A Fit Nurse: workouts

Showing posts with label workouts. Show all posts

Posted by Alyssa Schomaker / Saturday, July 11, 2015 / No comments / A fit nurse , Cize , coaching , dance , exercise , exercise and fitness , fitness , meal planning , Portion Control , program , Shaun T , Support , workout video , workouts

CIZE: The end of EXERCISE is COMING!!!

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhleo54zJRzlTx9Fi9yKgZH2GXl-R8TXg_0UfRkFNoMBv3Bn0tAQiz_Qr280EA7eSpeV8Zc0tzGVwVJWJVLQankJpb1HkKYqTllueiz5U3PpZk6EPhfPdMa-8FTfsjrqfX5a23VMUjCyE0v/s1600/11722356_10207489377338290_563615471317899520_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhleo54zJRzlTx9Fi9yKgZH2GXl-R8TXg_0UfRkFNoMBv3Bn0tAQiz_Qr280EA7eSpeV8Zc0tzGVwVJWJVLQankJpb1HkKYqTllueiz5U3PpZk6EPhfPdMa-8FTfsjrqfX5a23VMUjCyE0v/s640/11722356_10207489377338290_563615471317899520_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Are you READY to DANCE your WAY to RESULTS? Tired of the same old same old fitness routine?</div>
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Then you are going to be so EXCITED because Shaun T is back and this time he is going back to his roots with DANCE.  As an ELITE Top 10 Beachbody coach I was able to get my little hands on this before anyone else and it is FUN! This is coming from a mama with no moves. I seriously have 2 left feet. It is actually quite commical watching me do this program but, it is a good time and at the end I have sweat dripping down my face. </div>
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You just have to bust out your inner Beyonce when you do CIZE. And who doesn't like to dance. you know we all like to bust out our moves when no one is watching!!</div>
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Check this out.... FUN RIGHT?</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/il2GMfOu37Q/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/il2GMfOu37Q?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe><br />
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This program will not be released until July 16th but, here is your chance to get into my exclusive Cize test group. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You will be one of the first people to get your hands on this program and be able to work 1:1 with me.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.0545444488525px;">I am also an NPC Bikini athlete, Creator of a A Fit Nurse, and have over 15 years of experience of health and wellness. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.0545444488525px;">What you can Expect for CIZE Test Group. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.0545444488525px;">- 30-45 minute home workouts</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.0545444488525px;">- Daily Super dense dose of nutrition</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.0545444488525px;">- Portion Control system</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.0545444488525px;">- Peer Support </span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.0545444488525px;"><br />
- Free Coaching </span></span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.0545444488525px;">- VIP PRIVATE ONLINE Group<br />
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*Dance moves that will take you from beginner to EXPERT (I promise you, anyone can do this... including this 2 left footed lady)<br />
*COLOR CODED CONTAINERS<br />
*real, serious changes to your body<br />
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You will also get a free CIZE t-shirt JUST for completing the program. By being one of the FIRST to have mind blowing results you will be eligible for $500, $1000 and a $25K grand prize. Not to mention your results could be used in upcoming informercials. Your body is going to change and you will have FUN doing it!!!</span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.0545444488525px;">If you want to be considered and one of the first ever to complete this program then APPLY HERE:</span></div>
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="1197" scrolling="no" src="https://alyssaschomaker.wufoo.com/embed/s1sbn4i11mylhxc/" style="border: none; width: 100%;"><a href="https://alyssaschomaker.wufoo.com/forms/s1sbn4i11mylhxc/">Fill out my Wufoo form!</a></iframe>

A fit nurse, Cize, coaching, dance, exercise, exercise and fitness, fitness, meal planning, Portion Control, program, Shaun T, Support, workout video, workouts

CIZE: The end of EXERCISE is COMING!!!

Are you READY to DANCE your WAY to RESULTS? Tired of the same old same old fitness routine? Then you are going to be so EXCITED b...

Posted by Alyssa Schomaker / Tuesday, June 16, 2015 / No comments / daily workouts , dance , fitness , fitness goals , Fitness motivation , friends , fun workout , goals , gym , healthier life , healthy , lifestyle , marathon , partners , workouts

Partner Workouts for Friends or Couples

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVvBkijXacq7W2pC_nysEtixD_34WOiYm1lI3CUDh_jqOoiaklAWSUvUV9eOLSnYGVreRgOgPyHeSoF68AtH0jE1jUPMo4mynekgRpXshIHE8wNFyRVR8wfKL6HA-2sSDymCWyhdATM0r/s1600/PartnerWorkoutsBLOG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Partner workouts with two people running together" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVvBkijXacq7W2pC_nysEtixD_34WOiYm1lI3CUDh_jqOoiaklAWSUvUV9eOLSnYGVreRgOgPyHeSoF68AtH0jE1jUPMo4mynekgRpXshIHE8wNFyRVR8wfKL6HA-2sSDymCWyhdATM0r/s1600/PartnerWorkoutsBLOG.jpg" title="" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Partner workouts are the perfect way to make your workout into a fun social activity. Having a workout buddy can help you stay motivated because you’re much less likely to skip your workout if someone else is expecting you to be there. </span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-0711907c-e8b1-492b-be46-ed9a6968841f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you want to try some partner workouts, it’s important that both partners commit to the plan. It can be discouraging if one partner isn’t as dedicated as the other. Before you register for a class or join a gym together, make sure you’re both on the same page. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Set goals for your partner workouts that are important to both of you, and in line with your current fitness levels. If you’re hoping to run a marathon by the end of the summer and your partner just wants to get out and have fun, they may not be a great match for you as a fitness buddy. A little bit of friendly competition can be a great motivator, but don’t get discouraged if your partner does a little better than you in some areas. Stick with it and you’ll get there, too! Make sure you’re having fun together, but don’t get so caught up in conversation that you forget to exercise! </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Time to find a workout buddy and get going! Here are some fun partner workouts you can try together:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Dance classes.</b> Dancing is a fun activity, but, surprisingly it can be one of the more challenging partner workouts, too! Instead of a traditional dinner and a movie date night, why not sign up for a dance class instead? You’ll both get a full-body workout while you have a blast spending time together.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Bodyweight exercises.</b> You might be familiar with doing bodyweight exercises (such as push-ups) on your own, but having a partner opens up new possibilities for you. Try doing some partner squats. Facing your partner, hold on to each other’s forearms. Slowly lower your bodies as though you are sitting in a chair, stopping when your thighs are parallel with the floor. Move back into a standing position, and repeat. It’s that easy! If you and your partner enjoy that, try doing a few other kinds of bodyweight partner workouts. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Sign up for a 5k.</b> Setting goals is an incredibly important part of successful partner workouts. Signing up for an event gives you a specific goal to work toward together, and you’ll both be more likely to stick to it. Be each other’s cheerleader, and celebrate together after you’ve crossed the finish line. </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Partner workouts help you get fit while strengthening your bond with your workout buddy. If you’re looking for new ways to shake up your routine, I suggest trying one of these partner workouts. Are you trying to find a fitness and nutrition plan that works for you? I’m here to help. </span><a href="http://www.afitnurse.com/p/schedule-appointment-to-chat-with-me.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: 14.6666666666667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contact me</span></a><span style="font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> today, and I can help you find a healthy routine that will put you on track to reach your fitness goals!</span></span>

daily workouts, dance, fitness, fitness goals, Fitness motivation, friends, fun workout, goals, gym, healthier life, healthy, lifestyle, marathon, partners, workouts

Partner Workouts for Friends or Couples

Partner workouts are the perfect way to make your workout into a fun social activity. Having a workout buddy can help you stay motivated ...

