Program your thoughts to succeed in the gym with these mindset approaches. Use your mind and the power of positive thinking to improve your muscle development. If you're someone who can't maintain a consistent exercise routine, don't worry, you're not alone. Even athletes strive to stay focused and consistent to improve their performance.
Instead, start with mini-workouts and divide your gym session into smaller parts. Doing this will make your training more mentally manageable and you'll be able to stay focused and motivated. On days when you feel low motivation, reward yourself with some kind of small incentive. It could be anything, like watching an episode of your favorite Netflix show or getting a 10-minute neck massage.
For example, your goal was to do a 20-minute chest workout, but you couldn't last the set amount of time. Don't be discouraged, try better next time because that's what helps you achieve your goals. Aerobic exercises, such as running, swimming, cycling, walking, gardening and dancing, have been shown to reduce anxiety and depression.3 It is proposed that these improvements in mood are due to an increase in blood circulation to the brain induced by exercise and an influence on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and, therefore, to physiological reactivity to stress.3 This physiological influence is probably mediated by the communication of the HPA axis with several regions of the brain, including the limbic system, which controls motivation and mood; the amygdala, which generates fear in response to stress; and the hippocampus, which performs an important role in memory formation, as well as in mood and motivation. Research shows that people who exercise regularly have better mental health and emotional well-being, and lower rates of mental illness.
