How to Get in the Right Mindset for Your Workout
Working out is an excellent way to put the noise and stress of everyday life aside and focus on you. However, your workout is more effective if you take some time to clear your head. Mindfulness and exercise go hand in hand. Here are several ways to set an intention for your workout.
Advantages of Pre-Workout Mindfulness
Taking a few minutes to center your mind before you hit it hard at the gym. When you take time for intention, you’re tuning in to your body and letting the stressors of everyday life fall by the wayside. Your workout has more meaning and thoughtfulness associated with it, which increases your mind and body connection.
Setting Intention Before You Work Out
Before you work out take a moment to thank yourself for putting time aside for you. Remind yourself to accept your thoughts without judgment and recognize emotions as they come up, say hello to them, then let them pass. Take a few deep breaths and really focus on letting go and tuning into your body.
Using SMART Goals
SMART - specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely - goals are a great way to give intention to your workouts. Using a SMART goal methodology to create weekly SMART goals for your workouts. Select goals that have an intention to keep your mind positive and your body active.
Doing a Full Body Scan
Before you begin any workout, take a minute to do a full-body scan. Breathe deeply and concentrate on the sensations in your body from head to toe. Is there anything that doesn’t feel quite right? Are you holding tension somewhere? Focus on breathing for five breaths to focus your mind on your body.
Purge Your Mind
Rid yourself of negative thoughts before your workout. If you have a home gym, create a workout space that promotes your activities. Clear your workout room of clutter and distractions. Put up positive images and motivational items to keep you going. For gym-goers, find a gym that supports your ideal workout environment. This not only encourages you to continue towards your fitness goals, but it also puts you in the right frame of mind.
Keep a Daily Journal
If you struggle with positive thought patterns, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Start a daily journal. Write down all of the positive stuff that happened in your day and don’t focus on anything negative. Be sure to include any positive aspects of your fitness.
Your workout journal doesn’t need to be fancy, you can simply use the notes app on your phone, or record them. Keep in mind everything doesn’t need to be monumental either. It can be as simple as walking your dog an extra block, choosing to stretch in the morning, or something more. Daily positive re-enforcement goes a long way to help you keep a positive mindset for hitting the gym.
Focus on Your 5 Senses
A lot of us struggle with mindfulness because our minds always seem to wander away from the present. Perhaps you suffer from running thoughts or you are fixated on a particular aspect of your life either in the past or future. Use this technique to bring your attention to the present moment:
Begin by breathing evenly
Name five things you can see
Name four things you can hear
Name three things you can touch or feel
Name two things you can smell
And then name one thing you can taste
Do this either before or during your workout and any time you feel that your mind is wandering away from the present.
With intentionality, you can get in the right mindset for your workout. As a result, you’ll get more mental benefits from the physical activity you can engage in. Being grounded in the present helps you get the most of your gym session and adds to a more positive life outlook.