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Running For Mental Toughness

The Biggest (Hidden) Benefit Of Running
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Cardio, particularly running often gets a bad rap in the world of fitness and bodybuilding.

"Cardio kills gains"

"Fat loss can be induced by a caloric deficit, running is literally useless"

I used to be in agreement, I used to preach the above.

How wrong I was...

If you want to increase your willpower, build mental toughness, intestinal fortitude and develop the grit required to withstand and thrive in the testing times of your life it's time to get running.

Get on the treadmill and smash 5 miles.

Get outside and hit the stairs whilst also lapping up your daily Vitamin D intake from the sun.

There's no right or wrong way to do it.

Just make sure you actually do do it.

Endurance Exercise Is A Test Of Will...

Lifting a heavy barbell 3 or 4 times for a couple of sets is never going to be easy, no discredit to heavy lifting - however more often than not we enjoy this - the quick exertion of effort before the euphoric feeling takes over, indicating you've just smashed a personal record.

It's over in an instant, you get yourself pumped up with your go-to lifting song and you un-rack the weight, rep it and you're done.

There's no time for that little voice in your head to set in.

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There's no internal battle, it's just you and the weights.

Easy.

When it comes to running any reasonable distance on the other hand you'll find that your body is 100% capable of going the distance. If you've been lifting for a year and have your body fat under control I can guarantee you that you're capable of running a lot further than you think straight off the bat.

Probably 6 miles or more.

But the voice in your head will tell you otherwise.

"Slow down, we don't have to be doing this"

"You just hit the 3 mile mark, you've done good... just stop now"

"Let's call it a quits and run more tomorrow, you've done enough"

Most people will allow the opinion and the pointless chatter of that voice to hold weight.

That voice is your subconscious.

That voice, if listened to will ensure you never reach your goals, be they under the bench press or in the board room.

Ignore that voice and push through.

As I said, the endurance athlete is a master of his own will-power.

The endurance athlete only builds this will-power by ignoring that voice and telling it 'No!'.

Now get running and stay tuned for the big benefits of running for bodybuilders, coming soon.

See also
5 Workouts That'll Build & Test Your Mental Fortitude

What's Your Take On Endurance Exercise & Mental Toughness?

Scott J.
Scott J.https://ignorelimits.com
I’m SJ. I’m a fitness enthusiast and published author. I transformed my body from a skinny fat 135lbs with 18% body fat to a solid 192lbs at 8% body fat. I became qualified in a field I was passionate about. I founded several online businesses that allow me to pursue ideas and projects in my life that I am passionate about without having to constantly worry about money. I published several eBooks explaining the training and dieting techniques I used to achieve the body I have today. I learnt a plethora of new information on dieting and fitness by reading and applying what I read, to find out what does work and what doesn’t work, because as I’m sure you’ve noticed the health and fitness industry is full of non-sense claims and BS. I found out what was true and what worked for me and applied that knowledge. And you bet I had fun during the whole process.

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