As much as we fixate on what it takes to meet our fitness goals from a physical standpoint, we need to make sure we’re also equipped mentally. As with anything else, your mindset is vital because it heavily dictates the actions you carry out and ultimately decides whether you even give yourself a chance to accomplish the goals you set. Working out is no different, so it’s essential that you develop a proper workout mindset before you can make any physical gains.
To do this, it’s important that you develop a positive but realistic outlook. Be ambitious, but understand what it actually takes to get there. At the same time, because building strength and muscle isn’t a quick and easy task, you need to be ready for the bumps along the way and know how to put them in perspective so you don’t become totally overwhelmed.
In this post, I want to discuss three things you need to understand and accept in order to successfully achieve and maintain any progress in the gym.
Focus on the Bigger Picture
Progress takes time, and during that time there may be a lot of things that try to throw you off course. First, since you won’t be seeing much visible improvement day to day or even week to week, you might begin to question your commitment. Is any of this really worth doing? Will this actually lead anywhere, or am I just wasting my time? On top of that, circumstances like having a busy schedule or simply feeling lazy will also affect you at times and make you lose motivation and drive.
It’s inevitable that you’ll encounter these kinds of situations. However, you’ll have a much easier time persisting through them if you have long-term commitment to a larger goal you want to achieve, whether that’s related to your health, fitness, or physique.
If you’re committed to reaching a specific goal, then working out simply becomes a means of getting there. You quickly get used to the idea of going to the gym every day as merely being a step in the process. You don’t stop to think about it too much, and as a result, it’s easier to develop a habit and stay consistent.
On the other hand, if you’re too caught up in the present, and your goal is merely to make it to the gym each day with no bigger picture in mind, then every day you’d have to start from scratch and find the necessary energy to work out. You’d essentially be running on pure motivation, and as a result, you’ll be much more susceptible to giving up when that motivation eventually runs out.
If you’d like a more in-depth look at how to maintain your workout routine in the long-run, I’ve written a post on this called Motivation vs. Consistency: Which Gets You Results?.
It’s a Constant Learning Process
If you’ve just begun working out and have been reading various posts I’ve written regarding optimal workout, recovery, and dieting habits, you might be kind of lost. It’s a lot of information to process and comprehend, because the fact is that there’s always something more you can learn when it comes to fitness.
However, you don’t have to worry about getting everything correct right from the start. It’s impossible to learn and remember so much all at once.
If anything, you don’t want to be too hard on yourself in the beginning, because that may only increase the likelihood that you burn out and give up entirely. Rather, start by building a good foundation: get into the habit of training regularly and eating properly. Only when that’s established should you begin changing and tweaking things, and even then, don’t try to do too much all at once.
At first, it’s alright if what you’re doing isn’t the most efficient or effective. Embrace the process of making mistakes and learning from them. Accept the fact that there are going to be many unknowns initially, but that you’ll start to figure things out with time and experience.
Permanent Change Requires Permanent Action
When it comes to exercising, dieting, or any other habits related to your health and fitness, you must be able to sustain it if you want to see results.
Many people complain that they aren’t able to achieve their fitness goals, but then it’s revealed that whenever they try to do something about it, they stop after a short period for one reason or another. I was consistently working out for a while but…I tried cutting for a bit but…I took this supplement for some time but…
It’s especially frustrating when the reason they stopped was that they thought what they were doing wasn’t effective. There’s no instant gratification when it comes to fitness; in most cases, it’s not that a certain habit or routine was ineffective, they just didn’t stick around long enough to experience the benefits.
What’s more, when you do get the results you want, maintaining those results will require permanent action. If you stop working out, stop watching your diet, and stop doing the things that got you to where you are, then you’ll quickly reverse all of your progress. You may not have to implement what you’ve been doing up to this point to such an intense degree forever, but you also won’t be able to just completely abandon it.
For example, if you’ve reached a point at which you don’t feel the need to get any bigger or stronger, you wouldn’t need to continue working towards progressive overload, but you’d still need to keep going to the gym if you wanted to preserve your current level of muscle mass.
If you’re serious about improving your health and fitness, it’s important that you’re willing and able to make lasting changes to your lifestyle.
One Step Closer to Success
Achieving your desired physical state first requires getting into the right mental state. Building muscle can be an extremely tough endeavor when every obstacle takes you by surprise and you have no clue how to handle it. You can only take so much of this before you’re overcome with frustration, defeat, and a desire to quit.
However, now that you know how to better set expectations and anticipate the challenges that lie ahead, you’ll be much more resilient in the face of adversity. Even when things get hard and don’t seem to be going right, as long as you’re patient with the process and patient with yourself, you’ll find a way to work it all out.
