Fitness is strictly a physical activity for most people, as they think of components such as flexibility, endurance, and strength. Yet, Atlanta personal trainer David Reagan points out that the mind-body connection can play a crucial role in helping people achieve their fitness goals and enhance their performance.
There have been countless studies in recent years that have spoken to this, and to the general connection between mental health and physical health, for instance. That’s why incorporating mental practices into your workout routine can help you unlock a whole new level of physical potential.
Here’s how mental practices help you achieve peak physical performance.
Improves Your Concentration
Mental practice helps people concentrate on the task at hand and focus on each aspect of it so they can execute it properly and effectively.
Many people lose concentration when they are performing a physical activity that they’ve done thousands of times – whether it be an exercise at the gym or a sport. Because they’ve done it so many times before, they get mentally lazy and can haphazardly approach what’s ahead of them.
This can lead to mistakes, some of which could actually be dangerous to their bodies. Mental practice will help people rehearse what it is about to do before they actually try to do it.
Not only can mental practice reinforce good physical habits, but it can also help to improve resiliency. People tend to lose concentration the most after a failure, but mental practice can help turn that narrative on its head.
Keeps Your Emotions Under Control
There’s no separating physical activity from emotions. Even if you’re not participating in a high-stakes sport or physical competition, you may experience feelings of excitement, anxiety, pressure, and lack of confidence.
Mental practice can help you build these things up before you approach physical activity, which can help you execute it more effectively. Many people report being able to accomplish amazing physical feats, but only after they were able to “picture it in their mind.”
These emotions are all good things and can be turned into positives, but it’s also easy for them to get out of hand. When that happens, and they boil to the surface, people may end up not executing the physical activity as well as they could have.
Helps You Cope with an Injury
Physical activity will undoubtedly result in some sort of pain, injury, fatigue, and wear-and-tear; it’s just all part of the business.
David Reagan says that mental practice can help people cope with an injury they suffered. Athletes who suffer major injuries that require serious surgeries and a significant amount of time missed on the field can often find themselves depressed. This depression can then lead to recovery outcomes that aren’t good and a generally long recovery process.
Mental practice will help to develop neural pathways even without requiring people to move. This is why it’s a tool that can be so effective during rehabilitation, when people will need to maintain the skills they have while building back up their strength, mobility, and flexibility, to name a few.
About David Reagan
David Reagan is a NASM Certified personal trainer from Atlanta, GA, who specializes in weight loss, personalized workout plans, bodybuilding, and nutrition. He caters to high-end clients and executives, helping them achieve their fitness goals by accommodating their busy schedules. The client’s needs come first, and David’s fitness plan will set you up on the path to success.
