Silly question, right?!  I mean…who doesn’t want better results from the time they spend exercising?  So how do we get better results?  You know some of the factors:

• proper workout structure
• gradual increase in intensity or volume
• adequate rest & recovery. 

But there’s another factor you might not have considered…and, if done regularly, it’ll improve your strength in the weight room AND your endurance sport performance!  

Mindfulness.

Yep…mindfulness. I can hear your response: “You mean I just have to think about what I’m doing?” Well…actually…sort of! Let’s take a look at how mindfulness works with both strength & endurance training.

Mindfulness & Strength Training

Weight lifters have known about the connection between the brain & the muscle for years – it’s called “the mind-muscle connection” (aptly named, right?!). Basically, the more you concentrate on the muscle doing the work, the better results you’ll get.

When we lift a weight we can think about that action in two different ways:

1. External Focus (the outcome of the lift) – Let’s use a Bicep Curl as an example. If you do a Bicep Curl with an external focus, you concentrate on lifting the weight up & down.
2. Internal Focus (contracting the target muscle) – Using the same Bicep Curl example, an internal focus means that you concentrate on contracting the prime mover muscle (the bicep).

Studies using an 8-wk resistance training program suggest that using an Internal Focus will improve strength gains by 16% & muscle size gains by 12%! Compare that to the External Focus results of 2% (yes, 2%!) strength gain & 7% size gain. Sign me up!!

Mindfulness & Endurance Training

With endurance training, studies have suggested mindfulness training affects several different performance components:

1. Time to Exhaustion – Mindfulness improved treadmill time to exhaustion. There are several potential reasons such as improved breathing & posture, higher pain tolerance & improved acceptance of pain.
2. Lactate Concentration – Mindfulness training decreases lactate concentration which is responsible for “the burn” & discomfort that we feel at higher intensities.

So, how can you implement your own mindfulness training program? Mindfulness is the practice of being present, being in the moment & reserving judgement on what we are feeling, thinking & experiencing. Try focusing on the working muscle the next time you lift. Or, when you’re out on your next run, try focusing on your breathing…how it feels, the pattern it takes…without trying to change it. Things like meditation (I particularly like the Calm app) & yoga are also excellent starting points.

Suffice to say, when we focus on what we are doing & practice being present in our exercise, our results will only improve! I’ll be curious to hear your experiences!