We talk a lot about mindset. So…what is it, practically speaking? And how can we use it to our advantage in workouts?

Your mindset is your attitude, intention, or state of mind.

There are lots of things in this world outside of our control. Mindset is not one of them! We have complete control over our mindset.

Because we have complete control over our mindset, we also have the power to influence or shape our reality. Our thoughts become the words we speak. The words we speak become the actions we take. The actions we take, consistently, become habits. And our habits shape us as individuals, as well as the world we experience.

Our thoughts are the building blocks of our mindset. We cannot control the thoughts that pop into our mind throughout the day. We can control how we choose to respond to them! So how does this apply to our workouts?

Have you ever caught yourself saying any of these things, or something similar?

“I don’t want to workout today.”
“Why am I here!?”
“This workout looks terrible, I knew I should’ve skipped today!”
“I hate running.” (Replace, “running,” with, burpees, rowing, wall balls, or any other movement you don’t absolutely love.)

(I’m raising my hand, I’ve certainly said one or all of these!)

Yes, we all get a good laugh out of these when we or others say them. And it seems like a small enough thing…a harmless joke! Let’s look at what we’re really doing when we allow ourselves to say these things…

When these words come out of our mouths, we’re making them a part of our world! We’re reinforcing the thoughts. We’re associating feelings of obligation, guilt, and dread with our workouts.

At 7070, when we refer to your workout as, “The Best Hour of Your Day,” we mean it! Would you make these statements about the best hour of your day?!

What if you changed your mindset around working out? It’s simple…just change the words you’re using! These thoughts may pop into your head. It’s what you choose to do with them from there that makes the difference.

I challenge you to catch yourself at the thought level the next time this happens. Notice yourself saying to yourself, “I don’t wanna do this, why am I here!?” And instead of letting those thoughts become words you say out loud, choose to speak empowering words instead.

“I’m stoked I get to workout today!”
“I love running!” (Or burpees, wall balls, rowing, etc…)

And answer your own rhetorical question. “Why am I here!?”

“I’m here because I want to improve my running, and there’s running in today’s workout!”
“I’m here because I want to have endurance to ski all day, and I know this workout will help me get there!”

Even if you’re not 100% bought into these statements (yet), what’s the harm in saying them anyway? If you’re going to tell yourself something, it may as well be positive, motivating, and empowering.

We all love a good shared suffering session. It’s one of CrossFit’s biggest selling points! We’ve all made some of our closest friendships bonding through challenging workouts. So let’s show our gratitude for the very thing that has brought us our most important friendships: that soul-building workout!

Make being excited about your workout cool again! Make wanting to do burpees cool! Make wanting to take advantage of an opportunity to become better at running the thing that all the cool kids are doing!

What do you have to lose? Scratch that, I mean… What do you have to gain?