Have you ever gone to the gym and asked yourself, “What the heck am I doing  here!” and walked out? I have, and not just once.  We have all been there at some point in our lives and in hindsight would agree that during those times of feeling so weak and out of shape, struggling through a workout, loathing every minute were the times that sticking with our plan of completing our workout would have helped not only our mental but physical psyche.

So, how do you get through those days when you are not feeling it? When you are really uncomfortable? When you just want to QUIT?

No matter what your fitness level or situation is, the challenge we all encounter is, “Are we mentally tough enough to plough through the discomfort?”

Do you have the Mental Toughness you desire to accomplish this?

Many people go to the gym because it is a good place to meet people and get a good workout, which is awesome! However, make sure you do your socializing before or after your work out, not during. Most of us are on very limited time and your workout time is YOURS.  Don’t burn up your precious hour with the excuse that “you ended up chatting with so-and – so“. If someone comes up to you during your workout and wants to chat, you are not being rude by politely letting them know that you’d love to chat after your workout.

Others want the workout conditions to be perfect. Sub 65 degree temps, lots of fans, no waiting time on the machines . . .etc., etc.

Don’t make “medical office waiting room” conditions your pre-requisite for working out. This is another distraction or excuse for not sticking with your plan. It’s your job to stay on track, be prepared for varying workout conditions to make sure you complete what you start.  This is about YOU.

There are a million other excuses we can come up with when we feel uncomfortable. Think about it. Is it really that bad feeling uncomfortable for an hour or so? Isn’t the pay off of how good you feel afterward worth it?  Doesn’t it feel great to know that you’ve accomplished what you set out to accomplish, you’ve stayed on track with your plan, you’re working toward your goals and you’re DOING IT! You are practicing Mental Toughness.

It’s a choice you make to achieve what you thought was beyond possible.

It’s a commitment you make not tomorrow but today.

How do you know if you’re ready?

Ask yourself, “Am I willing to push myself both mentally and physically to achieve my fitness goals?” “Am I willing to get out of my comfort zone, to eliminate excuses that make it easy for me to quit?”, “Do I deserve to feel energized, happy and healthy?”.

Honestly answer these questions to re-evaluate and reset your mental and physical toughness around your fitness goals:

1. When you are working out and you begin to feel very uncomfortable because your workout is hard, do you quit or do you press on?
2. If it is cold out and you are scheduled to do an outside workout, do you go or do you bail?
3. If the little voice in your head say…”You have too much to do, you don’t have time to work out”, do you listen?
4. When you are following a nutrition plan and you go to a party, do you plan ahead by eating a healthy snack or meal before hand or even bring your own food or do you cave and call it a cheat day?
5. When you’re trying hard to stick with your nutrition plan, to lose weight and change your eating habits, do you listen to your friends and family who call you crazy and try to force you to eat what they eat or do stick to your plan?

What is being mentally tough worth to you? Is it worth being able to recreate with your family – go on hikes, swim in a lake, ride an amusement park ride. . .Being around to see your kids or grandkids graduate from college or marry . .  Getting off blood pressure, cholesterol or other meds . . Waking up in the morning excited about the day, excited about LIFE. . .

So is mental toughness really that tough? Probably not, if you consider the alternatives.

Think about your answers to the questions above.

We all have the mental toughness to do whatever we want to do.

Start now with being comfortable with the uncomfortable and achieving what you thought was beyond possible. You CAN do it!!