How mindful is your workout?
The ability to be ‘in the moment’ is often stated as key to the success of elite athletes
Mindfulness is a common buzzword around the gym. But what does it mean to be mindful during a workout? And is there any proven benefit to “being in the moment?”
A team of researchers from the U.K. tackled some of these questions, searching for any evidence that practising mindfulness during exercise can make workouts more enjoyable, purposeful and ultimately increase the chances of sticking with it.
For those new to the concept, the definition of mindfulness is being attentive to the present and accepting of your thoughts and feelings. Yet, making a conscious effort to focus inward is the polar opposite of tuning out and plugging in, a common strategy used by exercisers wanting to disconnect from the feelings of fatigue and discomfort that often accompany a tough workout.
So is tuning in or tuning out the preferred strategy when it comes to improving exercise adherence and enjoyment? “Mindfulness can work in both cases,” said Catherine Sabiston, professor in the faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at University of Toronto and a Canadian research chair in physical activity and mental health.
Sabiston says the plug-in generation uses music as part of a mindfulness strategy, bringing the mind to the music instead of to the effort it takes to complete a tough workout. So if listening to your playlist helps get you through a challenging workout, then congrats on having a mindful practice. Admittedly, some forms of exercise, like yoga and tai chi, are more commonly associated with mindfulness. Both put emphasis on the process, not the outcome, which is decidedly different from someone whose motivation to exercise is linked to future results like losing weight or finishing a marathon.
But most elite runners will tell you that tuning inward is an important part of their training and competition strategy. They routinely work out without earbuds in favour of listening to the feedback their body is giving, which in turn allows them to adjust their effort and mindset accordingly. If they’re having a rough day, they know what they need to do and where to focus their efforts in order to make the best of it. And on those days when the body feels great, no matter how hard the challenge, a mindful runner feels the force immediately and ramps up the effort accordingly.
The ability to be in the moment is often stated as a key to success by elite athletes who are interviewed after a big win. Indeed, some of the research done on mindfulness suggests that the more mindful individuals are, the more likely they are to experience “flow states” or what’s commonly referred to as “being in the zone.” And that’s exactly where most athletes feel they need to be to achieve their best performance.
But more than being in the zone, being mindful for anyone who isn’t on the hunt for a medal is about controlling emotions and owning your feelings. Mindfulness focuses on acceptance rather than guilt. So instead of worrying that you’ll never be fast enough, strong enough or fit enough, you’re happy and thankful that you found the time to work out during your busy day. “Being aware and accepting of your emotions builds confidence, enjoyment and competence, all important elements when it comes to making exercise a habit,” Sabiston said.
As for whether there’s any quantifiable evidence that being mindful will keep more people moving, the team of U.K. researchers couldn’t find any compelling research supporting the idea that improved inner focus will result in a more active population.
But they did find that mindfulness had a positive effect on several of the psychological factors related to physical activity such as habit, satisfaction, motivation and enjoyment, which they suggest makes mindful practitioners “more intrinsically motived to engage in physical activity, accept negative sensations that are likely to occur (fatigue) and enjoy the experience of exercise.”
So how do you become more mindful? Sabiston says the ability to focus on the process versus the result takes time. And like anything else, it gets better with practise.
The goal of mindfulness is to find your groove, whereas the goal of most interval training workouts is to keep your body from getting too comfortable.