern Posts: 94 Member
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    Loud music. get lost in a song.

    I heard a psychologist once talk about how self talk can help athletes. Lie to yourself. Tell yourself that you just have to run 2 minutes, then 2 minutes more, then 2 more...etc. Another trick is to tell yourself you have an hour to go and a few minutes now is nothing.

    Concentrate on slow and even breathing. Keep your shoulder blades pinched back so your lungs have room to work.

    Daydream, think about a fantasy you have. Make a storyline to go with it.

    Pick a focal point to watch. Maybe the logo on the treadmill. A beam on the ceiling. Something you can concentrate on.

    Play a numbers game on the treadmill screen. Watch the seconds tick by. Try to not look until you think a minute is up. Or until you think you ran .1 of a mile.
  • asizesix
    asizesix Posts: 134
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    these are great tips :) thanks guys!!! I usually try to focus on the music that's playing..but sometimes it's not enough! :)
  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
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    I watch shows on TV or my iPad. (Mostly a treadmill runner, here.) I also just tell myself, "Just X more minutes, you can do it." And keep pushing. Sometimes it feels like forever, but since I've "given myself permission" to stop at a pre-determined time, it seems to work most of the time.
  • Ay_Rene
    Ay_Rene Posts: 32 Member
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    First of all... i hate treadmills... your mind needs to be engaged in order to be focused and when i run on the treadmill, i get bored and become easily distracted so try to run out doors whenever possible. The the outside surroundings will take your mind off the actual run and you start to think of the birds, weather, the people running/walking/driving past you and time flies... but if i must run on a treadmill... I listen to loud music and take an inspirational photo with me. I keep a picture of my honey, and my friend keeps a picture of the bikini she wants to buy as the wallpaper of the cellphones...

    my last trick is that i set number goals... on the treadmill I display my distance, the calories burned, time, and the incline... so i set these random things and say to myself "ok... i have to run 2.8 miles, burn 300 calories, and run for 25 minutes before i can slow down" and i run until i achieve all three things, but i make it a game trying to guess which order i will accomplish each goal, or which song on my playlist will I finish each goal on... and after that i usually want to continue running...
  • letjog
    letjog Posts: 260 Member
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    Run outside!!!!!!!!
  • Rodderick89
    Rodderick89 Posts: 205 Member
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    I'm doing C25K too and when I'm on the last 2-3 mins of a run and really struggling I count my strides - I aim for at least 90 steps (i.e foot hitting the floor) per minute but if I'm running fast it can be nearer 120 steps per minute.. so I count each step up to 30 and then tell myself I have to repeat that 10 times and usually that is about 2-3 minutes and my run is finished!!

    When running outside I challenge myself to run just to the next driveway/doorway/lampost/bin etc and that also helps cover the last bit of distance.

    Having a motivating playlist with songs I can sing along to helps.. I kind of sing just with my lips barely moving (don't want to be known as the crazy singing runner around town!) and find that also helps me breathe properly!
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,843 Member
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    Run outside!!!!!!!!

    That'd be easy if it wasn't freezing cold out, windy and if the roads didn't have a layer of ice/slush/snow/pot holes that could swallow a car all over the place!! LOL

    To the OP: It's hard to ignore either the voice in your head or what's going on around you sometimes but the main thing is to just bring yourself back to your goal and FOCUS! For me when I'm running (outside on nice, bugless, snowless days LOL) and that voice tells me to just walk because no one will know and I"m close to caving in I tell myself NO! While it's true no one will see me walking I will know and that keeps me going. When I'm on the TM and running an losing focus and determination I focus on the next 5-10 minutes or small miles. Like today I was running on the TM and for the first 10 minutes I upped my speed at 5 minutes. Then I upped at 10 and then when I wanted to quit I focused on miles like: lets get to 3.5 miles and see how I feel. Just stupid stuff like that keeps me focused and going.
  • oliviazab
    oliviazab Posts: 7 Member
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    If you go to a gym that has tv's attached to the machines, its so much easier if you watch a show while you do cardio. I lose track of all time when I watch a show and before I know it, its been an hour!
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    This is the exact reason I hate machine cardio and do HIIT or Metabolic Weight Complexes for my cardio. Boring!!
  • ohenry78
    ohenry78 Posts: 228
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    I do like others have said -- distract myself with other forms of media; watching Netflix on my iPhone, or watching the TV on the elliptical runners. Watch some Food Network while you're working out and watch the weird looks you get :P

    If I can push myself to the point where you get that "runner's high", it's smooth sailing from there. I get super motivated, and keep going because it feels good. I'll think of all kinds of things, like ideas for the books I want to write, or things I could accomplish at work, etc.
  • willieswenson
    willieswenson Posts: 31
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    2g L-Tyrosine Pre-Workout for me.
    All you can think about, is what you are doing.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    You might consider using a technique from meditation... let these distractions float into your mind and float back out. These random thoughts will happen. Don't try to fight them off. Just let them be. And focus on something your breathing or your running rhythm.
  • matt2442
    matt2442 Posts: 1,259 Member
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    just gotta think of the results at the end of the day and how much better you feel after a workout..eventually it just becomes more of a habit, rather than a chore
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    I don't understand how thinking about other things would make you stop running. I have to think about other things or I just end up thinking about how bored I am with running. Especially if I ever did it on a treadmill.

    Let your mind do what it wants but keep your legs moving
  • lyndalpn
    lyndalpn Posts: 151 Member
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    I have never used a treadmill. I run outside and listen to birds, my breathing, watch the sunrise, it's awesome ;) not that any of that helps you... Sorry!
  • traceyjj
    traceyjj Posts: 406 Member
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    Last night we were doing running or fast walking in one of our circuits... we were told 4 minutes as far as you can in that time... I found it easier to keep looking at the timer, and tell myself only "x" seconds to go when I get to the point I felt I needed to turn the speed down a little. It seemed to help me as I managed to go faster for longer each time we got to the treadmill... but then last night was the first time I have ever ran on a treadmill, so my advice may not be the best LOL

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