Don’t Cheat Yourself
Have you ever gotten tired from a workout and want to take a shortcut back home or stop for a few minutes? Have you ever told yourself you were going to get up at 5am and complete a workout and then ended up sleeping in? Or how about the “I’ve had a long day” excuse?
Don’t give into these emotions because you will make a habit of it in the future. When you give in, you are only cheating yourself in training. Why take a chance in jeopardizing something you have worked so hard for? Your mind has to be built like a brick wall, impenetrable to any outside negative thoughts.
For example, let’s say you fall victim to sleeping in on a 5am workout, which I have done a few times as well. Think of an exercise you hated the most in past few years, or even a conditioning exercise you did in high school. Use this exercise as punishment on top of what you were supposed to do in the morning. I use suicide runs in a mall parking lot in the late hours of the night. I touch every yellow line in the lot. In case you didn’t know, there is a ton of parking spaces in a mall parking lot, and when I finally get to the end, I realize that I have to start the workout I missed. This technique really helps if you ever think about skipping a workout or want to stop for some rest.
Never fear pushing too far or too hard. You may think you have hit your limit, but there is another line not too far away. To improve oneself, venture out into the unknown and conquer what was thought of as impossible. Then continue to build on the success and go further and further, extending the “limit.”
“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.” -Lance Armstrong
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3 Comments
Chris Hayes
August 7, 2012Amen. Preach On.
Brooke Hoyer
August 9, 2012The flip side is that you also need to know when to pull the plug. You need to know how to listen to your body when it says that it’s overworked and needs a rest. The best gains come from structured training that balances work load with rest. After all, you build during recovery.
I well understand that people not accustomed to hard efforts should be encouraged to push beyond what they might feel possible. But it’s just bad advice to do that all the time.
Discipline is good. Having the discipline to not skip your planned workouts. having the discipline to take it easy when you need to. I come to this from cycling — ride slow to go fast. I do a lot of easy riding but when I go hard, I go exceptionally hard. Makes me fast.
ICEdot Athletes » 5 Unusual Workouts
September 26, 2012[...] 3. Mall Parking Lot Suicides - I have touched on this exercise in a previous post, but it is worth mentioning again. I primarily use this workout as a disciplinary workout, but it can be used on a weekly basis. Find the nearest mall parking lot at nighttime (less cars) and pick a lane of parking spaces. Touch every parking space line until you have touched every line in the lot. Start at the end, touch one line and run back to where you started, then touch the second line and so on. Brace yourself, because this will take awhile! Taking 1st Place during Race the Reaper 6 mile Obstacle Course [...]