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Strain your Brain = Developing your Mental 6 Pack

Brenda RossBrenda Ross
in General Training Discussions

Before I joined EN 4 years ago I worked one on one with a coach. She coached me for 6 years and although the physical work was important to her, she felt that mental training was just as important.  When I left that relationship to start my new one with EN I thought I had developed that part of my training to it`s fullest, but then entered regular testing, hard workouts on a regular basis, and my self doubt started to arrive and I was continually getting in my own way. FAIL. I realized this and tried to develop self talk that was positive and I used previous workouts that were hard and that I was successful at, to convince myself that I could do the assigned workout.

Last year was my best year with EN, both physically and mentally because I feel that I have come a long way in developing my mental six pack, making my self talk so intuitive, that I do not even know that I am doing it. This is not to say that I still do not need to work at it.

The other day I was reading an article in the October Runners World Magazine that says `New Research reveals that it you really want that PR, you have to train your brain hard`- there is even a software out that they are testing.  They feel the effort of running is only as hard as your brain perceives it to be.  They share Samuele Marcoras tips to build race day resistance as follows:

1. Run When You Do Not Want To:  once a week, run after a grueling workday, mental chores (like doing your taxes) or sleepness night, to practice running through a haze

2. Log Screen Time: before a run, bore yourself with online games, like this Tiredness test, Build gradually: aim for 30 minutes

3. Talk to yourself: Marcora and his student found that a two week program teaching motivational self talk, allowed subjects to reduce their perceived effort during exercise and increased their time to exhaustion in a cycling test by 18 precent. A great book to read is In Pursuit of Excellence by Terry Orlick

So, this lead me to look up Developing your Mental Six pack and I found these tips (courtesy of http://russellaaron.wordpress.com/2013/01/09/4-steps-to-building-a-mental-six-pack/0

Here’s four steps to building a mental six pack:


  1. Don’t bail because it’s uncomfortable - While the phrase “no pain, no gain” is sure to wind you up in the hospital (or with terrible, season-ending shin splits) there will certainly be no gain without discomfort. Comfort zones are there for a reason… to make you feel good about yourself! BORING. You have to break through the comfort ceiling to make gains in many areas of life. Athletics, friendships, the workplace. The list goes on and on. Don’t settle for being average, strive to be phenomenal and the discomfort that may come with that!
  2. Admit when it’s time to quit – There is a time and a place to let things go. For some of us, myself, there is often a very blurry line between “Of course I can press on because that’s what I do” and “Red flags everywhere! Escape while you can!” When you are unhealthily in over your head, it is time to readjust. You can’t always do everything (much to my chagrin) so acknowledge when you’re sinking. It’d be great to spend all kinds of time with your friends, train for an Ironman, play in the orchestra, travel overseas, finish your massive business book library, go ballroom dancing, get an MBA, and watch movies every night but it just isn’t practical. I guess movies and overseas are out
  3. Rest before you burnout - Rest isn’t for the weak, it is for the recovering! I value rest because I’m an athlete and because I have an issue prioritizing my life. Rest is a chance to physically recover but also to emotionally unwind and evaluate. Without rest, you are a surefire case for burnout, which has an even worse impact than simply resting when you need to. You have to take time to come back down from your high on life and really figure out what it is that you want to do with your time.
  4. Strive on; dig deep – Failure is only a failure if you stay down in the dirt and refuse to get back up. Sometimes tripping and falling is a sign that you’re doing too much or headed the wrong way, so make the adjustment. No one is forcing you down any one path. Be the master of your destiny and take charge, find courage, and carry on. That Ironman isn’t going to run itself and you are solely responsible for the outcome. Face your fears and press on.
All this to say......what have you done or what are you presently doing to develop your mental six pack.

 

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