Mental toughness is a phrase that is said a lot in my boxing gym. The trainers typically say it when they are having us hold a squat or during a 4-6 minute round of repetitive body weight moves. It's a common phrase, and an important one. Today, I got to thinking about this phrase and what it means to me. How do I define mental toughness when it comes to health and fitness?

We all have our mantras. Mine is typically "you can do this". It's not an uncommon phrase, however, simple as it is - it works for me. It took me a long time to have more confidence in my physical strength and fitness level. I was not at all the star athlete growing up, however, as I got older and started working harder... I realized that strength and athleticism can be dramatically improved with determination and hard work. I realized that, if I worked hard, I could do it.

Today, our trainer at PWG challenged us to a plank contest. I said to myself "You can do this". When I was holding the plank, my mantra was "All Day. You can do this All Day". It worked and I won the contest. Yay! BUT, telling you I won isn't my point. These mental mantras that result in mental toughness not only help us get through the plank, the lift, the run -- they help us daily. These amazing things we learn in the gym, on the pavement, on the ice, on the court, in the pool - challenging our physical selves is making us stronger in our daily lives. The fact that we can take what we've learned from physical hard work and improve what we do in our daily lives, is priceless. Hard work in the gym breeds hard work professionally. Mental toughness on a run breeds mental toughness when the going gets rough. It all correlates and it's awesome.

Questions: WHAT IS YOUR WORKOUT MANTRA?
WHAT DOES "MENTALLY TOUGH" MEAN TO YOU?

Hope you all have a great week! xo