Mental Toughness Workouts To Forge An Iron Will
Looking for mental toughness workouts to build an unbreakable mindset? You've come to the right place...
When I first set out on the journey to transform my physique 10 years ago I thought that by lifting weights and following a solid regime the only thing that would change would be the amount of lean muscle mass and stored fat my body was carrying.
As drastic as my physique transform has been I can say with complete confidence that my mindset has transformed more than my body.
From sleeping in, not wanting to undertake anything I thought I might fail at and not owning up and taking responsibility for things.
I thought you could change your body but you couldn't evolve your mindset.
You were either born with Navy SEAL-esque mental toughness or you weren't.
Sure, I guarantee certain individuals are born with a stronger mindset than others...
Lifting weights and following a solid exercise regime in general will have you gradually increasing your mental toughness as you continually apply progressive overload... but there are a few exercises and workouts that're just that much more taxing mentally.
Below you'll find 5 mental toughness workouts that'll build both your mind and your body, I guarantee if you perform a few of these workouts regularly and push yourself you'll cultivate a completely new (tougher!) mindset, this mindset will bleed over into your work, your relationships and how you carry yourself as a person.
That's powerful.
Give These 5 Mental Toughness Workouts A Try...
Workout #1 - EMOM
Every minute on the minute you perform the prescribed exercise(s) for the specified repetitions.
The remainder of that minute is your rest period.
Get it done fast and you've got more rest between rounds (but you've also got an elevated heart-rate!)
Get it done slower and you'll find yourself with little rest between rounds
As soon as the clock hits the next minute you're back to it.
Repeat for the specified number of rounds (minutes).
The exercises used generally don't require a lot of setup/transition time.
EMOM for 15 minutes
5 double-unders
5 push-ups
5 hanging leg raises
Workout #2 - Murph
Murph is one of CrossFit's many benchmark workouts.
You don't need to know how to perform olympic lifts such as the snatch or power clean to smash this workout, all you need is a 20lb vest and some mental intensity!
Here's the workout... (you can partition the exercises as needed, however the mile must be run at the start and end of the workout).
- 1 mile run
- 100 pull-ups
- 200 push-ups
- 300 air squats
- 1 mile run
Workout #3 - Air Bike Calories
When it comes to pushing the pace for intervals if you’re on a treadmill you’re limited to the max speed of the treadmill (often 20kmph). For many this will not be all out effort.
The air bike mitigates that.
There’s no impact whatsoever, you’re seated with your arms on the handles, feet on the pedals and balls to the wall.
There’s no ceiling or electronic limiter as to how hard or fast you push. That’s up to your mind (they nicknamed the assault bike ‘devils tricycle’ for a reason!).
Aim to hit 100 calories in 3 - 4 minutes.
Workout #4 -Kettlebell Conditioning
As quick as possible...
500 Kettlebell Swings
Stop every minute and do 5 burpees before continuing with your swings
Workout #5 - The 300 Workout
I’m not a huge fan of high repetition work, however I love the 300 workout as it’s not only a extraordinary mental endurance challenge it also provides a benchmark of your current level of fitness – you can rest or stop whenever you want, be strategic and complete this regime in the shortest amount of time possible.
As this is a fairly ‘spartan’ workout routine a very minimal amount of equipment is required, all you’ll need is:
- Pull-up bar or tree branch etc. for pull-ups
- Olympic bar with 2x 45lb plates
- Box or object to jump onto – around 24 inches in height
- 36lb kettlebell or dumbbell (if not possible use Olympic bar)
The 300 workout routine is as follows:
- 25 pull-ups
- 50 deadlifts at 135lbs
- 50 push-ups
- 50 box jumps with a 24 inch box
- 50 floor wipers while holding a 135lb barbell
- 50 clean and press (25 per arm) with a 36lb kettlebell
- 25 pull-ups
Total reps – 300.
When performing this workout the most important thing is to DO IT RIGHT. Videos of men performing the 300 workout in 10~ minutes ALWAYS results in them flailing around on the pull-up bar followed by push-ups with ½ the normal range of motion.