Posted by Alyssa Schomaker / Friday, May 1, 2015 / No comments / body , cardio , exercise , exercise and fitness , fitness , Fitness motivation , health , inspiration , morning workouts , muscle , sleep , Tips , workouts

Motivational Tips For Morning Workouts

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvmWUypWh6HRwOQpbk-n_TRCouaFozCiySchkJVLZuee4IYeSoMmgOyRF7ZWpIatVBut3Gjm8OcDY25DoJ9V6yS2P3Q8LcgRp0vtv19Gf-m3VK68ya_JCbswLsgmbc_1_-9C2bkowIP7P_/s1600/Morning_Workouts.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Weights for morning workouts on a blue mat with an alarm clock." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvmWUypWh6HRwOQpbk-n_TRCouaFozCiySchkJVLZuee4IYeSoMmgOyRF7ZWpIatVBut3Gjm8OcDY25DoJ9V6yS2P3Q8LcgRp0vtv19Gf-m3VK68ya_JCbswLsgmbc_1_-9C2bkowIP7P_/s1600/Morning_Workouts.png" title="" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Morning workouts are an awesome way to get your day started and focused on health! But it doesn’t always seem so great when you are snuggled in your bed and sleeping peacefully. So, how do you get motivated for morning workouts? I’ll share a few secrets to get you started. ;)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tips for Morning Workouts</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Be Prepared</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Before you go to bed, get everything ready for your morning workout. Set out your workout clothes, pack your gym bag, and have a </span><a href="http://www.afitnurse.com/2015/04/power-breakfast-energy-for-your-morning.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">power breakfast</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ready. Not only does this make it easier for you, it may also help you feel more inclined to actually get out of bed since you spent the time getting ready the night before. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Set Your Alarm</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. When you are going to wake up for morning workouts, set your alarm and place it across the room where you will have to get out of bed to turn it off. You could even set it to play some motivational workout music to try to get you mentally ready right away.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brush Your Teeth.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> After you wake up, brush your teeth right away to prepare for morning workouts. The burst of mint will help wake up your senses, so you start to build energy right away. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make Friends.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Find a friend who will join you for morning workouts so that you have someone to keep you accountable. If you can’t find anyone who can work with your schedule, find a personal trainer and schedule early morning appointments.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Set a Goal.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Write down your goals for early morning workouts. Do you want to get up at 6am three times a week? Make a schedule and then reward yourself when you follow through!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spread the Word.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Make sure at least a couple people know that you plan on doing some morning workouts. That way, you know you actually have to do the workout or answer to them. Another form of accountability is always helpful!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Get enough sleep</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Be sure to get enough sleep before your morning workouts, so you feel refreshed and energized during and after the workout. Sleep is important, and not getting enough of it can have an adverse effect on the whole day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keep it Up.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> If you’re not used to morning workouts, it could be difficult at first. Keep it up! Your body will eventually get used to it and it will become easier the more you do it. Persistence will definitely pay off!</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Are you trying to get motivated for morning workouts? Joining a team of </span><a href="http://www.afitnurse.com/p/become-a.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Beachbody</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> professionals is another great way to start! I’d love to </span><a href="http://www.afitnurse.com/p/schedule-appointment-to-chat-with-me.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">set up a meeting</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with you to discuss how we can work together to help you towards your fitness goals. Cheers!</span></span>

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Motivational Tips For Morning Workouts

Morning workouts are an awesome way to get your day started and focused on health! But it doesn’t always seem so great when you are snu...

Posted by Alyssa Schomaker / Friday, March 13, 2015 / No comments / ab workouts , balance , Core , full body workouts , great arm workouts , kettlebell , upper body workouts , workouts

Kettlebell Exercise - A Full Body Workout

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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kettlebell exercise is so great for working the whole body with just one piece of equipment. These kind of workouts improve strength and balance; it’s the perfect combo! If your gym has kettlebells, you can do this workout there. Or, you can purchase a set of your own for a simple workout at home. If you’re a beginner, start off with lighter weights and work your way up as you become stronger with each kettlebell exercise.<br /></span><h4>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are a few of my favorite moves for kettlebell exercise:</span></h4>
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<li>The Kettlebell Row</li>
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</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Hold one kettlebell in each hand with your arms down by your sides. Keeping your palms facing down, raise the kettlebells up to just above the chest, and then lower back down slowly. Do 12-15 reps of this kettlebell exercise.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><ul>
<li>The Kettlebell Squat</li>
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</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stand up straight up with your feet shoulder-width apart for this kettlebell exercise. Grab a single kettlebell with both hands. Lift the kettlebell to your chest level and hold it there as you perform a standard squat. Keep your back straight as you perform the squat. Try to do 15-20, but be sure to stop if your form starts to change.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><ul>
<li>The Kettlebell Twist</li>
</ul>
</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lay down on your back like you’re going to do situps, with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Hold the kettlebell with your hands near your chest and sit up halfway with a straight back. Swing the kettlebell to the right as you turn your torso to the right, then swing and turn to the left. Be sure to twist from side to side, you should not move up and down during this kettlebell exercise. Repeat 20 times or as many times as you can without dropping.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><ul>
<li>The Kettlebell Push-up</li>
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</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Put two kettlebells of the same weight on the ground with the handles up. Space them so they are shoulder-width apart. Perform standard push-ups with your hands firmly grasped around the kettlebell handles. To get really aggressive with this kettlebell exercise, pull one of the kettlebells up to your armpit after completing the push-up. If you do this, be sure to alternate arms. Try to work up to 15-20.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />  <br /><b>Whew! Kettlebell exercise is great for building muscle, I hope you enjoyed the workout. Do you have any favorite moves you like to do during kettlebell exercise? I’d love to hear them!</b></span><br />

ab workouts, balance, Core, full body workouts, great arm workouts, kettlebell, upper body workouts, workouts

Kettlebell Exercise - A Full Body Workout

Kettlebell exercise is so great for working the whole body with just one piece of equipment. These kind of workouts improve strength and b...

