How you feel during training is not always a reflection of how fit you are. If you know just how to manage it and use a variety of mental tricks you don’t just get to feel better than you would otherwise, you will be performing better, doing more and working out harder.

Fitness is, mostly, inside your head. It’s first of all a mental battle to win in order to make yourself train, make yourself train at the level you need to, and then to continue doing it time and time again. Here are a few tricks you can use to make the whole process easier on yourself:

Don’t think about how hard it is
The more you think about yourself not being able to cope, the harder it will feel. Keep telling yourself that what you are doing is no big deal and you’ll find that you are capable of achieving much more.

Take yourself elsewhere for a few seconds
If where you are is less than comfortable, imagine where you would like to be right now and take yourself there in your head. It will help you reset your brain and take its attention away from thinking about the tough training session.

Lie
Tell yourself that you will never do this again or will take a long break…after this time. The lie works because it re-programmes your brain to stop complaining and simply focus on the time training will end.

Work out with music
Evidence shows that listening to music during your workout, due to its calming effect, can lead to reduced muscle tension and more efficient oxygenation. We are not just able to do more and feel less exhausted, but the exercise itself feels less taxing.