Just the other day, in between brutal听sets of squats at my local gym,听I had an epiphany: training hard is really hard. You may be thinking,听Yeah, that鈥檚 not rocket science.听But there鈥檚 a difference between knowing something听intellectually and knowing it in your bones.
Marketing has conditioned us to believe in听body hacking and quick fixes, and the very fact that workouts hurt听gets in the way of many people starting and sticking with exercise programs. Unfortunately, there鈥檚听no silver bullet that makes a hard workout easy. But the following听tips and practices will help you stick to a tough training plan, through low-motivation days and low-energy workouts, to get the results you want鈥攏o magic pill or program required.
Pick Something Fun听and Start Slow
People are more likely to stick with an exercise program when they choose an activity they enjoy and increase intensity at a self-determined rate, according to research done by听, an exercise scientist at Iowa State University. So听if you feel like you鈥檙e听fighting against your body when you鈥檙e running, consider trying a different type of workout. Shift听to a strength-training program听or start riding your bike. And resist听the urge to do too much too soon. 鈥淐onsistency is key,鈥 says Matt Dixon, head coach at Purple Patch, a triathlon-training business听in San Francisco. 鈥淭he surest way to real confidence and enduring performance is to progressively layer training, slowly building on what you did in the past, adding layers over time.鈥 In other words, don鈥檛 just start training hard overnight. Ease into it to avoid both physical and mental burnout.
Just Show Up听
When you鈥檙e听low on motivation,听the best thing you can do to change your mental state is to change your physical state. In the words of endurance athlete and self-improvement guru听Rich Roll, 鈥淢ood follows action.鈥 Long-standing research,听 in the听Journal of Personality and Social听Psychology听in the 1980s,听has found that the more you try to suppress a certain thought (for example, I really don鈥檛 want to exercise today), the stronger听that thought becomes. ,听published听in the journal听Cognition and Emotion听in 2010, found that the same thing holds true for emotions: the more you try to change the way you feel, the more stuck in your current mood you鈥檙e liable to be. But if you simply take action, even if it feels like you鈥檙e听forcing yourself to do so, changes in your thoughts and feelings are often close behind. This explains why the first mile for a runner, or the warm-up for a powerlifter, is often the hardest part of the workout. Show up and get听started, and the energy and motivation will follow.
Don鈥檛 Go It Alone
The day I had my epiphany at the gym, I was with two friends who I鈥檝e been training with for the past few years. Without their company, I鈥檓 not sure I would have ever been听able to push myself so hard, let alone found the will to continue forging ahead. In a听comprehensive analysis听published in the journal听Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, researchers reviewed over 30 studies in search of factors that consistently motivate people to start and stick with exercise programs. One of the strongest motivators they found听was having a supportive community.
As for finding the ideal training partner, a听听from Kansas State University suggests you鈥檇 be wise to find someone who has a similar fitness level as听you or is even a bit better. Researchers found that when people exercised with someone who听they perceived as slightly fitter than themselves, they increased their workout duration and intensity by up to 200 percent.
Don鈥檛 Rely on Willpower
A common mantra among听my little training group is, 鈥淒on鈥檛 think, just go,鈥 a simple idea that aligns with the latest behavioral science. show that the more we rely on willpower (i.e., thinking) to get us through challenging activities, the worse we perform and the greater our risk for burnout becomes. Better than counting听on willpower is trying to eliminate the need for it altogether. On a macro level, this means making it as easy as possible to get to the gym by doing things like prepacking your bag the night before and finding spots to train near your house. On a micro level, the less thinking you need to do in the gym, the better. Plan your workout beforehand鈥攐r even better, get a coach鈥攕o when you鈥檙e in the midst of training, all you need to do is execute.
Be Patient
What feels hard today might not feel as hard tomorrow. 鈥淔or most people, the plateau can be a form of purgatory, flushing out hidden motivations,鈥 writes the late George Leonard, in his classic book .听鈥淎t the heart of it, mastery is a practice.听Mastery is staying on the path.鈥 Behind every breakthrough performance听are countless hours听of hard work听and听someone staying on track when it would鈥檝e听been easier to give up. The above practices can听help you do the same.
Brad Stulberg () coaches on performance and well-being and writes 国产吃瓜黑料鈥檚 Do It Better column. He is the bestselling author of the books听听and听. Subscribe to his newsletter听.听