When I am working out with Tripp sometimes, he will occasionally ask me what muscle I am working. The purpose for this is so that I will focus on the work at hand. If I am focusing on the muscle groups that are being used to do the particular exercises and focusing on my form, I will get a more isolated and intense workout for those muscles and that movement.
I think it's important to remember this not only during strength training but also during my cardio. If I am focusing my energies on the task at hand, the intensity of my workout increases, my calorie burn increases and I experience better results. Also, I am paying much closer attention to correct form which helps to prevent injuries.
If I keep my focus on what I am doing, rather than making a laundry list of all the things I have to do during my workout, I feel more challenged. I experience muscle failure from the intense focus! And honestly, I feel like I got an amazing workout in when I am completely focused!
Lately, I have not been as focused as I have needed to be during my workouts or my cardio. As a result, even though I have gotten some awesome workouts in and have seen good results, I have not been as motivated as I needed to be. My training for my half marathon was not where it needed to be. My focus was not where it should have been. I was all over the place.
After this last half marathon, my focus has re-shifted. I am ready and committed to getting down to work and seeing if I can reach my goals for my running. I am ready to re-evaluate where I was and where I want to be. I look forward to my strength training with Tripp and I look forward to getting my running and cardio re-focused and ready to get me to the finish line!
Now that I am so focused, I wonder why I let other things blur my focus. How did I lose sight of the prize? Why did I let my frustration keep me from achieving the things I wanted? One of my biggest problems was I let my irritation over not the infertility keep me from where I wanted to be. That coupled with the hip surgery from last year really blurred everything. So, what's different? The hip is healing. It still has good days and bad days. It occasionally still hurts. But the better I train and the more focused I am on getting it back to 100%, the better it will be. The infertility issue is not one I have tackled but I am aware that I let it break my concentration for too long. And honestly, I just have to let it go so that I can continue on my path to reaching my goals.
Also, I had not re-evaluated my fitness goals. Periodically, I find it necessary to re-evaluate and recharge my thinking there. I knew I wanted to run six half marathons but I didn't set any real goals for them. I think part of me was afraid I couldn't/wouldn't rise to the challenge. Another part of me was not certain what goals I wanted to lay out in front of me. Now, I am ready. I am about to throw everything I can into my training so that I can achieve what I want. I am going to be sitting down in the next few weeks and rewriting my fitness goals. It's time and I'm ready.
What is blurring your focus? What things do you need to let go or acknowledge as a distraction from your goals? Are you continuing to set achievable goals during your journey? Are you focused on the task at hand?
I challenge you to keep your eyes on the prize. Know what you want and reach for it! No excuses!
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