The Mental Side of Success at the Gym

Written by: Emily Powell, Personal Trainer @ O2 Fitness Chatham

If you want to be successful in the gym, you must know to what you are working.  Having a clear goal will dictate the path you take and the work you do everyday; whereas without a goal your efforts would be scattered and its possible that you never feel like anything is achieved.

Increase your success at O2 Fitness by:

1. Finding your values
2. Setting a goal
3. Creating a habit
4. Continually improving

Find your values.

It's ok to be honest with yourself here, everybody's values differ and when it comes to fitness there are a thousand motivating factors for people, but you need to find what keeps you coming into the gym.

For some it could be to live to 100 years old, to live more vibrantly every day, to lose weight because the doctor said so, to lose weight for the summer, to improve in a sport and beat a tough competitor, to perform better at a physical job, or to be balanced in mind and body.

Tapping into what means the most to you, and moving that reason to the forefront of your mind every morning will give you a boost of motivation that gets you into the gym on a tough Monday or pushes you to finish a tough set with full intensity.  Make sure that your value is something that is undeniable to you: being there for your kids or being healthy in your senior years are two that come to mind.

Set a goal.

Giving yourself a measurable, attainable, and timely goal will push you to move forward and be accountable. Numbers on a scale or fitting into a certain pair of jeans are ways to measure progress and allow you to feel accomplished along your journey. If your goal is not weight related then you can set a baseline by doing fitness tests- ask an O2 Personal Trainer for an assessment- or use a 5k time, even the time it takes to climb the stairs to your office could be a measurable goal.

Create the habit.

This is one of the most important things you will do. I always say that even if its just for a few minutes or an easy workout, you always get to the gym on your scheduled days especially on the days you don’t feel like going.  By never breaking the habit you won’t lose the momentum needed for the journey to your goal.

Keep improving.

Once your body is in motion, it is important to keep improving. However the improvement usually comes with a cost: HARD WORK.  Give yourself a mantra, mental image, and imagine only positive outcomes while you suffer.  Use this when the body starts to give up.

Remember: the work never gets easier, you get stronger.  You will find, too, that as you use mental toughness to make your workouts stronger this will carry over into other aspects of life too.  Who knew that finishing that RPM class with intensity could translate into fighting for a promotion at work!?

Don’t just come to the gym everyday, come and be motivated to meet your goals –given your values- and improve constantly.  So much of our focus can be physical or nutritional, but be aware of the mental side of fitness and add to your success.