Athletics are a part of many people's daily routine. You get up, go to work or school, then maybe do your workout before going home to relax a bit. If you are committed to getting better, you probably do this anywhere from three to six times a week depending on what the workout is. Now, this kind of routine takes some dedication, but I'm actually looking at the scientific side of the workout.
Dedication is one thing, but how fit you are is another. Maybe you aren't working out, but you want to be. It can be very tough for you to get going if you are out of shape. The first week or two are going to be very rough for you, and there is no way you can avoid that. However I can tell you that you will make it. Pushing your body is probably about 90% mental, assuming that your goals are realistic. It all has to do with your attitude, and eventually, probably within a month, it will get easier. Scientifically speaking its all in the brain. Sure your muscles are the ones doing the work, but it is the brain that tells them how far they can go, and for most people that is further than you think.
This is something my track coach is constantly telling us, he says they are pushing us hard because they know we can go harder than we think we can. It's something that is tough to grasp but it is actually true. Your brain likes to shut down before it actually reaches 100% of anything, because its hard to do that. When exercising this number is probably around eighty five percent. Meaning your brain is telling you your done, it is your job to fight that and say you can go harder. The mental aspect of conditioning is something that is often overlooked and is definitely the most important. There is nothing you can do without the brain, and if you fail to understand how your brain works you will never reach your full potential in anything you choose to participate in.
Take me for example. I thought my full potential was reached in my running ability. That is until I went out for track. I am still a JV athlete, but I have dropped about 15 seconds in my 800 time this year and I'm looking to do even better than that before the end of this year. This is something that I never thought I would be able to do having tendonitis and Osgood Schlatter disease in both of my knees. I was able to overcome this and break my personal best for this race. There is no way I could have done this without joining track, and also doing research of my own, to figure out that I can push myself much harder than I thought I could.
All I'm trying to say in this blog, is that even if you aren't in the best shape of your life, you can still definitely get what you want. It's not all about the way your body looks, it's how far you can push yourself, using your mental capacity. Set goals, achieve them, set new ones, rinse and repeat.
No comments:
Post a Comment