Posted by Laurie Crowley on
January 11, 2012 02:58
It started back in November as I was working out. My partner and I were on a new
weight lifting routine, and it was tough. We were working only 2 muscles a day; 4 sets of
25 reps, with 3-4 exercises for each muscle. Our leg workout was the most lethal of all. I
could barely walk after the first leg workout day. It was a killer program we were on for 6
weeks. By week 2 of the legs, I was actually dreading going to the gym , knowing what
was in store for me: hamstrings; leg extensions, curls, and presses; squats and calf
raises. There were 2 specific leg exercises we alternated back and forth with that were
especially difficult. I was hurting by only the 13th rep, yet still had 12 more to go,
followed by another 3 sets. Counting up to 25 seemed impossible. That’s when I did “it.”
I have been known to talk to myself during my workouts. “Come on Crowley,” “You can
do it,” or “Push” are typical self pep-talk strategies I’ve found myself using in the past.
But during this workout, the thoughts soaring thru my brain were more or less, “I don’t
think I can do this...how am I going to make it?” Something needed to change if I was
going to finish, so after each rep I began saying one of the following to myself: “You got
this,” “You can do this” and “This is easy.”
Leg curl 1 - “You got this.” Leg curl 2 - “You can do this.” Leg curl 3 - “This is easy.” Leg
curl 4 - “You got this.” Leg curl 5 - “You can do this.” Leg curl 6 - “This is easy.” On I
went until I reached rep #25. Then I started all over again for the next exercise set, leg
extensions. This went on for both curls and extensions: 4 sets each of 25 reps.
You wanna know something? I finished! Encouraging myself thru all 25 reps of each set
totally helped. Speaking life made a difference. I use this self pep-talk strategy in my
workouts all the time now. When we started our “600’s” program, it came in handy when
doing 100 reps in a row, especially when it was shoulders day. “You got this,” “You can
do this” and “This is easy” helped me finish. I even used it out running the other day
when my body didn’t want to go anymore. For each stride I simply told myself, “You got
this,” “You can do this” and “This is easy.”
What’s going on in our head governs what we do and how we live our lives. I see it in
my athletes all the time. They get down on themselves, then mentally convince
themselves that they are no good and can’t do it. This thinking totally dictates how they
play and perform. I’ll admit, it’s way easier to think negatively and dwell on those
thoughts. But that’s just plain laziness and a dead-end trap. I only got thru my workouts
by changing the way I thought; by changing how I self-spoke to myself; by changing my
focus from “This is hard, impossible and I can’t do it,” to “You got this,” “You can do this”
and “This is easy.”
Life (and working out!) is dominated by what we allow our minds to dwell on. What are
you letting dictate your thought life during the “reps” of life???