4 tips to win the mental game in fitness
Disclaimer: Neither am I a professional worker (ie personal trainer, model,..) in the fitness industry nor trying to become one, just a few takeaways from a couch potato who has been working out 4–5 times per week with a combination of around 10 sports during the last three years; hopefully it helps anyone wants to have a healthier lifestyle :) This blog is not focusing on how to lose weight since your shape depends heavily (70%) on your menu daily ( you are what you eat they say — and I still eat junk food… ) but rather about how you can keep up with working out habits.
Soooo how do I put this? I’ve been gyming since May 2018 until now — what a blast to me :) This transformation changed my life in the most tremendous way ever: from eating hot pot 7 times per week to hello breast chicken most of the time, from scaredly showing off my body to happily going to the swimming pool and taking selfies. Extra bonus from working out routine is it boosts your confidence inside and out — yum ~
My main goal at the beginning of this journey is to lose weight and look prettier, but later on, is all about staying healthy and positive mentally and physically. I don’t need to work out every day but I still do it on a daily basis, because it already is an essential part of my life like eating. As I’m joining a running challenge for my company and applying the same mindset like when I’m going to the gym, I figure out this is the mind game in order to become better, not just about challenging your physical conditions — and trust me, winning over this will help you grow:
- This is your own race and you are competing with yourself: don’t set vague goals like “I want to be like X” or “I will lose 10 pounds “ instead of that, set realistic ones — even like “ I want to lose 3kg in a month “ then breakdown into a plan. For example, my goal is to run 50km in 10 days so I have to run 5km daily WITH MASK — this is not a big number but still an achievement for myself because I hate running and I can’t even run 3km without masking a year ago. Remember to compare and set out goals in accordance with your stamina, you will realize how far you have gone
2. Baby steps matter: 1km running or 10kg deadlifting matter — as long as you are making progress even if it’s just 1% be proud of yourself
3. Be consistent, not be the best: Stay focused in the long run. There are days you only move 1km, there are days you gain weight more than yesterday, there are days your pace will be slower than the day before,… it doesn’t matter. When I run, my goal is to reach 5km daily and there are times I want to stop at 3km or 4km, but I decide to slow it down a little bit by walking then be back to the game.
4. Never give up: the most important mantra — even on days I feel exhausted, drained by work/ relationship problems/ weather… I never quit. The longest break I took was because I had eye surgery and couldn’t work out not because of my “personal” reasons. You don’t stop when you are tired, you stop when things are done.
To sum up this post, I will quote my favorite author Murakami in a very related topic: “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Say you’re running and you think, ‘Man, this hurts, I can’t take it anymore. The ‘hurt’ part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand anymore is up to the runner himself.” Whether you are running or doing any other sports, it’s ok to say you are in pain: I’ve been doing this for the rest of 3 and a half years and I still say so every time I try something new — but keep trying, little by little you might be surprised how strong and resilient you can become — as the saying goes you never know your limit until you give all-out :)
