How to push yourself for a better workout

How to push yourself for a better workout

BY MOLLY SUHADOLNIK
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
Published Feb. 22, 2011 @ 11 p.m.

MOLLY SUHADOLNIK: Pushing yourself in workouts is beneficial to other areas of your life. Learning how to ignore your body's signals of pain teaches you lessons about work, family life and every day stress.

A normal slow paced circuit workout, easy cardio session or "arms day" type of workout will not take you there. In order to gain mentally from workouts, you must find a way to workout so that you are not only physically challenged, but also mentally challenged.

Are your workouts mentally challenging? Start to take note on what thoughts go through your head during your workout. If you are thinking about work, what to wear out this weekend, what your girlfriend said to you this morning, or if you can read a magazine or book during your workout, you are NOT getting any mental gains.

If you are constantly having an inner battle with yourself during your workout (keep going, don't quit, just two more minutes, just 5 more reps, etc.) chances are you are pushing yourself mentally and physically. This goes along the same lines as intensity (see article from two weeks prior), pushing yourself past your limits. If you aren't having this inner battle with yourself, you are wasting your time in the gym.

Learning to listen to your inner voice and becoming aware of the things it is saying to you is the first step to making gains towards being mentally and physically fitter. Once you start to recognize this, you are able to start to control those thoughts into positive, encouraging words that will keep you working hard. They also help you learn how to push past the pain and ignore it, knowing that you aren't going to get injured, you are just going to get stronger and fitter from it.

This mental edge has a very strong effect on other areas of your life. Problems with work become easier to handle. Putting yourself through a painful workout and doing more than you ever have before is so empowering that it makes challenges at work, with family, and daily struggles seem like nothing. Your thoughts become more positive and encouraging and you are able to face problems with a more organized thought process.

This same principle applies to any type of challenge in your life. Workouts can be spiritual, once you can become aware of the fact that your thoughts control everything. This could be compared to realizing God is in each of us that we can become "enlightened" like Buddha, the Divine Sprit is with us, or whatever your religious beliefs are. This is such a giant step in your life that will not only take you physically farther, but mentally farther in everything you do.