Posted by Alyssa Schomaker / Thursday, August 14, 2014 / No comments / exercise and fitness , good advice , good habits , healthy lifestyle , workouts

How Exercise Helps Us Tolerate Pain

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<span style="font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem;">But whether exercise alters the body’s response to pain over the long term and, more pressing for most of us, whether such changes will develop if people engage in moderate, less draining workouts, have been unclear.</span><span style="font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem;"><br />For some time, scientists have known that strenuous exercise briefly and acutely dulls pain. As muscles begin to ache during a prolonged workout, scientists have found, the body typically releases natural opiates, such as endorphins, and other substances that can slightly dampen the discomfort. This effect, which scientists refer to as exercise-induced hypoalgesia, usually begins during the workout and lingers for perhaps 20 or 30 minutes afterward.</span>Regular exercise may alter how a person experiences pain, according to a new study. The longer we continue to work out, the new findings suggest, the greater our tolerance for discomfort can grow.</div>
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So for the new study, which was <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24504426" style="color: #326891;">published this month in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise</a>, researchers at the University of New South Wales and Neuroscience Research Australia, both in Sydney, recruited 12 young and healthy but inactive adults who expressed interest in exercising, and another 12 who were similar in age and activity levels but preferred not to exercise. They then brought all of them into the lab to determine how they reacted to pain.</div>
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Pain response is highly individual and depends on our pain threshold, which is the point at which we start to feel pain, and pain tolerance, or the amount of time that we can withstand the aching, before we cease doing whatever is causing it.</div>
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In the new study, the scientists measured pain thresholds by using a probe that, applied to a person’s arm, exerts increasing pressure against the skin. The volunteers were told to say “stop” when that pressure segued from being unpleasant to painful, breaching their pain threshold.</div>
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The researchers determined pain tolerance more elaborately, by strapping a blood pressure cuff to volunteers’ upper arms and progressively tightening it as the volunteers tightly gripped and squeezed a special testing device in their fists. This activity is not fun, as anyone who has worn a blood pressure cuff can imagine, but the volunteers were encouraged to continue squeezing the device for as long as possible, a period of time representing their baseline pain tolerance.</div>
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Then the volunteers who had said that they would like to begin exercising did so, undertaking a program of moderate stationary bicycling for 30 minutes, three times a week, for six weeks. In the process, the volunteers became more fit, with their aerobic capacity and cycling workloads increasing each week, although some improved more than others.</div>
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The other volunteers continued with their lives as they had before the study began.</div>
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After six weeks, all of the volunteers returned to the lab, and their pain thresholds and pain tolerances were retested. Unsurprisingly, the volunteers in the control group showed no changes in their responses to pain.</div>
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But the volunteers in the exercise group displayed substantially greater ability to withstand pain. Their pain thresholds had not changed; they began to feel pain at the same point they had before. But their tolerance had risen. They continued with the unpleasant gripping activity much longer than before. Those volunteers whose fitness had increased the most also showed the greatest increase in pain tolerance.</div>
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“To me,” said Matthew Jones, a researcher at the University of New South Wales who led the study, the results “suggest that the participants who exercised had become more stoical and perhaps did not find the pain as threatening after exercise training, even though it still hurt as much,” an idea that fits with entrenched, anecdotal beliefs about the physical fortitude of athletes.</div>
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Because it did not examine physiological effects apart from pain response, however, the study cannot explain just how exercise alters our experience of pain, although it contains hints. Pain thresholds and tolerances were tested using people’s arms, Mr. Jones pointed out, while the exercisers trained primarily their legs. Because the changes in pain response were evident in the exercisers’ upper bodies, the findings intimate that “something occurring in the brain was probably responsible for the change” in pain thresholds, Mr. Jones said.</div>
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The study’s implications are considerable, Mr. Jones says. Most obviously, he said, the results remind us that the longer we stick with an exercise program, the less physically discomfiting it will feel, even if we increase our efforts, as did the cyclists here. The brain begins to accept that we are tougher than it had thought, and it allows us to continue longer although the pain itself has not lessened.</div>
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The study also could be meaningful for people struggling with chronic pain, Mr. Jones said. Although anyone in this situation should consult a doctor before starting to exercise, he said, the experiment suggests that moderate amounts of exercise can change people’s perception of their pain and help them, he said “to be able to better perform activities of daily living.”</div>
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shared from well.blogs.nytimes.com By <a class="url fn" href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/author/gretchen-reynolds/" rel="author" style="color: black; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase;" title="More Posts by GRETCHEN REYNOLDS">GRETCHEN REYNOLDS</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: xx-small; font-weight: bold; line-height: 12px;"> </span><time class="dateline" datetime="2014-08-13T04:01:34+00:00" style="color: grey; display: inline-block; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: bold; line-height: 0.75rem; margin-left: 12px; padding: 0px 8px 0px 0px; text-transform: uppercase;" title="August 13, 2014 12:01 am">AUGUST 13, 2014 12:01 AM</time></div>
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exercise and fitness, good advice, good habits, healthy lifestyle, workouts

How Exercise Helps Us Tolerate Pain

Photo Credit But whether exercise alters the body’s response to pain over the long term and, more pressing for most of us, whethe...

Posted by Alyssa Schomaker / Friday, August 1, 2014 / No comments / Determination , exercise , fun workout , good habits , health and fitness , Motivation , running , workouts

