When to give up...

The truth of the matter is your mind will quit before your body is ready to.  Let's face it none of us like pain, but pain is what is required to see change in your physical appearance.  There is that mechanism in your body that fires a signal to the brain telling it to stop whatever it is doing that is causing the pain.  This mechanism is an amazing feature when we touch a hot stove, stick your hand in snow or slam your finger in the door.  But this feature is a hindrance from success when it comes to achieving optimal results in your physical fitness.

A trick I have used to trick my brain is the "one more" approach.  When I started my weight loss journey with running, it was the one more stoplight or mailbox approach.  My brain was telling my body to stop, I had to speak louder than the voice in my head telling it "just one more...".  I would reach that mailbox or streetlight and I would have to tell my brain "just one more...".  I would do this over and over until I reached my final destination on my run.

When it comes to physical conditioning through lifting and training, I think the "one more..." approach is just as necessary.  In order to break through barriers of weight loss, training, or conditioning you have to break through the mental wall that keeps you from reaching your peak.  As an Insanity graduate, there were days I went through the motions of the workout, but I realized if I wanted peak results I had to give peak performance.  In short I had to overcome the voice in my head and push out one more push-up.  Press through the pain of 10 more seconds of high knees.

The point of giving up is the point where you can physically give no more but even then you say to yourself "just one more..."

A Fitter You!