As a follow on to last weeks blog post, I want to expand on the term “power” as it relates to fitness. Fitness programs are more powerful when the mind and body are in sync. The world’s greatest athletes have mastered this, and we can all master it. A better understanding of how our mind controls our actions will lead to more results from our workouts.
The brain is the launch center for body actions. Or, the power station, if you will. Here’s how it works:
“The brain’s motor system is contained mostly in the frontal lobes. It starts with premotor areas, for planning and coordinating complex movements, and ends with the primary motor cortex, where the final output is sent down the spinal cord to cause contraction and movement of specific muscles.” (1)
Of course, mental direction and the responding movements all happen within the same physical body. Here’s some food for thought…perhaps a better way to describe the connection of mind and body is the awareness of body/mind singularity and not a division that needs to be connected!
When an athlete achieves greater mind/body awareness, then movements become automated like a machine with more accuracy and speed. At this level, actions become auto-responsive when necessary, and this is the level where greatness can be achieved in fitness.
It takes FOCUS to remain in a heightened state of awareness during your workout, but it is well rewarded with better form, better breathing, more flexibility and greater intensity. More awareness of the mind as a part of the body will yield greater fitness results, guaranteed.
I find it easier to practice awareness of mind/body, or mind within body, when I train inside of an infrared sauna. This is yet another benefit of infrared to add to the list. There is something about the environment inside of a HOTWORX sauna that can be noticed when you enter, and it immediately takes you to another state of mind. The best way that I can describe this is it reminds me of walking out to the beach on a warm sunny day.
Absorption of infrared energy has been proven to improve mood, alleviate depression and has been used effectively to treat SAD (seasonal affective disorder). I find that when my skin begins to absorb the energy of infrared, that my mental state immediately turns more positive, and that positivity leads to greater mental clarity.
Training in an infrared environment fosters mind/body awareness!
Again, the awareness of mind within body helps to sync the two as one for better performance in fitness. The next time you go to the gym make an effort to “bring it” with more focus and thought.
Think mind-within-body while you train and soon you will become a powerful automatic workout machine! 👊🔥
