Monday, April 4, 2011

Distance, Speed, or Something in Between

This weekend was great! Especially because of the big family lunch we had yesterday…no need for April Fool’s Day when you can have
April-Food-Day-logo
biggest.salad.bar.ever. Yum! It included lots of goodies, like hard boiled eggs, peppers, peas, slivered almonds, carrots, cheese and much more.
almonds 
Then there was a pasta bar with different kinds of whole wheat pasta and a variety of sauces and chicken and veggie toppings.
pasta
Finally, dessert was some homemade frozen yogurt! There was plain banana, plain strawberry, and split strawberry layer and banana layer, and a mix. YUM!
See how fun it is to eat healthy? Yes, yes it is. 

This week I thought we should focus on more of the mental side of healthy living. After all, being well is about all aspects of life, and sometimes our mental game isn’t as strong as our physical one.

mental game

This weeks challenge is…
to determine a purpose
before each workout. I sometimes go to a cycling class on Saturdays when I am home for the weekend. The instructor is fabulous! One of the things I love about her is how each week during the warm-up she encourages us to determine why we are there and how hard we are going to work. She talks about how we came out early on a Saturday morning, and so before we starting working we should decide what our goals are and what our workout will be like. Because really, we are the only people that can determine that.
So whether your purpose is to increase speed, go for a distance, go for an amount of time, increase power, just get something done, build muscle, etc…make sure your body knows your goals.
I know for me if I don’t determine a route before a run or what my goal is in time or distance before I leave for the run or bike, I often sell myself short. We can often push ourselves more than we do. Show yourself just how strong you are! Have a super week :)

~Do you do mental prep for workouts or big races or games?
~What’s your favorite salad topping at a salad bar?

6 comments:

  1. My last race was my first 4 miler and I did mentally prepare myself, I planned to try to finish in 10 min miles and I did! So it definitely works!
    Salad bar topping, man there are so many, probably broccoli and boiled egg right now!

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  2. Great post! There is such a huge part of training and racing that is mental! And your salad bar sounds divine! I love eggs on my salad!

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  3. Mmm all the food you mentioned sounds SO good! Especially the homemade froyo!

    I absolutely have to talk myself into doing any sort of fitness that isn't running related (weights, bike, etc.) and REALLY have to focus on pushing myself mentally. We can do SO much when we push ourselves!

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  4. I like to think of a word or theme for each workouts. Like maybe determination, strength, recovery, breathe, etc. It totally helps!

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  5. I would say I do a mental prep about 75% of the time. Definitely always before a race/key workout (speed/long workout, etc.). Sometimes when I don't have a race coming up or a particular workout in mind, I forget, and my workouts almost always suffer because of it!

    I love dried fruit and nuts on my salads:).

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  6. Great post...I need to set better goals before each class or work out or practice. I often sell myself short as you put it...

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