360fit - Pushing Your Workouts Farther

Have you ever had a hard workout and thought, "I can't do anymore?" The reason it feels so hard is because you're making it that way.

If you think something is hard, it will be. The more you create something as hard in your head, the harder it will be. When I was a teenager I thought I would be crazy strong if I could squat 315 lbs. (I thought it would impress girls too but that's another story.)

Every time I worked out I thought of how hard it was going to be squatting that weight. Now in a few years I could do that and more. But along the way something funny happened. Whenever I squatted 315 it felt super heavy. Heavier than 405 and heavier than 450.

Of course that doesn't make much sense, but it was how it felt. Even to this day, almost 20 years later I still find 315 crushingly heavy, much more so than heavier weight.

That's because I created a belief in my head that it would be tough and I still have that in there. I've made it feel that way, and made squats tougher for myself.



Now my rule is whenever I do anything I find hard in a workout I tell myself, "This is easy! This is easy!" The more I say it the easier I find the workout feels. Even though I know I'm tricking myself into it, I still will work harder and get a much better workout because I did it.

So next time you do something hard in the gym, think, "This is easy! I can do this!" and you'll be able to do it much more easily. Remember, whatever your head thinks, your body will feel.

Devin Sherrington is a master personal trainer and owner of 360fit in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He lives in Fletcher's Lake with his children Reign and Journey.

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