The Trick to Overcoming Mental Blocks in Fitness Training

No matter where we are in our exercise story, there comes a time when physically we might feel fine, but mentally the struggle to continue working out feels kind of... insurmountable. 

Much to my surprise, I experienced this intense feeling recently. In training for my fourth marathon in two years (totally reasonable and sane compared with those who run, say, three marathons a season or race every weekend), I became rather disengaged, defeated before even stepping up to the starting line. I began to think, What's the point? Who cares how fast I run or how long it takes me to finish? And does it really matter what my pace per mile is? 

This was a new and unusual feeling. Sure, I'd had days where I was tired and had to give myself an extra pep talk before lacing up, but what I was feeling now was unsettling and completely at odds with how I'd felt throughout my past training periods. 

A year and a half ago, when I ran my first marathon in a pretty decent time, thoughts of qualifying for the prestigious Boston marathon in my next race danced in my head. And though I came close (shaving off fourteen full minutes), I still missed the mark by two minutes and change. In training for my next two big races (and running plenty of little ones in-between), I felt mentally prepared even though my progress wasn't always significant. At the finish in Buffalo, my hometown and location of my second 26.2, I broke down. These were not happy tears; I was devastated that I'd failed to make my goal. Thanking my parents for their support and then waving them off with a thick voice, I fell heavily into my partner's arms, mentally and physically beat up. 
"You'll get it next time," he said, encouraging me to see how well I'd done, BQ (Boston qualifier) or no BQ. 
In the couple of hours after the race, I struggled to deal with my visceral loss, but soon enough exhaustion gave way to pride and contentment. When I missed my goal again in NYC this past fall, I stayed positive, reminding myself that it was, by the standards of most, a very tough course. Shopping around for a spring marathon, I began my winter training in earnest. I ran on vacation in Hawaii; I ran throughout the polar vortex. I ran in rain, sleet, sub-zero temperatures, pitch-dark early mornings. 

And then somewhere along the course of my training, I started to really hate it. 
My long runs were slow and half-hearted. I came close to cutting all but one of my twenty-mile runs short, but as my impediment was never a physical one, I kept on. 
If you've ever set out to accomplish a certain fitness goal--maybe it was training for a triathlon, maybe it was doing a 30-day Bikram yoga challenge--and found yourself feeling uninspired and unmotivated, then I know you can relate to my chagrin. 

I sought out anyone who might help me along, but the responses I received when I confided my mental malaise varied and left me just as disaffected. No one could make me feel better, which I suppose, is telling. We must overcome our own mental blocks by ourselves or else not overcome them at all. If it's as easy as someone telling you that "you can do it," it's not much of an obstacle you're facing. 

My own mental block was real and so bad that one night, I turned to my partner and said, "I'm so sick of all this running chatter." Everyone, it seemed, was posting status updates on Facebook about their latest race, patting each other on the back for long runs accomplished, declaring their race times. (It must be noted that I'd been guilty of doing all of these things at one time or another... just not lately.) 
"You can just do the half," a well-meaning friend suggested when I despaired. "You know, you don't have to run at all," my partner chimed in. 
Were they crazy!? I'd been training for months, bowing out of social situations early, declining invitations, turning down drink offers; no way was I just going to drop out of the race and assume the role of spectator. Barring injury, I was running. And well, I might add. As difficult as it was to admit that I just wasn't really feeling it this time, it'd be far more horrifying to explain to everyone who'd been subject to my own ridiculous chatter that I wasn't competing simply because my head wasn't cooperating. 
Fitness experts recommend training straight through any mental fatigue. When a body part is nagging or you are genuinely in pain, that's when you stop, but if you're halfway through a killer Soul Cycle class and decide to step out just because your mind is telling you to give up, that's kind of a problem. 
Mental blocks in some ways are way more challenging than physical ones because you have to fight to overcome them without the help of physical therapy or rest. In fact, rest too long because you just don't feel like going to the gym, and you may find yourself away for so long that your membership expires. Making exercise a priority is entirely mental. Getting out there involves will and plenty of self-discipline. 
If you find yourself experiencing rough mental blocks that threaten to keep you from an exercise you once loved or found truly rewarding, it might be worth reconsidering or modifying your goals, at least temporarily. Are you frustrated because you can't seem to lose those last three pounds? Maybe you live with them. Or maybe you up the ante and train harder--where our brains tell us we can't, our bodies can almost always step up to the plate. Exercise diversity can also be really helpful. Workout ruts are known factors of fitness mental blocks, and sometimes to see greater results, it's actually necessary to do something different. Surprise your body--and your mind--with a new routine. 
To sum it all up, the next time you find yourself feeling glum about your workout or training program, try the following: 
1. Just work through it. Mind over matter. Don't depend on the encouraging words of others to get you through your mental struggle. You wouldn't expect anyone to carry you over the finish line, would you? 
2. Try easing up--briefly (a week, a couple of workouts)--on whatever routine you've been doing consistently. Maybe you're feeling mentally challenged because physically it feels terribly daunting. 
3. Do something else. Don't stop working out, for it's astonishing how quickly muscles deteriorate, but do give yourself a chance to experience another kind of exercise before you return and recommit to your former one. 
4. Get perspective. It might be a phase you're going through. Give your mind time to process what's happening and work it out. Slow and steady is often the best way. 
(The slideshow above features heart-pumping online streaming videos, ideal for a regimen shake up.) 
As for me, knowing that I'm ready physically makes this weekend's race less daunting. Will I get a personal best? Will I get a time that'll get me into Boston next April? Maybe. Either way, I'm sure I'll run my heart out.