3 ‘Mind over Matter’ Techniques for Better Workouts and Better Results

Mind over Matter Technique #1: Overcome Boredom by Regularly Changing Your Routine

Remember these 3 words, always: Change is good.

It is very easy to fall into a dull routine, repeating the same exercises, with the same weights, and on the same days! A classic example of this is evident when you walk into a gym on Mondays - notice how everyone is working on their chest? Coincidence, or have they fallen into a rut?

Don’t be afraid to try new things to see what works best for your body. Always remember, that your body is an incredibly built ‘machine’. It can adapt to your workouts rather quickly, and you’ll hit a plateau in no time.

I’ll let you in on a little secret - sometimes - one of the best ways to workout is to not have a specific routine - this will force you to think and adapt to whatever is available at the gym.

All the benches occupied, and you can’t do your bench press? No problem - just move right into a a variety of push-ups to blast some new growth into your muscles!

By not having a fixed routine, you save time (not to forget frustration at other gym members!), and although I may be doing the same exercises every now and then - I almost always never have 2 workouts that are exactly the same - and that’s fun, and keeps me (and my body) looking forward to the next. Of course, if you’re a beginner, and you aren’t sure what you need to do, and how often, etc - then I suggest you have a routine.

Mind over Matter Technique #2: Track Your Progress

Exercise logs, Food Diaries, Workout Journals - they come in many names, shapes, and sizes - but they all serve one purpose, which is to help you keep track and tweak your workouts for continuous progress. Besides helping you tweak your program, tracking progress has a side-effect that often goes unnoticed. What you will find when you keep track of your results, is that you will instinctively become more proactive, and motivated to always think ahead about how you can continue to improve yourself to see better results.

For example, someone on a weight loss program who steps on the weighing scale every month and sees the weight going down will be motivated to keep going - or if the weight doesn’t move, then they will be able to take some steps to find out why, or to bump up their routine. If they didn’t keep track in the first place, it can be a very dull and unfulfilled weight loss journey.

Mind over Matter Technique #3: Use Comparison To Give Yourself A Boost

Here’s one mistake that I always used to make. Often, I often found myself comparing my physique to the others at the gym. There’s always someone bigger than me, leaner than me, and stronger than me. Then of course, there are those who are obviously on anabolic steroids and that for me, is very upsetting because what I take 6 months to achieve, they can probably get in a couple of weeks. I used to get really worked up, demotivated, and sometimes angry.

Now this can be a bad thing in the long run if all it does is make you upset every time, and leaves you feeling as if ‘you aren’t good enough’. Keep this up, and you’ll drop out in no time, and I’m glad that didn’t happen to me.

The trick is to always compare yourself with someone who is worse off - that person who just started, who has half your strength and endurance. That can be a powerful reminder of how far you’ve come. Do that, and you’ll start to realize how good things are. You’ll start to feel better about yourself and more confident. And when you feel more confident, you’ll start to take action.

No go and take control of your workouts!

Read also:

1. How much rest do you need from your workouts?
2. Small Breasts: Does Size Really Matter?
3. Music to fuel your workouts