18 Ways to Change Up Your Running Routine

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There’s something special about being so excited to go running that you count the minutes until you can leave work, lace up, and hit the pavement. But no matter how much you’re in love with running, it takes a little effort to keep the relationship fresh. “If you want to make progress and still keep it fun, variety is going to be crucial,” says <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonFitz1" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Jason Fitzgerald</a>, an elite marathoner, running coach, and founder of<a href="http://strengthrunning.com/" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">StrengthRunning.com</a>.</div>
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Before a favorite neighborhood route starts to feel ho-hum, mix in one of these 18 runs to keep things fun and challenging. Each one can be modified for runners of any fitness and experience levels. Many of the workouts require a set distance, but you don’t need access to a track. Websites and apps like<a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">MapMyRun</a> and <a href="http://www.usatf.org/routes/map/" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">USA Track & Field</a> make it easy to map distance so you can do these workouts anywhere.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">1. Get Stuck on Repeat </span><br />Running a set of repeats interspersed with intervals for recovery is a simple way to mix things up. Choose a distance or time period (200 meters or 45 seconds, for example) and run <em>hard</em>. Rest for a set period of time and do it all again (and again). (Spoiler alert: <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/workouts/how-much-rest-should-you-take-between-intervals?page=single" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The recovery interval is just as important as the repeat!</a>) The <a href="http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/healthy_living_fit_facts_content.aspx?itemid=48" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale</a> is an intuitive way to loosely measure your effort, no <a class="skimwords-link" data-group-id="0" data-skim-creative="300003" data-skim-node-id="101:isanintuitivewaytolo_1" data-skim-product="1959365" data-skimlinks-editor="0" data-skimwords-id="1959365" data-skimwords-word="heart%20rate%20monitor" href="http://skimlinks.pgpartner.com/mrdr.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fskimlinks.pgpartner.com%2Fsearch.php%2Fform_keyword%3Dheart%2Brate%2Bmonitor" occurrence="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Shopping Link Added by SkimWords">heart rate monitor</a><span style="position: absolute;"></span><span style="position: absolute;"></span> or other gadgetry required.</div>
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For most workouts, repeats should feel like a "7" to "9" on an RPE scale, (ie.  a rough approximation of "intensity") and recovery intervals can either be full rest, walking, or light jogging. Start the next repeat when you’ve caught your breath <a href="http://greatist.com/fitness/how-do-i-measure-exercise-intensity" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; text-decoration: none;">enough to talk comfortably</a>. The longer or harder the repeat, the more recovery you’ll need.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">2. Climb a Ladder </span><br />Ladders add a different challenge to the traditional interval workout with repeats that grow increasingly more challenging (in distance or intensity) as the workout progresses. For example, you might run 200m, rest, run 400m, rest, run 600m, rest, and so on. This kind of workout is good practice for managing exertion throughout a workout—going hard while leaving something in the tank to finish strong. Check out a couple of <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/workouts/jump-start-your-training?page=single" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">sample ladder workouts</a> for both beginning and advanced runners.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">3. </span><span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">Step Up</span><br /><a href="http://publicstairs.com/index_000002.htm" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Find stairs</a> or a stadium that’s open to the public and run them again and again. As with hills, the walk down is your recovery. Increase the challenge by taking a few at a time. <a href="http://vimeo.com/17492219" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Shadowboxing optional.</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">4. Take on Tabatas </span><br />While most speed workouts call for hard effort, <a href="http://greatist.com/fitness/tabata-protocol-interval-training-032713" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;">Tabata training</a> demands an all-out sprint. The idea is to go as hard as you possibly can for 20 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds. Repeat that couplet eight times as hard as you can, on stairs, flats, or however else you've planned your workout. Newer runners should start with fewer repeats and gradually build up to the complete four-minute workout.</div>
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<img alt="18 Ways to Change Up Your Running Routine: Run Uphill" class="media-element file-default" height="450" src="http://greatist.com/sites/default/files/styles/article-content-732/public/Run%20uphill_604_1.jpg?itok=2wlQ7PMm" style="border: 0px; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%;" title="" typeof="foaf:Image" width="604" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">5. Go Climbing </span><br />Tackling a long hill with a slow climb or running hard up a short, steep incline challenges your aerobic fitness, leg strength, and mental toughness all at once <a class="ifoot-cite active" href="http://greatist.com/fitness/18-running-workouts-try-something-new#footnote-node-3988-1" id="note-node-3988-1" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; text-decoration: none;">[1]</a>. Plan a running route that includes a few hills, or find a hill that requires a steep climb and run repeats. If you choose the latter, the walk to back to the base is recovery.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">6. Stride Right </span><br />Running strides is the bipedal equivalent of pumping a car’s <a class="skimwords-link" data-group-id="0" data-skim-creative="300007" data-skim-node-id="579:Runningstridesistheb_1" data-skim-product="1851620" data-skimlinks-editor="0" data-skimwords-id="1851620" data-skimwords-word="gas%20pedal" href="http://rd.bizrate.com/rd?t=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanmuscle.com%2Fgas-pedal-cover-7993auto.html%3Futm_content%3Dgas-pedal-cover-7993auto%26utm_campaign%3DShopzillaNoFitment%26utm_source%3DShopzilla%26utm_medium%3DShopping%26AMID%3Dgas-pedal-cover-7993auto-NoFitment&mid=103510&cat_id=22000200&atom=10681&prod_id=&oid=4617282716&pos=1&b_id=18&bid_type=1&bamt=a5fedf14fd8fec0d&cobrand=1&ppr=ea2c15a289e533b3&rf=af1&af_assettype_id=10&af_creative_id=6&af_id=6784" occurrence="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Shopping Link Added by SkimWords">gas pedal</a><span style="position: absolute;"></span><span style="position: absolute;"></span>. As you run a repeat of about 100m, speed up until you reach approximately 95 percent of your maximum speed—which should happen about a third of the way into the repeat—then decelerate to the finish. Do as many repeats as you have energy for, with recovery or rest in between. “People love strides,” says Jason Fitzgerald. “They’re a good way to stretch your legs out and feel the wind in your hair.” Fitzgerald suggests doing strides before the end of an easy run, so that you’re warmed up but not fatigued.</div>
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<img alt="18 Ways to Change Up Your Running Routine: Trails" class="media-element file-default" height="400" src="http://greatist.com/sites/default/files/styles/article-content-732/public/Trail_604.jpg?itok=k5q7-UFW" style="border: 0px; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%;" title="" typeof="foaf:Image" width="604" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">7. </span><span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';"><a href="http://greatist.com/fitness/know-before-you-go-trail-running" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; text-decoration: none;">Go Off-Roading</a> </span><br />Rejuvenate the body and mind by getting off the road and into nature. Running a path or trail provides a<a class="skimwords-link" data-group-id="0" data-skim-creative="300003" data-skim-node-id="192:Rejuvenatethebodyand_1" data-skim-product="1555276" data-skimlinks-editor="0" data-skimwords-id="1555276" data-skimwords-word="scenic%20backdrop" href="http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=scenic+backdrop" occurrence="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Shopping Link Added by SkimWords">scenic backdrop</a><span style="position: absolute;"></span><span style="position: absolute;"></span> and tests your coordination on new terrain. Just make sure you have the <a href="http://greatist.com/fitness/how-to-choose-shoes-for-exercise-infographic" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;">right kind of sneakers</a>, and if it’s your first time off the road, pick a path that isn’t likely to (literally) trip you up.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">8. Try "Fartleks" </span><br />Swedish for “speed play,” <a href="http://wordsmith.org/words/fartlek.html" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">fartleks</a> allow runners to reap the benefits of speed work in an unstructured workout. Bonus: They’re as fun to run as they are to say. To try fartleks, just run at a comfortable pace to warm up and then throw in a sprint—run hard until you reach the end of the block, or until the next stop sign, or until you see a red car. Make <a href="http://running.competitor.com/2012/03/training/workout-of-the-week-fartlek-session_49932" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a game of it</a>; that’s why they call it “play!” </div>
