One major benefit of exercising is its benefit on the mind. Many studies point to exercise assisting with mood and cognitive benefits.
Statistics aside, at EverStrongSF and Live Oak Strength & Nutrition, we can see the effect on the mind first hand every day when people come to train. People come in with many things on their mind…parking, work, travel, or some frazzled interaction with another person.
When people come in, we reset them and get them focused on their body.
“How did you feel after the last workout?”
“How do you feel right now?”
“Are you ready to train? Let’s get in the zone.”
It’s a body check in and we ask them to feel it and recognize it. Then, we get them into the zone. They know it’s an intense focusing session and often make the switch with ease.
Once in the training, people either watch the output on the screen to focus on ft/lbs of torque they are generating on the ARX or close their eyes and listen for the weights to gently touch the stack as they keep continual tension and breathe. They focus intensely on their form and we give quiet one word clues, “slower”, “hold”, “turn”, “breathe”.
Doing resistance training where you focus on the specific movement and the muscles involved is a large departure from the bouncing around from thing to thing in the outside world. When combined with the deep breathing to prevent blood pressure buildup, provide the muscles with oxygen to convert energy into contractions and to hyper-oxygenate the blood, it is a huge reset.
Most people breathe shallow most of the day. We get people deep breathing for 15-20 minutes.
When trainees leave, their muscles emptied and tingling. Their mind is reset from having been singularly focused and concentrated on one thing for 20 minutes.
This training is a guided body meditation where the minimal effective dose of exercise is combined at the same time. Learn more about it here: www.everstrongsf.com