This post is by Sheila Hart-O’Connor of www.writerathart.com.
“I can’t.”
“This is too hard.”
“I don’t know if I can handle it.”
Six months ago when I began attending Spinning classes at my health club, these were statements that often cycled through my head. Not because I inherently lacked confidence or because I had any physical limitations, but because I was scared of pushing myself. Spinning is a tough workout, and for beginners it can be downright overwhelming.
If you haven’t tried a Spinning class before, it’s much like riding a stationary bike, with the added benefits of a certified instructor, a range of riding “courses”, and energizing music to keep you motivated. Typically, the bike is specially designed for Spinning, equipped with adjustable seats, handles, and pedals to give riders maximum flexibility and comfort. Courses can include long, uphill climbs, heavy resistance, intervals, and “jumping”—moving between the seated position and standing—all while maintaining a target heart rate to help strengthen and challenge your cardiovascular fitness.
As I attended more Spinning classes, I noticed that I was able to maintain a faster pace, ride for longer periods, and even work through heavier resistance. That’s not to say the class ever became easy, but I did overcome small battles each time. But even after a few months, I still experienced periods when my mind wanted to control my progress. When my legs started to hurt, my mind told me that I wanted to slow down. When the ride was tough, I thought I wanted to ease up on the speed. My mind was actually convincing me that working harder just wasn’t possible.
If you think you can’t do it, then you won’t
Finally, one day as we closed in on the last challenge of a long and grueling course, the instructor said to us, “If you think you can’t do it, then you won’t.” At once, I realized she was completely right. I started to wonder, what if I just didn’t think of anything at all, and instead focused my energy on simply moving my body?
Suddenly, pushing through the course wasn’t nearly as difficult. Even after 45 minutes of continuous activity, the pain in my legs was replaced with amazing energy. I felt free from my mind. I felt really alive.
Here’s what I’ve taken away from this experience, and what I continue to use as my fitness mantra: If we decide something is true in our minds, it’s going to dictate the way our bodies react. But if we can learn to turn off our minds and just let our bodies do the work, we quickly realize how much stronger we are physically and, as a result, become stronger mentally.
Have you had the experience of breaking through negative thought to find greater stamina? Share your thoughts with us.
Sheila Hart-O’Connor is a freelance copywriter that enjoys helping businesses and individuals build long-lasting relationships with their customers through effective and relevant online communication. Her work and accomplishments can be viewed online at www.writerathart.com.
About Guest Contributor
I struggle with that all the time. When I run (I’ve been training to boost my 5K speed), I’m always thinking – “What if I can’t keep up this pace?” Of course, somehow it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. What if, instead, I just kept up the pace until I couldn’t anymore? Instead of worrying about running out of steam, just see what happens. I can’t say I’ve completely drilled the message into my relatively thick skull, but it’s helping.
You are what you think, this is so true. You have to change your thinking to change your actions.
Bernice
4 ways to be like the energizer bunny
Mind is more powerful than body.
Great story, and an important truth. It sounds like you discovered meditation by accident! Realizing you can control the “voices in your head” and that they don’t control you, will make you stronger, smarter and happier and help you in more places than just your cycling class! I love articles like this, that promote self-awareness and mental-power without directly mentioning meditation, etc. The reason being, that I believe many more people would follow and benefit from these practices if they weren’t scared away by the foreign, Eastern-philosophy aura around them. If you don’t do it already, I hope you take this opportunity to look into Yoga and meditation, “beyond the gym”, because a “quiet” mind can accomplish anything!
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