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<img alt="18 Ways to Change Up Your Running Routine: Get Social" class="media-element file-default" height="400" src="http://greatist.com/sites/default/files/styles/article-content-732/public/Group%20run_604.jpg?itok=uRW6R-6l" style="border: 0px; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%;" title="" typeof="foaf:Image" width="604" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">9. </span><span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">Get Social</span><br />Run with a group or club to learn new routes and meet running buddies. Larger cities will have multiple running clubs that gather for group runs before and after the 9-to-5 workday. And most have a social component too—post-workout recovery fuel might include beer, bagels, or both. If there aren’t running clubs or teams near you, contact specialty running shops in your area; they often host group runs. <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/workouts/run-together?page=single" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Reversal runs, rabbit runs, and group fartleks</a> make for challenging, fun group workouts.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">10. Run to a Beat </span><br />Sometimes it’s tough to push ourselves to maintain a challenging pace. When this happens, let the music do the work. Apps like <a href="http://www.rockmyrun.com/" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">RockMyRun</a>, <a href="http://greatist.com/fitness/tempo-run-app-syncs-music" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;">TempoRun</a> ,and <a href="http://www.pacedj.com/" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">PaceDJ</a> provide a beat that will keep you moving fast by sorting your music library by tempo. Songza’s <a href="http://songza.com/discover/activities/cardio_workout/90-bpm-hip-hop-running-mix-songza/" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">90 BPM Hip Hop Running Mix</a> will keep you moving, too.</div>
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<img alt="18 Ways to Change Up Your Running Routine: Walk" class="media-element file-default" height="400" src="http://greatist.com/sites/default/files/styles/article-content-732/public/Walker_604_0.jpg?itok=MdNpl9iL" style="border: 0px; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%;" title="" typeof="foaf:Image" width="604" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">11. Run, Walk, Repeat</span><br />Running coach Jeff Galloway developed his <a href="http://www.jeffgalloway.com/walkbreaks.pdf" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">run-walk method</a> to help marathoners complete the 26.2-mile distance without becoming sidelined by fatigue. He believes it also helps runners build speed while reducing the likelihood of injury. His training programs are highly structured, with recommended ratios of time spent running to time spent walking, depending on a runner’s pace-per-mile.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">12. Go Long (and Slow Down)</span><br />Remember that ramping up the pace isn’t the only way to make a run more challenging. Slowing down and running longer is a great way to build endurance (though racking up too much mileage can have its<a href="http://greatist.com/fitness/distance-running-good-you" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; text-decoration: none;">own potential pitfalls</a>). To avoid injury caused by pushing too hard too soon, increase your average weekly distance by <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/10-percent-rule?page=single" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">no more than 10 percent each week</a>.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">13. </span><span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">Work the Treadmill </span><br />With the ability to do workouts that vary in pace, distance, and incline without having to scout routes or worry about climate, weather, or road conditions, the treadmill is one of the <a href="http://greatist.com/fitness/5-fun-winter-treadmill-workouts" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;">most versatile tools</a> in a runner’s fitness toolbox. Almost any running workout can be done on the treadmill, including most workouts listed here.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">14. Experience the "Pyramids" </span><br /><a href="http://running-advice.com/blog/?p=2558" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Pyramids</a> start with the shortest repeat and increase in set increments until they hit the longest distance, then decrease in the same increments. The last repeat will be your starting distance. For example: 200m, 400m, 600m, 800m, 600m, 400m, 200m, with recovery intervals between each run. Feel free to swap out timed repeats for the distances.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">15. Chase a Friend</span><br />If speed work feels too much like, well, work, find a friend who’s a bit faster than you and set out together. This will challenge your legs and lungs, make your workout feel social, and <a href="http://greatist.com/fitness/work-out-with-partner-120512" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;">provide a little extra motivation</a>. Feel free to take the social and leave the speed work; there’s nothing wrong with running at a comfortable pace and chatting as you go.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">16. Throw Weight Around</span><br />Weight training increases strength and can protect runners against injury. “A good running program will also include planned strength and core training,” says personal trainer and strength coach <a href="http://jkconditioning.com/" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Jon-Erik Kawamoto</a>. Jason Fitzgerald agrees, adding that just 10-15 minutes of <a href="http://greatist.com/fitness/bodyweight-exercises-dorm-room-workout" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;">bodyweight exercise</a> each time you run is a great way to strengthen core and leg muscles.</div>
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Mix strength training into a run by doing, for example, five squats and five lunges every five minutes and then holding a 30-second plank at every mile. Or do jump squats while you wait for a walk signal or one block of walking lunges for every three blocks you run.</div>
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<img alt="18 Ways to Change Up Your Running Routine: Rest" class="media-element file-default" height="400" src="http://greatist.com/sites/default/files/styles/article-content-732/public/Nap%20in%20the%20grass_604.jpg?itok=gvwIVVaI" style="border: 0px; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%;" title="" typeof="foaf:Image" width="604" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">17. Just (Don’t) Do It</span><br /><a href="http://greatist.com/tips/take-rest-day-or-two" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;">Just don’t run.</a> As Jason Fitzgerald points out, “Recovery is just as important as the workouts themselves. If you don’t recover from them, you might as well not do them.” Days off are “when you adapt to that workload from the workout—get faster, stronger, become a better runner.” Without adequate rest, the<a href="http://greatist.com/fitness/can-you-exercise-too-much" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;">risk of becoming overtrained increases</a>. Overtraining can cause a backslide in fitness gains, persistent fatigue and soreness, and increases the likelihood of injury.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Heavy';">18. Race!</span><br />One of the best feelings is the zip in your step that comes from race-day adrenaline. Crossing a finish line with tons of other determined racers can provide a motivating sense of accomplishment and renew enthusiasm for the sport. <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/race-finder" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Find a race</a> with a fun theme or post-race festival, or one that benefits a cause you care about. Register in advance to solidify your commitment, and start training for the distance. Check out our <a href="http://greatist.com/5k-training-guide" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">5K Training Guide</a> or <a href="http://greatist.com/half-marathon-training-guide" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 200) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Half-Marathon Training Guide</a> for everything you need to finish strong (and have fun in the process). </div>
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shared from greatist.com By</div>
Sally Tamarkin</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">April 14, 2014</span></div>
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Determination, exercise, fun workout, good habits, health and fitness, Motivation, running, workouts

