MIND SET

At Train fitness studio, our motto is “Strong Body, Strong Image, Strong Mind” - and for good reason. Fitness is one part of wellness, an important part, but it’s the balance and application of holistic health that will really determine your success or failure. As Yogi Berra so accurately expressed, “[...](it) is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical."

As an extreme-sport athlete, I know extreme unbalance and the negative effect it can have on my health and performance. Something I’ve always struggled with is maintaining a consistent routine. It’s all too easy for me to go from 3-a-days, diet tracking, journaling and obsessive goal-setting to weeks of inactivity and binge-eating. One extreme to another, taxing my CNS, adrenals and mental health one week and spending the next two weeks trying to balance my cortisol, lymph and - you guessed it - mental health.

Jesse Keca, National selections, short track speed skating 2014

Your mind is your greatest tool and your biggest obstacle. It decides when you wake up, how you feel when you wake up, what you want to eat, if you’re going to workout that day, what makes you happy or angry and whether those emotions will fuel or deter you. Your mind makes some of your biggest decisions, save from when to beat your heart and breathe. If you can find a way to control your mind, doesn’t that empower you to strive for greatness like nothing else?

So, how can you work out your mind to power your workouts? There doesn’t have to be a life changing moment, just a moment where you decide to change.

Set goals, attainable ones. When you reach those, set new ones.
Make routine a habit. Studies have shown that humans thrive most when they have structure and routine in their lives, and completing tasks becomes easier and more enjoyable.
Lean on me. Or him, or her. We are all here for the same reason, so why do this alone? Ask for help, offer strength, sweat together, suffer together and succeed together!
No excuses! Be your best self, and then strive for better.