Every single day there is breaking news about what you should be eating, how much sleep you should be getting, how much exercise is good for you, how many calories you consume….the list goes on. With it hard enough to make up your own mind on how you are going set goals for a healthy lifestyle and measure your progress, you don’t need to be surrounded by conflicting advice to confuse you even more. Find a way that suits you, and stick to it.
So, running. It couldn’t be easier – we were born to hunt, to run and catch our meals for survival. So why do we hear excuse after excuse as to why running is not part of our everyday lives. ‘It’s too far’, ‘I’m tired’, ‘I’m just not a natural runner’. The fact of the matter is, it is all in your mind.
So many things can affect our performance and ability to run a certain amount of miles in any given training session – a stressful day at work, not enough food, a positive or negative attitude or simple just not feeling like running on that particular day. It is so easy to get stuck in a routine, where your mind clouds your body and you think to yourself ‘I didn’t complete X miles yesterday, I’m not going to be able to do it today’, and this can trail from one day to the next and lead to into a running rut.
In order to combat these issues, it is advisable to mix up your training as much as possible.
Don’t run every day – if you run the same route day in, day out of course you are only going to get bored. Mix up your route, try flat and hilly courses and even drive out to a new place to explore as you go. Your mind will be taken up with all of the beautiful sights and sounds, new shops and big houses, you won’t be thinking about your tired legs, pumping heart and dry mouth.
Include classes – alternating between long runs and a high intensity cardio class will improve your fitness by miles and you’ll learn new tips and tricks with every class you attend. Don’t know what to do? Join a cheap gym and ask a trainer. It is their job at the end of the day and they are always happy to help. Take advantage of trial sessions offered by your gym or outside bootcamps in your area. Take a friend along and you can have a chat whilst working out.
Train your brain. Have you ever heard the saying ‘mind over matter – I don’t mind and you don’t matter’. Apply this to your running, I don’t mind one more mile or I’m out of breath but it does not matter. Listen to a podcast, plan your dinner, mentally write your shopping list. Absolutely anything apart from thinking about the finish line…..
I absolutely promise you, if you make these small changes to your normally exercise routine – you will see improvements within no time. Try it!
This is a sponsored guest post. Compensation was received.
Love the tip at the end about thinking of other things to help you get through the run! Often times at the end I’m mentally pushing myself and talking myself up which is nice….but on the easier runs thinking about preparing dinner or a making a mental to do list is a great idea!