Why You Should Treat Your Mindset Like You Treat Your Workouts

Let’s talk about mindfulness and mental fortitude.

When it comes to strength and resilience, most athletes, body movers or weightlifting enthusiasts are quick to claim their allegiance and vow to work hard and play harder, but when it comes to the mindfulness aspect of building a sound mind independent of physical ability, their is a general “ick factor” and blubbering consensus of “woo-woo” and “too spiritual.”

Photo by Sven Mieke on Unsplash

I’d like to challenge the discomfort that meditation and mindfulness may bring to you by changing the name and introducing science backed research that not only encourages daily mind practice but proves that there’s less “woo” than you might think.

There’s no doubting that your brain is the core of everything that you experience. Sure, you have sensory cells that collect information, but ultimately that information goes back to the brain to be processed and redistributed as action/thought. While this explanation is vastly oversimplified, the basic principle is honest. Why would we negate the benefits and power of building a strong and resilient mindset with the same dedication that we show up to the gym?

Meditation: 

Our modern day lives don’t often allow for moments of silence, where our conscious mind is brought to stillness. A few minutes of deep breathing and intentional meditation can be beneficial for your central nervous system, helping to lower stress and inhibit relief from our fight or flight response. 

Here’s what the research says:

Mindfulness May Increase Your Immune Response: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/five_ways_mindfulness_meditation_is_good_for_your_health

May Reduce Age Related Memory Loss: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26445019/

Meditation Balances the Body Systems: https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/transcendental-meditation#1

Gratitude:

While this one may seem a little ridiculous, you’d be surprised what intentional gratitude can do to your mindset. We are inundated with comparison through social media and even in our personal lives, often fueling jealousy and inadequacy. You may not even know that you’re doing it, but finding the joy and the gratitude in even the most mundane moments of your day can sometimes be the difference between a bad day and a brighter outlook.

This isn’t to say that those suffering from depression should just “change their outlook.” It’s often much more complicated than that, but actively addressing mindset in whatever way works for you is just as important (if not more) than grinding it out in the WOD.

Here’s what the research says: 

The Neuroscience of Gratitude & How It Affects the Brain: https://positivepsychology.com/neuroscience-of-gratitude/

Gratitude Can Increase Your Physical Health: https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier

Journaling:

Number three in the “that-is-stupid-and-too-silly-for-my-big-masculine-self-to-consider” list. Over 60,000 thoughts fly through our brains every day. Providing your brain with an outlet, like journaling, can offer perspective during later perusal. Being able to brain dump on a blank page can be cathartic in releasing an emotion that you’ve been burying. No one is exempt from needing to examine their emotions. No one benefits from keeping everything bottled inside. 

Here’s what the research says:

Journaling Can Make You Mentally Stronger: https://www.lifehack.org/374972/science-explains-why-keeping-a-journal-can-make-you-mentally-stronger

Building Good Habits - Brute Strength Podcast: https://brutestrength.libsyn.com/podcast/page/8/size/brutestrengthtraiining.com

Photo by Hipcravo on Unsplash

I grew up believing that crying was for the weak, and Emotions were meant to be dealt with through sweat. But, what happens when your coping mechanism, your medicine, is no longer available? What happens when injury or life circumstance gets in the way? 

Working out and physical movement are incredible, but mental fortitude and mindfulness are also aspects of the body that need attention. Call it self care. Call it mental fortitude. Whatever form the term needs to hold, take it and put in the work. After all, we are all just trying to be the best versions of ourselves that we can be. 

Right?