18 Ways to Change Up Your Running Routine

Runner*.jpg There’s something special about being so excited to go running that you count the minutes until you can ...

Posted by Alyssa Schomaker / Thursday, July 10, 2014 / No comments / Determination , exercise and fitness , fitness goals , Fitness motivation , health , mental health , Motivation , workouts

It's All in Their Heads: The Mental Edge of Athletes Who Win

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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“When the going gets tough, the tough get going” is one way to say it. Or, as one sports psychologist put it,</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.thesportinmind.com/articles/mental-toughness/" sl-processed="1" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">mental toughness</a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">is “the ability to consistently perform toward the upper range of your talent and skill regardless of competitive circumstances.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In other words, being mentally tough means that no matter how brutal the circumstances—whether it’s your 14th hour running through a desert in temperatures well over 100F or you’re halfway through a 400-rep workout that includes pull-ups and single-leg squats—you’re able to withstand the pain and suffering and perform to the best of your skills and talents, with a good time, high place, or even a win.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As psychologists debate the roles of genetics, environment, and learned skills in determining mental toughness, they do agree (along with athletes and coaches) that high levels of mental toughness <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20391082" sl-processed="1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">are associated with athletic prowess and success</a>. In fact, mental toughness (or “grit”) may be the defining factor between finishing at the front of the pack and not finishing at all.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">To better understand how mental toughness can help someone run through a desert for seven days straight, complete 400 grueling reps in a mere 25 minutes, or win a half-Ironman triathlon with a broken foot (yes, really), we spoke to some of the toughest athletes on the planet and asked them to reflect on how they conceptualize, cultivate, and strategize for their mental game. Here's how they manage to withstand the most grueling circumstances—and win.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Andy Scott, Ultra-Endurance Mountain Biker and Ski Mountaineer</span><img class="" height="128" src="http://greatist.com/sites/default/files/AS_Stats_0.png" style="border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; height: auto !important; width: 100% !important;" width="200" /></div>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Though Andy Scott is not a professional athlete (no big deal; endurance mountain bike racing and ski mountaineering are hobbies for the California-based businessman), he's competed in the <a href="http://www.leadvilleraceseries.com/mtb/leadvilletrail100mtb/" sl-processed="1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Leadville Trail MTB 100</a>—a high-altitude, 100-mile race that takes mountain bikers through the Colorado Rockies across extremely technical terrain. Despite being <a href="http://marcpro-strava.com/blog/2011/08/16/leadville-100-race-report-thank-god-for-magic-pixie-dust-2/" sl-processed="1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">crashed</a> into by another rider during the race and getting thrown off his bike and into a rock garden, Scott finished in eight hours and 24 minutes, (32nd in his division and fast enough with a earn him a gold trophy <a href="http://www.fatcyclist.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/IMG_3308_2.jpg" sl-processed="1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">belt buckle</a> for the prestigious sub-nine hour finish.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As a ski mountaineer, he’s climbed up and skied down some of the largest, most remote, and challenging mountains in the western United States (like the time he climbed California’s 14,000-foot Mt. Tyndall just after a snowstorm that brought with it high-speed winds and an intimidating wind chill).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Mental toughness is…</span></b><br /><span style="color: #999999;">…when you, your body, the competition, nature, or the environment has the best of you so that you’re physically tapped out and need to figure out how to pull something out of yourself… not in a robotic way—in a way that’s mentally aware and engaged. It’s not just the ability to keep moving but to keep doing it in a way that’s engaged and competitive in the environment you’re in, whether that’s competing against the clock or other human beings. It’s easy when you feel good physically. It’s when that physicality leaves you.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Why you're stronger than you think you are</b></span><br /><span style="color: #999999;">What you’re physically capable of in an endurance environment is more determined by your mental strength than your physical capabilities… your body can go beyond what your physical perceptions of tiredness or fatigue are. Your brain will be telling you “You’re tired. Stop.” It’s trying to stop you from killing yourself. The mental limitations kick in before the physical limitations.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">On training for mental toughness</span></b><br /><span style="color: #999999;">Visualization is a piece of the training that is incredibly important. You don’t have to do anything physically—you can be meditating or walking, anything where you’re in your mind, playing it out in advance. You’re imagining the start, the route, the competition, those points that your body is saying, ”stop,” or that you’re suffering. You’re mentally training yourself to push through those barriers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The most challenging thing for me… was the solo climb and ski of Mount Tyndall. There was a storm; the conditions just became overwhelming. Something about the winds at high altitude is just intimidating and mentally draining. The second piece of that is that I was alone; there are no external sources of support. I realized, “Whoa, there are no people cheering.” There’s a degree of self-sufficiency required. And then there’s the remoteness.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">How he got through it</span></b><br /><span style="color: #999999;">It’s probably cliché, but it comes back to core faith, and for me, that’s my family and the people that are closest to me. They are actually sitting in my head, and that’s helping bring a degree of mental clarity to the situation to ensure I don’t do anything stupid. The second thing is my training and experience. I mean, in many ways the training is harder than the event itself in terms of the hours you’re putting in. No one is cheering for you. You’re mentally training for those moments and that’s giving you the reserve to be able to say, “I’ve seen this. I’ve done this; I know I can do it because I’ve been there before.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>On Leadville MTB 100</b></span><br /><span style="color: #999999;">This event is about redlining yourself over the course of eight hours. I started out physically and mentally fresh but I had mechanical problems with my bike, and crash mishaps and those things gradually took some physical and mental strength out of me. By the last couple of hours, you’re basically spanked, running on physical and mental empty. What that then results in—you climb inside of yourself. Endurance athletes have this term: “the pain cave.” You have to get comfortable in the pain cave. It’s a place of prolonged suffering. You know you’re going to experience it but you find a way to know that it’s not going to last forever.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Samantha Gash, Ultra-Endurance Runner</span><img alt="Athletes and Mental Toughness: Samantha Gash" class="media-element file-default" height="388" src="http://greatist.com/sites/default/files/styles/article-content-732/public/SG_Stats_V2.png?itok=ETvpmu5U" style="border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; height: auto !important; width: 100% !important;" title="" typeof="foaf:Image" width="604" /></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In 2010, when she was 25 years old and had one marathon under her belt, Australia native Samantha Gash took a semester off from law school to race 155 miles through the Chilean desert in the <a href="http://www.4deserts.com/atacamacrossing/" sl-processed="1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Atacama Crossing</a>—a self-supported race in which participants carry between 15 and 30 pounds of supplies—whatever they’ll need over the course of the seven-day event—on their backs. She then went on to complete in multi-day ultra-marathons across three other deserts, making her the first woman—and youngest person ever—to complete a <a href="http://www.4deserts.com/4_deserts_grand_slam" sl-processed="1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Four Desert Grand Slam</a>. In other words, she completed self-supported multi-day ultra-marathons through deserts in China, Chile, Egypt, and Antarctica in one calendar year.