Use The Power Of Positive Thinking To Boost Your Gains

Don’t underestimate the power of positive thinking when you are trying to get the most from your exercise program.

Ask anyone who has taken their bodies to the next level, whether it be losing 50 pounds or gaining 20 pounds of muscle mass, what they think about when they exercise and chances are, those thoughts will be positive.

We are all exercising for various reasons but when you get right down to it, we all want to improve.

We all want to take our bodies and minds to a different level and start to feel good about who we are and how we look to other people. Where do you start and how do you get there? First, you have to adjust your thinking.

Knowing you can bench press 250 pounds is a hell of a lot different than convincing yourself that you can’t bench press 250 pounds. Convince yourself that you can and you will, convince yourself that you can’t and you won’t. Simple as that.

A recent study by Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer suggests that positive thinking may big a huge factor in the way we condition ourselves to exercise. In the study, 84 maids were divided into two groups. The first group was told that the work they did was good work and how many calories were burned doing the tasks. They were also told that the work they did satisfied the Surgeon Generals definition of an active lifestyle. The second group was given no information at all.

After a month had passed, Langer and her team returned to take physical measurements of the women. All women in group one experienced a drop in weight, waist to hip ratio, and blood pressure as compared to the women in group two, who had been given no information at all. What does all this mean?

Well, it suggests that there is a direct relationship between your brain knowing it can do something and telling your body to actually do it. Positive thinking can have a huge impact on your weight training program and how it affects your brain and body. If your brain is convinced that it can do something, it is only a matter of time that before your body actually does it. However, if your brain is convinced that it can’t do something, it never will until your brain tells it otherwise.

Do this right now. Think about how your going to bench press 20 more pounds or squat another 3 extra reps the next time your in the gym. Tell yourself that there is nothing in this world that’s going to stop your from building 18 inch arms or lose another 30 pounds. As you are weight training, tell yourself how much more muscle your building with each repetition or how much fat you are burning with each passing minute on the treadmill.

Always keep positive - Even during meal times and during the day. Think about how each protein drink or healthy meal is getting your closer to your goals.

Keep thinking positive and you’ll reach your goals in half the time!

All the best,

Blake