1. Always be in FULL control of your movement throughout the entire exercise, using proper form. For example, when you are doing squats, control your muscles on the way down and up instead of letting gravity and momentum take over. This gives you better results and helps prevent injuries.
2. Practice positive visualization of the muscles you’re working on while blocking out any negative thoughts. For example, when you’re doing push-ups, visualize your upper body getting stronger with every repetition instead of thinking about how much pain you’re in. Focus on the gain, not the pain. Positive thoughts over negative thoughts.
3. Breathe deeply throughout the entire exercise. Instead of taking short choppy breaths, practice breathing deeply by expanding your lungs and then completely exhaling. Breathe through your mouth and nose instead of just your nose so that you get more air with each breath. Breathing gets harder as the pain increases, but do your best to stay calm and breathe deeply.
4. Instead of just going through the motion, try to push hard enough to reach muscle failure by the end of every exercise. If you just go through the motion and not feel anything, you are not going to improve. In order for you to progress, you have to get in the habit of pushing a little harder each time.
5. When you feel that initial pain and want to quit or take a break, empower your mind to go a little longer than you think you can. Push extra five seconds or do one more repetition. That extra push at the end makes all the difference in fitness. Tell yourself pain is only temporary that will last just a few seconds, but the gain will be long-term.

 

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