Saturday, August 31, 2013

How Your Mind Messes with Your Workout

How Your Mind Messes with Your Workout

There’s no benefit of the doubt: People who merely consider giving up on a goal can see declines in performance, according to research from the University of Zurich.

In a study of amateur male marathoners, the more a runner questioned his abilities, the worse he performed—sometimes 15 minutes slower. As time passed, doubtful runners were less likely to want to finish or even believe they could.

The research points to two explanations: For one, stronger hesitations were linked with higher levels of stress, which negatively affected running performance. Secondly, pessimistic thoughts can trigger an entire mindset shift, mentally distancing you from your goals.

If you’re wavering over going for your first triathlon, or second-guessing yourself when the going gets tough, grab a pen and paper. A Dominican University study found that writing down goals and sharing them with others on a weekly basis made people 33 percent more likely to make good on their promise.

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