What most of us are not aware of is that just by being mindful while you exercise, you can significantly improve the effects and results of your sessions, which would ultimately lead to faster and better attainment of the desired goal, be it weight loss, building muscle mass or just general fitness. Mindfulness also decreases your chances of getting injured and will make each session feel more enjoyable and fruitful as well. Before we proceed to the four tips about doing this in the right way though, beware that all of them will involve putting away your earphones because instead of the music, you will be listening to your body and feeling the movements themselves.
Concentrate on the Specific Muscles
The goal of resistance training is to build strength and muscle mass, so in order to maximize your lifting sessions, concentrate on the muscle/muscles that you are working on. For example, feel your biceps contract and stretch with each repetition during burble curls or let your mind feel each of the muscles that are working at specific points as you complete a clean and jerk. Don’t forget to breathe steadily as you complete each repetition.
Feel Your Strides
Whether you are power-walking, jogging or running, your focus should be on the movements that you are making and how you are breathing during the activity. Listen to the sound of your own feet hitting the ground, feel the swaying of your arms and listen to yourself breathe. It’s easier to just put on some music, but if you can resist the urge to do so and manage to be mindful of your runs, you will be making a lot better use of your running time.
Stretch with Purpose
Stretching itself is essential to keep your muscles from tightening up and to initiate faster recovery via increased blood flow. However, stretches can be made even more effective by simply concentrating and feeling the very section of your body that you are trying to stretch out. Take slow, deep breaths and imagine that the air you are inhaling is making its way straight into the region that you are trying to stretch. After about 10 – 15 such breaths, that part of the body should be more relaxed and that will make stretching easier than before.
Listen to Your Body
Your body will give you signs when it’s too tired for a workout session and you need to be mindful to pick those signs up. If you feel too tired or weak on certain days, then it’s your body telling you that it needs some more rest to recuperate before the next session. If you are unable to pick up such signals or choose to ignore them, you will be increasing your chances of injury significantly.
These four simple tips about mindful exercising will definitely help you to maximize your training efforts, but you will need a specific training program to follow first. Work Out Box is a great source of getting personalized training programs from the world’s best fitness experts and even virtual, one-on-one training sessions. The customized training programs and training sessions are just as good as the ones you get at the local gym, if not better, but at a much more affordable price.
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