Mental Toughness And Extreme Exercise

When we envision extreme athletes pushing themselves to heroic levels of physical performance we usually think that they are able to do so because they have incredibly high levels of fitness and great genetic talent. We imagine that their bodies are what allow them to perform at levels for greater than that of the common man. Whether it's an ultra-marathoner, a tennis champion or profession cyclist, we think that it's all the years of training that have allowed their bodies to adapt to that level of stress and excel. However, that's only half the story. The truth is that these top level athletes are able to perform under incredible stress and succeed because they have dominated their minds and developed iron wills. What does this have to do with you? When you begin exercising you will need to consider your will power as well as your body. In today's article we're going to show you how to begin toughening up your mental strength as well as that of your body to allow you to perform at the pro-level.

Imagine that you are holding a plank position. That's where you are in push-up position but resting on your forearms. You've been told to hold it for as long as you can. Ten seconds in you begin to shake. Twenty seconds in your shoulders begin to burn. Thirty seconds in you can't take it anymore and collapse. What happened? Did your muscles give out? No—what happened is that your mind is not used to being in that state of intensity. You are not used to feeling your body push itself beyond its comfort zone, so you quit. Somebody who is mentally tough would still feel the same level of exertion, but they would be able to hang in there regardless, and continue performing.

What does this mean for you? When you are exercising, when you are striving to improve, you need to realize that your body will often have more to give, but that your mind will hold you back because you are scared of the intensity, the level of burn, or how hard you are being forced to work. You will think, "I can't do any more," when in reality you are saying, "I won't do any more." At that point you need to simply hang in there, recognize that you are being mentally weak, and challenge yourself to hold on and push yourself harder.

About the Author

<a href="http://www.extremefitnessresults.com/insanity-workout.html">Visit Our Website for More Info</a> about <a href="http://blog.extremefitnessresults.com/product-reviews/insanity-workout-reviews/">insane workout reviews</a>.