I Think I Can, I Think I Can: Workout Mantras

the trainer’s toolbox

Some workouts are a breeze.  A jog with a friend on a sunny morning or a favourite fitness class can whiz by in a flash.  Other days, not so much.  Maybe you’re trying to shave a minute or two off your 5K time.  Maybe you’re adding a new, evil – and super effective, your trainer swears – squat exercise to your routine.  Or maybe you’re just not running on a full tank of gas.

How do you motivate yourself?  Well, an iPod comes in handy.  A mirror or a point on the wall to fix your eyes can help you stay focused.  Counting your reps or pacing your breaths are great ways to keep your heart and mind calm while you dig deep and get the job done.  But sometimes, you just need a little something else.  Sometimes you feel desperate.  You want to quit.  You are at the end of your rope.

This is when you need a mantra.  When clients are pushing themselves to complete a speed interval on the treadmill or to finish a set of terrible, evil crunches, I sometimes give them a mantra.  I plant a little thought to inspire their minds and help them finish the task I know they’re capable of finishing.  Here are a few of my favourites, for my clients and myself:

• If I stop I will regret it
• If I stop this will be just as hard the next time
• This will only be a memory in a few minutes/seconds
  

  Sometimes a person or memory can be an inspiration when you need it

• Every step/rep makes me stronger/fitter/faster (choose the adjective that suits your goal)
• In a few minutes this will all be over and the pain with it
• This will get easier but only if I stick with it
• This too shall pass
• I can do anything for 1 minute/5 minutes/3 reps (whatever you are trying to finish)
• I’ve already done 28 minutes/8 reps so I know I can do 2 minutes/4 reps more (wherever you are in your workout/set)
• My body can do this
• I am made for this

And now for my personal workout mantra when I need some perspective and push to reach a goal.  This line never fails me.  If you have any past experience of physical pain and triumph you can use this line – mommies, especially, can relate this line to your experiences in childbirth:

This is not the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

Now I bet you can do anything if you can keep that in mind.