The Mental Side of Training

Gentle movement on the west coast of Vancouver Island (Sombrio Beach)

Let’s face it, you can’t execute on much if your head is not in the right space.

Have you ever tried to concentrate on something while you were feeling distraught or distracted, whether it be writing a report or doing a workout? Staring blankly at the screen, re-reading a paragraph 10 times, or feeling super unmotivated to exercise.

It feels like everything is impossible. Like you’re paralyzed and just need to sit with your thoughts until you regain a clear mind. This can take hours sometimes.

When you are going through emotional challenges, all basic tasks feel insurmountable. It’s much easier to take action when you feel steady, calm and optimistic. Any athlete will tell you that they perform best when they are clear minded and focused. The relationship between mental and physical performance is a catch-22. In other words, movement helps bring mental clarity, but clarity makes it easier to move in the first place. So it looks like all signs point to movement as a helpful way to begin to change your state.

And when I say just start moving, I mean it doesn’t have to be intense or complicated. Simply going for a short walk will do the trick. When your head is spinning, even walking may seem like the last thing you want to do, but I promise you will be in a better state upon your return. Just because you started the day in a heady whirlwind, doesn’t mean the rest of it will be that way. So, the adage of one foot in front of the other holds true and is very powerful if you can take that first step.

There are many ways to help you positively change your mental state such as listening to music, journaling, talking to someone, or partaking in other art forms. But between increasing blood flow throughout your body, and encouraging endorphins to be released, movement is up there as one of the best mood shifters. While much still needs to be learned about the relationship between endorphins and mood, we do know that endorphins are peptide hormones produced by the hypothalamus and pituitary gland in the brain, and are triggered in response to stress and also play a role in the dopamine pathway. Endorphins are known to have pain-inhibiting affects as well as contribute to feelings of general well-being. Exercise is a form of stress that promotes the release of these hormones.

The moral of this story is: don’t wait until you feel like moving to move. Start small and easy and watch your mind clear as you gain perspective and support a positive mental shift.