UNITED STATES—You might think from reading the TITLE this story might have something to do with mental health or psychology and you would be wrong. This column is more about the importance of exercise and how for so many Americans it’s more of a mental battle over everything else. Why would I make such a claim?
It’s because I told myself at the start of the New Year the focus would be to exercise even more than what I had already been doing. What stopped me in my tracks? You just have those days where you are burnt out from work or you just don’t have determination to make it happen. When your body or mind just tells you to exercise later, find a way to push yourself to do it while you’re thinking about it.
When you’re thinking about exercise, that is where the frustration implements itself into your psyche. Instead of telling yourself ‘NOT’ to exercise, tell yourself ‘TO’ exercise. Before you realize it, you’ve gotten your 30 minutes of cardio, bench pressing, cycling, whatever you want to call it.
See you did what you thought was impossible because you told yourself you couldn’t make it happen when voila it occurred right in front of your eyes. I tell people time and time again, the mind is a very powerful thing; never underestimate your ability to push through. The excuse of it being too cold to work out isn’t going to float. Why? Well, if you have exercise equipment in your home, you don’t have a valid excuse.
Also considering that spring has finally dawned on us it provides the opportunity for those who have been cooped up in the house the opportunity to go for a walk or a quick job. You might still have to wear a jacket, but you have the opportunity get that body in motion to train your mind to do what you don’t want to do, even though your body is saying otherwise.
Be stronger; do not allow your mind to dictate what you want to do, do what it is you know you have to do because it has an overall impact on your health. You know what to eat and not what to eat; you know the impact of exercise on one’s body. Mentally push yourself to be stronger than what you think you are capable of in the world of exercise. Trust me I know the feeling all too well, but I just remind myself, if I don’t do it, I’ll regret it later and before you know it, a 30-45 minute workout is in the books.
