I Can Do This
Mind(set) Over Body
The Bible says,” For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee”. (Proverbs 23:7 King James Version (KJV) ) Webster dictionary defines Mind set as,” a particular way of thinking : a person's attitude or set of opinions about something. 1: a mental attitude or inclination 2: a fixed state of mind and a mental inclination, tendency, or habit”.
I find it interesting that Webster dictionary uses the word tendency or habit as part of mind set. That says a lot about how we can think and use are minds. Our minds are powerful! How powerful? You can be in the best shape of your life ,if you believe it. It starts with you!
To give you another example of the power of the mind, there were some fascinating findings from a recent study from the University of Cape Town. Researchers examined the muscle biopsies of exhausted marathon runners and found that their muscles had plenty of glycogen and ATP (fuel for muscular contraction). Their conclusion? Fatigue sets in not when muscles run out of energy, but first when the brain tells them to conserve energy. Translation? Your brain tells you to shut down before your body does. For the average exerciser, this means that your mind can carry you a lot farther than you think! Positive self talk can literally help you think yourself fit. (I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me Philippians 4:13) This will affect how successful we are!! In all of my Fitness camps we open with repeating, “ I Can Do This!” We say this at the beginning, in the middle, and all throughout the Fitness camp. When your doing squats and your goal is 25 and your on the 20th rep. Your body is feeling like it wants to quit and you badly want to quit. This is when that voice in your head and throat must shout out loud,,”I Can Do This! It is really mind over body. How do we do this? Where do I start? You do this Now! Where? Here in this moment. Remember I shared in the exercise chapter, that you do not have to have a gym membership to workout. You can work out anywhere. The first thing with having a mindset for a healthy lifestyle, is to realize it is a lifestyle. The healthy lifestyle is just progressively changing your eating, working out and your thought habits each day. This can be done little by little each day. Lifestyle for fitness is not as hard as it seems. Let’s take eating for example, I shared earlier how important diet is for fitness. If you eat Ice cream for dessert every day and you decide to change into a more healthier lifestyle. It is real easy to say I’m not eating anymore ice cream, going to go cold turkey. That’s fine for a little while. The moment you smell or have a craving for ice cream you will eat it, and what’s so bad about this is you will feel very badly about eating it. Instead of going cold turkey we can process out the bad habits or foods, and integrate the good foods or habits. This process can be applied to healthy eating, workout habits, and for lifestyle change. I like to get all my clients to find and visualize the ideal body for themselves. It doesn’t matter who they visualize, as long as they can see themselves there. Now, by visualizing this does not mean you’ll have Venus or Serena Williams body, but you will come close and will love your body. Having a goal is a important part of a healthier lifestyle. You might have a pair of jeans you would like to fit in. It could be that sexy Red dress. Whatever it is you must make it a goal to reach. Now that I set my goal, how do I reach it! This is where having that right mind set comes in. You must stay focuses on the end result. If your goal is to transform your body then you must make up in your mind that YOU CAN DO IT!!! You must believe that you can do it. Have Faith! Have faith in God and in yourself. Start with small steps and gradually build up!! There really is no rush, take your time it is a lifestyle. It is how you live. Just like waking up and washing your face and brushing your teeth. It is what you do!! Make working out and eating right part of your lifestyle. You might say it is to hard!! No! YOU CAN DO THIS!! I start and then stop!! Don’t Stop! YOU CAN DO THIS! I want you to repeat this everyday, “I CAN DO THIS”!!! If we eat right and exercise merely to look great in our clothes, it won’t be enough to sustain us as, we get older! If we eat right and engage in proper exercise for the purpose of being a more vital, healthy, energetic, and useful servant of the Lord, this has eternal consequences and you are more likely to stick with it. Stick with it and do not give up!! Remember, take your time and YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!
Leonard W Wilson is a Certified Personal Fitness Trainer and Business owner of Divine Intervention Personal Fitness (Di fitness). He has been on several radio stations providing nutritional, fitness and health information. He provides many Fitness Camps, and Boot camps for Adult and children. Leonard has also written many fitness articles. www.difitness.wix.com/difitness
Leonard resides in Chandler, Arizona . His professional experiences include Head Start teacher, Parent Involvement, and fatherhood specialist. Through his work with the Head Start program, he has often shared his expertise and insights through training sessions and in-services which he designed and conducted for both the agency and private agencies. Leonard attended University Wisconsin Milwaukee and received certification through the International Sports Sciences Association(CFT) and National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified in NASM as well as, American Heart Association CPR & AED
