3 Ways To Get More Out Of Your Exercise Routine By Changing Your Mindset

How many times have you gone through the motions of your exercise routine without being fully present? Our thoughts run wild, ranging from what we're going to eat after the workout to negative thoughts about the way we look. (It happens to me all the time!)

When our mind is focused on something other than our present, we're not fully engaging in what our body is doing. If you workout five times a week or more, you're probably using your unconscious mind because you don't have to think about what you're doing. Your unconscious mind is the part of your mind that helps you drive a car or brush your teeth in the morning — almost like autopilot.

Your conscious mind, however, is all about awareness.

As Dr. Joe Dispenza puts it, "The more consciousness you have, the more awareness you have about yourself, your environment and yourself in the environment. More consciousness also means you are better able to adapt to conditions in your life and make changes to meet those environmental conditions. If someone is unconscious, they keep repeating or re-confronting the same issues over and over again without even thinking about modifying something about themselves to produce a different outcome."

Consciousness allows us to take the shortcut to evolve our thoughts, emotions and actions. When we're not using our conscious mind to workout, we continue to produce the same results. It's not how hard you workout, it's how well you do it.

When I was in college, I had all the time in the world to workout, but once I entered the "real world," things changed. I had to be at the office early in the morning and didn't get home until well after 6pm. My workouts got shorter and less frequent. I wanted the same results but I wasn't sure how to get them if I was working out less.

I decided to use the power of positive thinking. I took what I learned from my near-death experience and put the power of thought to work. Within a few weeks I became toner, more in shape and lost some weight!

Below are the three steps I used to achieve better results from my workout routine that you can instantly add into your life:

1. Focus on every movement.

Being in the present moment can be difficult when you have a laundry list of things to get done, but if you want to make every moment of your workout count, you need to put yourself in the present moment. Focus on every muscle moving, every breath you take and every pain you feel in your body.

2. Think about what you want to achieve, not what you want to lose.

Many people go to the gym with a mission to lose weight. This is all wrong. If your goal is to eliminate something you have, your focus is always on the thing you don't want, whether it be fat, big thighs, jiggly arms or a number on a scale. In order to reach your fitness goal, you have to focus on what you DO want.

When you're doing your cardio workout, think about what you want to achieve. Instead of thinking about losing weight, switch your focus to getting fit. The dialogue in your head can be, "I'm reaching my goal. I'm getting in the best shape of my life."

The power of positive thinking is a big one when it comes to reaching fitness goals. Remember, the mind and body are connected so if you're only thinking about the thing you want to lose, you'll always have something you want to lose. Switch your focus to something positive!

3. Visualize, feel and visualize again.

Your subconscious mind cannot differentiate between what you imagine and what is real. If you can visualize yourself doing something, you've got the talent to do it. When you're working out, visualize how you want to look. Then take it a step further and think about how you want to feel.

When you change your mindset to believing you're already looking and feeling a certain way, that image and feeling will manifest into your life much quicker than if you only focus on what you're trying to change about yourself.

If you want to achieve your fitness results quicker, start believing you're already there!

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

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