The Fitness Mind Game: How to Turn Mental Roadblocks into Mental Toughness

We are thrilled to have guest blogger, Lindsey Banks, founder of Fit Life Pursuits, filling us in on how to overcome mental roadbloacks, which we all have! Fit Life Pursuits is a site that will help you to find a fitness routine that works for you, while working a full-time job, or running a business or raising a family. It’s about finding time for what makes you happy, healthy and fit! 

The other day my husband told me that I have a “weak mind.” While I was offended at first, I gave him time to explain. Here’s the story:

I don’t like to be hot when I work out. You see, I am a sweater. I sweat quickly and I sweat a lot. So, you won’t find me outside running during the hottest part of the day. When I run, I choose to go running either in the morning or at dusk. When working out at home, I like the A/C turned down and the fan running on high. This prevents me from sweating as much. When my husband started making fun of me for this, I explained to him that I feel like I am able to push myself harder when I’m not sweating as much.

I went on to explain that when I start sweating a lot, my mind starts thinking that I am working out really hard, and I am more likely to give up or slow down. This is when he said I have a “weak mind.” He went on to explain that I am not able to overcome the mental limitation (disliking being hot and sweaty) that keeps me from pushing myself harder. That I should be able to push myself whether it’s hot or not, whether I’m sweating a lot or not. I had to acknowledge that he did bring up a good point. Sweating has become my mental roadblock that holds me back from doing my best.

When talking about working out, we often focus on the body. After all, the body is doing the work. Or, so we think. Yes, your legs and feet are moving and your core is tight, but the mind is working out just as hard, if not harder. Good exercise does not just mean going through the motions. In order to reach your goals, see a change in your body and an improvement in your skills, you have to challenge yourself. Challenging yourself means doing better than you did before. That might mean one more burpee, a shorter run time or a deeper split.

If you exercise hard enough to create a challenge for yourself, there is going to come a point in your workout when you will want to quit. Whether or not you can overcome that mental block will define your mental strength and determine whether you keep going or give up. What triggers these mental blocks is different for each person. Maybe you want to quit when your legs start burning, or when you start breathing heavily, or when the workout becomes boring. Whatever it is, the key is learning how to push through it.

When you are going through a tough workout and you want to quit, there are three things you can do to mentally overcome it.

How to Turn Mental Roadblocks into Mental Toughness

1. Visualize your reason for starting. You are most likely working out because you have a goal you are trying to reach. It can be a weight-loss goal, performance goal, health goal, but whatever it is, think about it. When you get to your mental block in your workout, think about why you decided to workout today. Visualize yourself reaching that goal and how good it will feel when you do.

2. Think about how far you’ve come. When you get to the point in your workout when you want to give up, think about how far you’ve come. You’ve reached this point by committing to it thus far. Think about what goals you’ve already reached and how pushing through your workouts got you there. If you focus on that, you will feel proud of yourself and want to keep going.

 3. Remember how good it feels when you finish.  After a good workout, the release of endorphins in your body makes you feel happy and exhilarated! When you want to quit during a workout, remember how great it will feel when you finish. No one ever regrets a workout that they’ve finished.

I have been working out without the fan on now for a few months. When I get to the point where I want to quit, I use these three strategies to push through. Now that I am dripping sweat by the end of my workout, I feel an even greater sense of accomplishment, knowing I just pushed myself through a difficult workout and through my mental barrier. I might even give Bikram Yoga a try!

We all have mental roadblocks when it comes to pushing ourselves. At some point, we get to the place where we think, “I can’t do it anymore.” If we are able to push through that mental block and keep going, we will become stronger, both physically and mentally.

Working out is not just about the body. It is also about strengthening the mind and overcoming the mental limitations you put on yourself. Your body is capable of much more than your mind realizes, and it’s up to you to strengthen your mind to believe in your own abilities.

What mental roadblocks do you have and how do you overcome them? —Lindsey