Changing the Exercise Narrative
Mindset is essentially a collection of stories we tell ourselves – in this case, about training and our bodies.
Joe Rogan stated in a podcast, “Training is the process of overcoming my inner bitch.” This statement sums up how our culture regards physical training. Most people consider exercise a grind, and as a result, only the motivated succeed.
But the idea that training is a grind is misleading. If we want exercise to become a regular part of our lives, we must change the narrative we’re telling ourselves about it.
Returning to Our Roots
For the first time in our history, exercise is separate from daily life. Instead of being a key component to our survival, communication, and social connection, now it’s a duty you have to fit into your busy everyday schedule.
As coaches and athletes ourselves, we understand there’s the ideal world, and then the real world. We believe training should add more to your life than it takes away. The thread that connects successful athletes? They make training a habit, not a grind.
Training as a Habit
Athletes that train as a habit have vastly greater success than athletes that rely on motivation and decision. The difference between the two may seem subtle, but it’s not. Habits and decisions exist in completely different parts of the brain.
The part of the brain where habits are is the part that’s associated with pattern recognition – and the part where you want training to be.
When we put training back into a habitual, automated part of life, we’ll start looking forward to it and doing it more frequently.
Improving the Training Mindset
If you’re struggling to get into a training groove, taking these three steps can help:
1. Skip the grind – no more repetitive 2D movements. Integrate running, jumping, and throwing.
2. Ditch the watch! We haven’t been measuring fitness for most of our evolutionary history and it’s not necessary today.
3. Train daily. Making exercise a habit takes the decision making part out of training.
When we start making training familiar, we’ll begin to appreciate the process of re-learning how to love our bodies by reclaiming our athleticism.
