Strong Mind Creates Strong Body

This article goes hand in hand with a previous article, Pain and the fine line it creates. It said that you should be present in the moment and be mindful to what you are doing. This will hope to go a little further and explore what goes into having a strong mind and a strong body.

Mind over matter. This is a common saying that people use, but what does it really mean. Your body is built to do amazing things, but like everything there are limits. The things that separate people from one another physically are not always the physical but rather the mental. If two people are running a race and are both matched well physically it will be more often than not the one who has a stronger mind. They will force their body to push themselves harder and longer to do what they need to do faster and better. This is the key to success that most people fail to realize.

Sitting underneath that bench press bar is often an intimidating moment. To some it is the motivation to do something great, and to others it is what is going to make us not. Here is where we need to find the mental fortitude to push our bodies beyond itself and make us better.

The last time that I was in the gym I tried something to help get me mentally fit to lift. I closed my eyes for a second and took some deep breaths, to get as much oxygen to my muscles as possible. I visualized my lift and told myself, I can do it. Getting yourself prepared to do the task is half the battle. I am not sure how much it helped or even if it helped, but I know that I had a much greater chance of success with a positive outlook than a negative outlook.

Strengthening your mind is just as important as strengthening your body. Most people neglect their mind when they work out. So educate yourself, be mentally prepared, and as always, 365 Fit for life.

Consistency Leads To Amazing

This is something that everyone struggles with. Unless you are a super type person, then you have had a problem with consistency at one point or another. I know that I among many individuals have had my fair share of hardships trying to stay consistent in all that I do. It isn't about running a marathon or being an iron man or anything that dramatic it is about doing what you are capable of doing a little bit every day or every other day or however much you feel you can do and still be pushing yourself a little bit.

Everyone starts out with a bang. Monday morning roles around and for once Monday's are a beautiful thing. For most people we dread when Monday happens because it is the start of a new week and the farewell to another short weekend. But for those who are trying to be fit, Monday is a new start, a chance to be that person you always knew you should be, but for whatever reason havn't. Monday is the day that everyone seems to say, this is the start of my new week. I am going to the gym, I am eating right, I am going to take care of myself. So maybe you go strong for that first week. You eat right, you exercise daily, and you generally feel good about yourself. Then the weekend hits and willpower, gone, motivation, gone, laziness, kicking into overdrive. If the weekend didn't kill you than arguably the next Monday usually does. Then it is no longer awesome Monday I get to start over, because you already are on this fit plan, and it is oh great, Monday, I have to go to work. Then meetings happen, life gets in the way, plans are made, and boom, all your hard work from the week before is gone. I have gone over this scenario dozens and dozens of times and I am sure that I will go through it again.

Here comes the good stuff, and a little less of the negative stuff. Consistency leads to amazing. Remember you do not have to hit it full throttle right out of the gate, this is the downfall of a lot of people. They use it all up in the first week, and have nothing left in the tank for the long haul. That is why we start slow, a build up. I was reading through a little bit of the couch to 5k program. It gives some good words about starting slow and it being a process that take time. They went on to say that even if you feel that you are able to do more you shouldn't. This works for those people that are just starting out. One day you feel great and are like I think I should do more. Or it is for people that feel like they haven't done enough. In both cases doing what the program suggests is a good thing. For those people who feel great that day will probably end up over exerting themselves and end up not doing anything good for themselves. If you are one of those people that feel like they haven't done enough, then chances are that no amount is going to be enough, and you like the first group will end up doing some harm to yourself. You should just feel good that you are sticking to a plan and be happy that you got your tasks accomplished.

Starting slow allows you to better accomplish your goals. It allows the consistency that you need to be successful. If all you can do is two days a week, then do two days a week, but do it every week for an extended period of time, like at least three to six weeks. Consistency will get you to where you want, killing yourself for one week will not.

Keep on keeping on, 365 Fit

Friday May 2nd Quick Tip

Today's quick tip takes place in the shopping realm once again. It is actually a two for one as they both come from the same place.

If you know you only have a few things to purchase, either grab a basket, or just carry your items. Most shoppers instinctively go for the shopping cart. If you carry a basket with you, it will allow you to carry a little extra weight while you are walking around.

The second tip is when you are leaving the checkout counter. Instead of just letting the bags hang down at your sides like dead weight, why don't you use them to do some curls on the way to the car. Make it a challenge for yourself and see how many times you can curl your bags and the next time try to beat that number.

I hope these little tips help you on your journey to being 365 Fit.

Pain And The Fine Line It Creates

I have been asked this question before, and I have also asked this of other people. Are you hurt, or are you injured? To most sports people they will know what that is, but for those who do not, I will try to explain. Most people will think of being hurt and injured are the same thing, and to some extent they are the same. The difference lies in the severity. If you are hurt you can probably work through it and continue whatever it was you were doing to hurt yourself in the first place. If you are injured you most likely will need to seek medical attention, and not continue with your activity.

I want to give credit to 24 Fit Club for indirectly giving me inspiration to write about this topic. You should go check it out as there are some good things there to read.

Pushing through the pain is a common thing for me. I have been told that you can do it and even though it hurts you can still do it. This philosophy will not work for everyone as every person's idea of pain and pushing are different. I like to watch a show called Made on MTV. The short of it is this, a person who isn't good at something wants to be good at something. They get a coach and usually five or six weeks to get good at what they want and at the end they enter some sort of contest to show that they are now good at whatever it was they were trying for. The majority of the people on that show that want to do something athletic, snowboard, play basketball, or any other sport, are not usually that in shape or athletic. I most recently watched a girl who wanted to be a ballerina. She was put on a training schedule and to her it was pretty intense. There was one scene where she was using a step machine and basically had a panic attack because it got to hard and she quit. This is where pushing through the pain needs to take place. That girl on Made was not injured, she was just hurt, and by the standards that I set earlier means she could have continued with her workout. That episode got me to thinking how do you push pass the pain.

I was always under the assumption that to push past the pain you just have to tough it out and do it. Like all advice, it is one thing to say it, and another thing to know how to do it. The first time that you get hurt you are more likely to quit than you are to keep going. I know that when I was swimming I would get a sort of leg cramp or in basketball I would say my toe hurt or some other excuse because I didn't want to continue. Looking back on that it seems odd that I would rather lie to not do something than to simply say I do not want to. I digress... Toughing it out seems to be a learned response. You get injured and you either move past it or you let it stop you. You might not always push past it, but the more times that you do, the easier it gets for you to do it. Yelling and berating someone for not being able to push past the pain, especially when it's their first opportunity to try to, is probably not the best solution to get them to try harder. There is a difference between taking a little time to be able to push past the pain, and just giving up. Most people never give the chance to allow the time it takes each individual to push past the pain and therefore they quit either by their own accord or by the actions of others.

My take on this is simply to do what your mind and body are telling it to do. Your mind and body are both amazing resilient things and when pushed, it will deliver the results that you want to see.

Keep on pushing and don't let a little pain slow you down. 365 Fit,fit for life.









It's sort of ironic that when the girl from made quit cause she was hurt actually continued after she was injured. Just goes to show you can do anything if you want to.