Physical exercise is great for training the body and can bring major lessons on mental toughness as well. The content ahead discusses the 5 mental strength lessons you’ll learn from hard training and how it can apply to your daily life.
The tough challenges that are presented in the middle of a strenuous workout can apply to various aspects of life. While you are sweating, muscles fatiguing, and you are breathing harder, your mind endures resilience and makes you mentally stronger as a result. This resilience can help you to push yourself to a personal best, push your body harder than you thought it could, and to accomplish something you never thought possible.
With that in mind, let’s look at some aspects of intense training and the effects it can have on the brain and your outlook ahead.
What are the Benefits of Intense Training?
Intense exercise has been one of the hottest topics for a while now. High intensity interval training, which involves exercise at maximal efforts, continues to show benefits for the body and health. Performing high intensity interval training has been shown to improve VO2max, body composition, heart function, and cognition, which is only part of what it can offer various elements of life.
Regular intense exercise can also have a great effect on mental health and cognition. Studies have shown positive effects of high intensity interval training on self-efficacy levels. Self-efficacy is the innate belief in one ‘s ability, or if you believe you can do something, you are more likely to complete it.
Knowing that intense exercise can have an effect on how someone believes in their innate ability, let’s examine the 5 mental strength lessons you’ll learn from hard training.
Top 5 Mental Strength Lessons You’ll Learn from Hard Training
The next time you are pushing through a hard workout, consider afterwards the inner strength you have developed as a result. Every workout in which you push your body is a chance to test your resilience and self-efficacy. Let’s look at the top 5 mental strength lessons you’ll learn from hard training.
- Failure is Ok. The entire reason we workout and push the body in the gym is to improve. One of the most amazing aspects of exercise is the fact that moving forward in your journey requires you to struggle and fail. Failure in your sets actually is good, so long as you try.
Failures when performing your sets means you are exhausting your muscles, pushing your body to its limits. This is the best way to workout as those failures the next time or two will turn into gains.
- Push Yourself Just a Bit More. Hard exercise isn’t easy; in fact it’s something that will challenge you. Pushing yourself that little bit more, even when the exercise feels tough, can get you to your goals.
In order to push yourself a bit more, your mind needs to understand that it’s ok to try. One more rep, one more attempt, just something more will help you to achieve that personal best.
- Slight Discomfort is Ok. The key word here is slight. If you push your body to slight discomfort, then that’s ok. The muscles need to tear in order to repair so if your snatch feels slightly uncomfortable, then you’re likely hitting that zone.
Pushing yourself to that area where your body feels discomfort is ok so long as it’s not an injury forming. But the mind changes its outlook when you continue with slight discomfort in your lifts. When you are working through your WOD and the aches come about, just think that pushing through it can help you to reach a level you haven’t explored yet.
- Discipline Leads to Regularity. Discipline is huge in fitness. If you are regular with your workouts, disciplined with your diets, and stick to a program then you will succeed. The regular nature that is required in fitness is crucial whenever you set goals and when you are disciplined in a hard workout, you stick to it, show up, and finish.
The discipline you create within your fitness journey can determine how quickly you reach your goals. If your discipline is to workout so you can compete in a CrossFit competition, then you will need to focus on diet and exercise to get there.
- Your Mind Determines Your Outcomes. It seems weird to think, but your mind determines your success. If you truly think you can rock your hard workout then chances are you’ll meet that goal.
Having a positive mindset during your workout can pay dividends in the long run. There’s nothing better than being in the middle of your back squats set, mid lift, and thinking “I can do this”. Once your mind shifts to “this is hard”, then the lift really becomes harder. 
How do These Mental Strength Lessons Apply to Daily Life?
Daily life can be a mental and physical challenge that can be exhausting. The lessons that are learned in the gym, especially the 5 mental strength lessons you’ll learn from hard training, can translate to daily life.
If you are struggling to save money for something and find it difficult to stay disciplined, just think of all the discipline you have learned with your fitness routine and stick to it. Also, failure in your daily life can sometimes lead to something bigger and greater. Failing isn’t the end all, but sometimes it can lift you up to be better no matter the area in your life.
Conclusion
The lifts you perform in the gym can have value with your physical well-being. In addition, the mental strength lessons learned from hard lifts truly can help you to push through many lessons in daily life as well.
Consider the 5 mental strength lessons you’ll learn from hard training above as a guide to positivity, pushing through your workouts, and taking your lifts to the next level. Remember, failing in the fitness in your sets is what helps you to achieve goals quicker, so don’t be afraid to push it.
Resources
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8294064
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6003667
image sources
- Mountain climbers: Maksim Goncharenok on Pexels
- Crossfit-Athlete-in-workout: Ryan Edy
- elizabeth flood Portrait and Emotions crossfit cadre 22.1: elizabeth flood | BOXROX Photo Comp 2022