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Having run through some of the toughest conditions imaginable (race organizers describe the <a href="http://www.4deserts.com/" sl-processed="1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">deserts</a> as some of the “driest, hottest, coldest, and windiest places on earth,”) Gash has continued her endurance racing career in events that are physically and mentally grueling, like her 235-mile solo race across Australia’s Simpson Desert, for which she ran nonstop for three days, 14 hours, and 28 minutes. To learn more about Gash, check out <a href="http://buy.desertrunnersmovie.com/" sl-processed="1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Desert Runners</a>, the documentary that follows four runners (including Gash) as they compete in Racing the Planet’s 4 Desert Ultra-marathon Series. (Just use the code "GREATIST" for 10 percent off a digital download of the movie.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Mental toughness is…</span></b><br /><span style="color: #999999;">For me, mental toughness is acknowledging that very challenging moments can occur in all sports—and also in life in general—but having the capacity in a quick time frame to turn a negative experience into a positive one.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The hardest thing she’s ever done physically</b></span><br /><span style="color: #999999;">In 2012 I ran nonstop for 379 km (235 miles) across the Simpson Desert in Australia. I did take 30-minute stops to change into warm clothes, lay down, and eat dinner. That was so physically demanding that I was delirious. The last 40 km was the most painful place I’ve taken my body and mind to.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The most mentally grueling moment she's experienced while racing</b></span><br /><span style="color: #999999;">I think China (the </span><a href="http://www.4deserts.com/gobimarch/" sl-processed="1" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Gobi March</a><span style="color: #999999;">, a 250-mile race through the Gobi Desert) was the most mentally grueling—that long stage I ran with </span><a href="http://www.lisatamati.co.nz/home/runner" sl-processed="1" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Lisa</a><span style="color: #999999;"> [Tamati, an ultra endurance athlete from New Zealand]. I felt so many things. The night was coming, we’d been going for 12 hours, it was really hot, and I was pretty injured. But I wanted to stick with Lisa so I was dragging myself and didn’t want to let go of Lisa.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I try to focus my mind on the positive of completing. When I’m in immense physical pain, I try to dull the pain as much as possible. Once the pain enters your head (as opposed to just your body), you start to legitimize ways of pulling out. I distract myself by thinking about why I’m doing it. My body and mind is stronger than I’d ever think.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Mark Pattinson, Endurance Racing Cyclist</span><img src="http://greatist.com/sites/default/files/styles/article-content-732/public/MP_Stats.png?itok=ir230Dk1" style="border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; height: auto !important; width: 100% !important;" /></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Mark Pattinson, 44, has been an endurance racing cyclist since 2006. He rides about 70 hours per week to stay in shape for events like <a href="http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/" sl-processed="1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Race Across America</a> (also known as “the World’s Toughest Bike Race”) during which he will ride from California to Maryland, covering 3,000 miles—which includes 170,000 feet of hill climbs—over the course of eight to 12 days, stopping only to sleep for about two hours per night. Pattinson has completed the race twice, earning second place in 2011 and 4th place in 2013, and will take it on again in June 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Mental toughness is…</b></span><br /><span style="color: #999999;">It means being able to keep on performing whilst in extreme discomfort. It’s the ability to mentally overcome the brain, which is telling you to stop, and keep pushing yourself forward, even if things aren’t going well.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">On training for mental toughness</span></b><br /><span style="color: #999999;">I prepare myself through my own experience—I’ve been in these positions before. I know that when things are bad, it will get better. It could take hours, it could take minutes, it could take days, but it will. It’s naturally in me. I’ve made it my mantra: “At times it’s so bad but it will get better.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>His strategy for getting through several days of competition</b></span><br /><span style="color: #999999;">I have a distinct strategy. I break the race up by the day. I know I’m going to get up, I’m going to ride my bike, and then I’m going to do it again. When I get off my bike and go to sleep for one-and-a-half or two hours, I get up the next day to do it again. I know I am going to sleep in the dark at nighttime. I think that really helps me break the event down into pieces instead of seeing it as one 3,000-mile race.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Stuff does go wrong—you can get a little lost or you might get a flat tire and it’s very easy to get down. But if you spend too much time being down about it, it can throw your race completely. I tell myself, “Get on with it. We’ll talk about that later. We’ll worry about that later.” There’s no point in worrying about things you can’t change. Every moment you’re not moving is time wasted. You just keep moving and talk it through with the crew. We’ve had lots of things go wrong. You have to keep yourself in a place that’s not a panic.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Jesse Thomas, Long Course Triathlete</span><img src="http://greatist.com/sites/default/files/JT_Stats_0.png" style="border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; height: auto !important; width: 100% !important;" /></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After an accomplished and successful college running career (he was an NCAA All-American in the 3000m <a href="http://greatist.com/fitness/15-things-you-didn%E2%80%99t-know-about-olympic-steeplechase" sl-processed="1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Steeplechase</a>, a unique event that combines running, hurdling, and long jumping), Jesse Thomas took a break from racing to start a tech company. Four years later, he returned to running to give triathlons a try—and he turned out to be pretty darn good at it, even winning the USA Triathlon National Championship title for his age group in 2007. Four years later, in his first full year as a professional athlete, Jesse won his third <a href="http://www.tricalifornia.com/index.cfm/WildFlower2014-main.htm" sl-processed="1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Wildflower Long Course</a>, making him the first male to win the event three years in a row. Thomas’ event is the triathlon long course, in which competitors complete a 1.2-mile swim followed by a 56-mile bike race, and finish with 13.1-mile run.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Mental toughness is…</b></span><br /><span style="color: #999999;">I think of mental toughness as your ability to deal with pain and to process it. It’s your body’s ability and your mind’s ability—mostly your mind’s. Mental toughness could be the ability to get out of your body what your body is capable of that day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The difference between “bonking” and hitting the wall mentally</b></span><br /><span style="color: #999999;">You actually can hit the physical limits of what you can do, nutritionally and hydration-wise. But when you hit a nutritional or hydration wall, you bonk—you have to stop. Those physical things are kind of impossible to get through, to be honest. But I’ve hit mental walls where I’ve felt like my race is in the shit can and then somehow—through mantras, or if I pass somebody, maybe—I get this positive signal and I gain momentum, and it feels like it has some physical effect. Realistically, it’s probably a mental thing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">On the mantras and mental tricks that give physical kicks<br />In a Half Ironman, I’m out there for four hours. I can have a bad 20 or 30 minutes, come out of it, and still have a pretty awesome race. I have go-to mantras. It’s really dorky. “You’re kicking ass!” “You’re killin’ it!” I say them out loud, almost yelling them. I’ve found that the more physical you can make them, [the better]—you’re not only saying them, you’re hearing them, too, which makes a difference. Also, a mental kick that always gives me a physical kick is interacting with the crowd in some way. When I say “Thank you!” [to someone cheering on the sidelines] or give someone a high five, I feel like I can literally feel tangible energy connecting from those people to me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>On training for mental toughness</b></span><br /><span style="color: #999999;">I definitely visualize before every race. I try to divide it up into as many key points as I can. I set goals and trigger points and I try to tie as little of it to external factors as possible. So, I’ll say, “At halfway through I want to feel like </span><em style="color: #999999;">this</em><span style="color: #999999;"> and I want to make a move that increases my output by 10 percent.” Those kinds of things make me feel like I am on a race plan regardless of where I am in my overall goal.