It's all in your head
By the time I finished my first Ironman, I knew a good 80 per cent of making it to the finish line was mental strength.
Provided you’ve done your training, and barring injury, you will succeed or fail based on what’s going on in your head.
I bring this up now because on Monday, commenter Casey asked if we could give "wannabe runners/joggers some tips on ignoring the inner talk and getting into the rhythm? I can only really get into a nice running rhythm if I'm with another person going at a nice pace."
I reckon we could extend this question on inner talk beyond running/jogging to any sort of training, including going to the gym, getting out on the bike, getting in the water - whatever you do, really.
Now, I know there are a few people out there who love going to the gym and never have any negative inner dialogue to overcome. My friend Kaz is one of them.
I’m not so lucky. While I enjoy my active lifestyle, there are days when I’d rather go home and crawl under the duvet, even though I have no good reason to do so.
If you have those days too, how do you overcome it? How do you switch off the negative thoughts that the duvet is so snuggly and warm and haul your reluctant self through a workout?
(And for clarity’s sake, I’ll just say I’m not talking about the days when you’re not feeling well and should probably listen to your body and abstain from the training. That‘s a whole different topic.)
I find having a training buddy is a helpful strategy, though it does hit a bit of a fail when that person goes on holiday, as mine is right now. She’s in Thailand, the lucky thing, and I miss her. The gym just isn’t the same without her conversation.
So, clearly you can’t rely on other people all the time. I have a number of strategies for those days when I’d rather be anywhere but training.
For me, sometimes the biggest battle is actually getting there, be it out on the street for that run, or getting into the gym. Once I’ve made it through that initial step, I am likely to give my workout 100 per cent. It’s the “I’m here now, I might as well make it count” effect.
If I’m having a rough day, I’ll also break the difficult part of my workout down into sections. Say I’m on the arc machine and it’s hard. I’ll tell myself I’ll get to halfway and if it’s still hurting, I’ll drop down a level. Of course, usually by the time I’m halfway, I figure I’ve done the worst bit, I might as well carry on.
This is a strategy that also works well with running for me. The homeward stretch always feels easier, so the biggest battle is getting to it. I create incentives in my head and before I know it, I’ve hit my rhythm.
Of course, there are some days when all the positive thoughts in the world don’t help. The workout is a grind and there is no joy to be found anywhere.
On those days, I grit my teeth, remind myself that I will feel fantastic when I finish, and in a manner that would make Nike proud, I just do it. And then proceed to feel fantastic, with a mix of endorphin rush, accomplishment and sheer relief that it’s over.
So, what are your strategies to overcome negative inner chat?
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I think I've mentioned my lack of internal motivation before, so my techniques usually involve doing things with someone else - I swim with my Mum, I do Zumba & lunchtime walks with my workmates, I climb & ski with friends. I used to run with a friend, but she got pregnant & then got pregnant again, so that's her out for a couple more years. I've stepped up the gym attendance recently (turns out I'm getting old & now need to train for skiing, Oh, the indignity) and about the only way to get myself there is to be super organised & mean to myself. I lay everything out the night before, to the point of packing my work clothes so that it's easier to put on gym gear, turn off snooze on my alarm so that I have to get up first time. In the morning, while I'm still groggy, I turn on the light & toss off the duvet so I have no choice but to get up.
I just remind myself that, the faster I run, the sooner I'll finish ... and the sooner I can get home to watch my recording of the Shortland Street omnibus ;-)
I hate the gym and always get a membership with good intentions and like most people use it to the extream for about a month and then stop altogether. Im more likely to go if I have a friend to go with cause i cant let them down if we have a plan to meet but if its just me then i dont care and will happily go home and curl up on the couch with dinner and Shortland St. I have just started zumba and the plus side is i know heaps of people in the class so its like getting to hang out with friends i dont see much, it is a good incentive to go, plus its heaps of fun.
Walking is one thing i dont mind doing on my own as long as its a nice setting like the many bush walks around wellington. I just crank up my I-pod and go for it, its fantastic 'me' time....Roll on summer :o)
Having running buddies is the only thing that gets me out of bed at 5.30 on a cold, wet, windy Wellington morning. If I didn't have them doing the same thing then I absolutely could not haul my sorry ass out of bed. I totally lack motivation on my own.
I constantly remind myself that 90% of the battle is getting out the door. I also like to get my $$$$ worth so if I go to the gym once a week its a $15 session, whereas if I can go 3 times its only $5 per time... Fail to go and its an instant $15 donation! eek.
I play games with myself too when out running... Run to the top of the hill then you are allowed to walk the next 2 lampposts. Of course once I get to the top I realise its easier now so keep going.
I love not having a training buddy. Must run by myself!
If it's on my training plan. I'm doing it.
Some days I am really tired and need a rest but other days I just HTFU and train.
I go to the gym for two reasons, the first being if I'm fit then my asthma drops to nothing and I can stop all medications (other than coffee of course!), the second being with the amount of food I eat (om nom nom cupcakes nom) if I didn't exercise I'd be the size of a VW combi.
I've just changed gym buddies, which has seen a 100% change in gym routine, to a much better situation. Previously I did machine cardio and free weights which was only acceptable when I had a gym buddy to go with as otherwise it was mind numbing. New gym buddy is keen on classes so dragged me to several classes. This has proved excellent, and now I am happily going to three types of classes because they're such fun that I don't require somebody else to kick me into motivation. So my "head game" has changed completely to the point where in the three days Saturday to Monday inclusive I went to four classes.
Over summer I add in mountain biking, which requires company for me to enjoy it, but adds in enough fear and adrenaline that it's kind of exercise, and kind of just playing at being a kid again. Albeit an older, heavier, slower healing, and much less fit kid!
I work through lunch, then swim in my lunchbreak. Much easier to get motivated when I'm already awake, its light outside, and I know I will have a lane (sometimes a whole pool) to myself.
Routine works - get out of bed, put on gym clothes and get to gym. Don't stop and think about it, just do it! If I start thinking about missing a session I think about how bad I'll feel in an hours time and it normally works, but I have also learnt that sometimes you just can't get your head around excercise and that is OK too - guilt trips too often make excercise a chore.
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I find enjoyment is the biggest factor. If I enjoy something I'm more likely to do it.
I tended to get bored at the gym so unless I had to be there while waiting for a ride home, then I tended to find excuses not to go. Having discovered indoor climbing, I've found something that I enjoy, challenges me and provides the workout benefit. Win. :-)
The other way to improve enjoyment is having someone to go with. Rarely went out for bike rides unless there were a group of us going. Made the rides more fun and often we'd push each other harder too.