What is your mental game like ? Having the right attitude in training can make or break your training day. What if your mindset was the key to improving your nutrition, how often you workout, and even recovery. Some mental techniques include meditation, visualization, counselling, and hypnosis, all of which help the athlete learn to mentally push through the plateaus and overcome common breaking points in training.
There are 2 mindsets in training: Fixed and Growth. After reading through them you will identify with one of the two.
The fixed mindset is characterized by the belief that characteristics and qualities are set in stone and can’t be changed or improved.
The growth mindset believes that qualities are cultivated by effort: they can be changed, so human potential is limitless.
How can this affect your training? Well if you are in the fixed mindset you are placing your own limits on your potential. A fixed mindset athlete will avoid the challenge and just accept that they cannot improve. Being in a fixed mindset athlete means that failure is absolute. If a lift is missed or a task can’t be performed, this athlete accepts it and chooses not to challenge it.
To be honest, we have all be there at one time. I know I can say that sometimes there are movements I would rather say:” No I just can’t do it” and I want to leave it like that. However, who is stopping who’s potential? I am. On the other hand, when a challenge arises for a growth mindset athlete, they view challenges as opportunities to get better.
A fixed mindset athlete is most frustrated when effort is needed. Effort means that the task doesn’t come naturally to them, which is an affront to their natural capabilities. Fixed mindset athletes like tasks they can complete right away and with ease. Transition this to a growth mindset and think this is a way to strive for mastery. You can’t get better without challenges and struggles. Just because it’s “hard” doesn’t mean you should blow it off, use it as an opportunity to get better through struggles.
When you see someone succeed in fitness, what do you think of? Many people with fixed mindsets will think they can’t do better so why even try? Looking at individuals who are BETTER should increase the motivational factor.
Your mindset is YOUR choice. You have the ability to do great things if you are not in the way of your own success. Don’t derail your progress by sitting on the sideline. Know you can maximize your growth by putting your mindset in the right place.