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">One thing I’ll say is that deep tissue massage has become my mental training. In order for it to be effective you can’t block it out or keep it from penetrating. You have to relax as much as possible and accept the pain. I tried the same thing with my track workouts—instead of pretending the pain wasn’t there, I’d accept as much of the pain as I could and make a conscious decision that my body can handle the pain. I can make my body hurt more than it hurts right now and that’s okay. That approach has made me a tougher athlete and [made me] capable of dealing with more pain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The most physically grueling event he's ever done</b></span><br /><span style="color: #999999;">At </span><a href="http://www.tricalifornia.com/index.cfm/WildFlower2014-main.htm" sl-processed="1" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Wildflower Triathlon</a><span style="color: #999999;"> last year, I broke my foot. It started to hurt three miles into the race. I’d won the last two years in a row and no one had won three in a row, so it was a big deal for me to be there. I was battling head-to-head for the win. As soon as I crossed the finish line I was limping and could barely walk. I definitely think the adrenaline helped. Endurance athletes will be able to do that. My job is to basically process and deal with pain and I’ve spent however many hours a day for however many years dealing with pain so your tolerance goes up like crazy.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Lindsey Valenzuela, Elite CrossFit Athlete</span><img src="http://greatist.com/sites/default/files/LV_Stats.png" style="border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; height: auto !important; width: 100% !important;" /><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Photo by</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><a href="http://instagram.com/hannahhayworth#" sl-processed="1" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Hannah Hayworth</a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Though it’s not an endurance sport per se, elite <a href="http://greatist.com/fitness/look-inside-world-crossfit" sl-processed="1" style="line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">CrossFit athletes</a> push their bodies and minds to extreme limits in order to qualify for and then compete in the <a href="http://greatist.com/fitness/crossfit-games-start-072413" sl-processed="1" style="line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">CrossFit Games</a>, the sport’s annual competition in which the top 51 athletes from all over the world compete in a series of workouts that take place over three days. The two winners are named the Fittest Man and Woman on Earth.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lindsey Valenzuela has climbed to the top of the sport, finishing the Games in 34th place in 2011, ninth place in 2012, and second in 2013. This means that as CrossFit and the Games have grown in popularity—drawing athletes who are increasingly strong, fast, and tireless—and workouts have gotten more grueling each year, Valenzuela continues to not just keep up, but to improve, dominating competition in her region (southern California) as well as in the Games. CrossFit fans know her for embodying her one-word motto, “Believe,” and for her infectious and spirited</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><a href="http://games.crossfit.com/media-gallery/detail/280/565" sl-processed="1" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">whoops</a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awTjHHwVPRQ" sl-processed="1" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">war cries</a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Mental toughness is…</span></b><br /><span style="color: #999999;">It basically means being able to overcome outside circumstances—negativity and whatever obstacles you have going on in your life at the moment—to focus on the task at hand. It’s easier said than done.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The toughest workout she's ever done</b></span><br /><span style="color: #999999;">Physically, the </span><a href="http://games.crossfit.com/article/major-announcement-individuals" sl-processed="1" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Camp Pendleton</a><span style="color: #999999;"> workout at the 2012 CrossFit Games (700-meter ocean swim, an 8-km bike ride across technical terrain and soft sand, and an 11.3-km run up and down steep hills). I was in pretty good shape, but not as good as I’m in now. The workout felt never-ending.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img height="264" src="http://greatist.com/sites/default/files/LV_Quote_0.png" style="border: 0px; height: auto !important; width: 100% !important;" width="320" /></span></div>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Photo by</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><a href="http://instagram.com/hannahhayworth#" sl-processed="1" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Hannah Hayworth</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>And the most mentally grueling workout...</b></span><br /><a href="http://games.crossfit.com/video/event-summary-womens-row-1-and-row-2" sl-processed="1" style="color: #999999; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Row</a><span style="color: #999999;"> from last year’s CrossFit Games. [Athletes rowed a half-marathon—that’s right, 13.1 miles—on stationary erg machines. Valenzuela earned a 5th place finish in the event, after one-and-a-half hours of rowing]. I had tunnel vision. I took one water break and you know the game </span><a href="http://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/performance-monitors/games" sl-processed="1" style="color: #999999; line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Fish</a><span style="color: #999999;">? I played that in my head and kept thinking “I’ve been through way worse.” I’d look at the screen [giant scoreboards showed each athlete’s progress as they rowed] to see how much I had done and I'd think, “I’ve already done this much, I can do this much more.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">On completing SEALFIT <a href="http://www.sealfit.com/camps-academies/kokoro-camp/" sl-processed="1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Kokoro Camp</a>, a three-day mental toughness training that simulates US Navy SEAL <a href="http://navyseals.com/nsw/hell-week-0/" sl-processed="1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Hell Week</a><br />I tried to find the right mixture of what’s driving me—the “why.” It’s sometimes a struggle. I wanted to honor my grandfathers who were in the service, and most importantly, I wanted to prove myself wrong. I wanted to prove I was capable of more than I thought I was capable of. I wasn’t going to give up on it. I was going to keep going no matter how hard it got.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A part of what they wanted us to understand [at Kokoro Camp] is that we can do more than we think our bodies are willing to do. The body is going to be the first thing to go. At SEALFit, you’re going to hurt, your feet are going to be raw, you’re going to be tired and hungry, but if your mind can keep you going, you can do incredible things.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">On her mantra, “Believe,” which is tattooed on her wrist<br />It just means: What is your goal? What do you want to accomplish? You have to earn it. You have to get it. I say that to myself. I say, “Feed your courage dog.” Don’t feed into your fears or worries or concerns. You have to feed into your positive thoughts—those are the ones that are going to get you through.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>article shared from greatist.com by Sally Tamarkin</i></span></div>
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