Mind Games You Play (On Yourself)

[Spark]

Listen, I like having worked out, but the actual working out part is a little more difficult when it's happening. I've got a mental trick that I use when I'm doing multiple reps, particularly when I'm doing more than, say, fifteen in a set.

 

For example, today I did three sets of 22 squats. First set, I just counted.

 

Second set, I got to 12 and then started over, counting to 10.

 

Third set I got to 12, then started over. I got to 5 and then started over again, counting 5 one more time.

 

I find that when I look at what's needed to finish the set can sometimes seem to take forever. I get to 12 and think, "Oh my GOD there's no way I can make it to 22, that's forever from now!" but if I tell myself that I'm at one and I just need to do ten more?

 

Well, hell. I can do ten. If it turns out that five is feeling really rough, I can start over counting again because no matter what's going on, I can do five squats. Or at least that's the way that my mind seems willing to fool itself.

 

Yeah, I'm still doing all 22, and on some level I know that, but it really helps me to start over counting halfway through sometimes.

 

So do you folks have any thoughts about mind games that you play on yourselves?

[Oramac]

I like that strategy.  

 

Personally, I use what I call "Owing Myself" to get it done.  I typically lift alone, so I don't have a spotter.  If I've recently added weight and I get to the 4th or 5th set and rep #3-5 and I know I can't do it without killing myself, I just skip it and say I "owe myself X reps" for however many I couldn't do.  Then I just add a 6th or (very rarely) 7th set to finish all my reps.  

[Elastigirl]

I count reps backward. That way when I get to the hardest part I can tell myself it is only 1 or 2 more reps than I'm done

[Spark]

Probably a less-complicated version of my tactic.

[Guzzi]

Yeah, I do this. I set myself a target, at which point I can bail, knowing that I've given myself permission. I tell myself "just 10... just 10... (or just one more round...) that's all you gotta do..."

Even I know that I'm never actually going to stop at that point, it's always "another 10.... Come on! You got another 10 in you...." But it helps.

[Ãœberleben]

I don't really have a mind trick for reps with my stuff.  I tend to just tell myself "If you can't do this, you're a giant pussy" and grit my teeth and do it.  I don't like me calling me a pussy :I

 

With hiking though, I use what my friend likes to call my "super shopper technique", which isn't a bad name for it, I do the same thing when I'm shopping too.  I hate spending money, so I hunt for deals.  And when I find a deal I usually go "I bet I can find a better deal" and keep looking.  I do the same with rest spots.  "Wow, this is a nice spot to rest, but I bet there's an even nicer spot just up there."  then when I get to that spot I either say the same thing, or I say "Nope, this spot isn't as nice, but there's no point in turning back now, there must be a better spot just up there."  I think my record of doing this was an extra three miles.  My newbie hiking friend was very unimpressed when we finally rested.

[Truetopath]

I saw a meme on one of the social networking sites that had a picture of a kitten and it said "every time you skip a rep a kitten dies." Now being the superstitious type I'm surely not going to be responsible for the mass murder of kittens. Just my way of looking at it.

[Bearded_Dragon]

Probably a less-complicated version of my tactic.

 

I like your tactic tbh, when I'm lifting or running I do something similar, it really helped when I was getting started as it helped me realise how much more I had within me. I'd think, "ok, I'll just run this mile, then see where we are. Oh! Finished that mile, that was ok, I feel fairly far from death, let's do another half mile. Oh! finished that half mile, that was ok, etc. etc. etc."

[Spark]

It's related to a tactic that I learned while writing. "Okay, Spark, gotta write 2000 words today...and 500 done, gotta just write 1500 today! Hell, 1500 is nothing, you  can do that. 800 more down...just have to write 700 words? Hell, that's nothing. You can do 700 in a warm-up." I was delighted to find that it worked so well with physical stuff too.

[Vintage]

"Just one more" plays in my head a lot when I'm in the higher rep range. I'll be partway through a tough set of kettlebell swings, thrusters, toes to bar, pull ups, etc. and start wanting to break it up... so I tell myself "just get one more before you break"... and then do it again and again... at some point in this I realize I'm so close to being done that it would be pointless to break it up, so I just finish it out. When I'm getting tired and lactic acid is building, thinking that I have to do 10 more may seem impossible so I'll break it up. But I know I can always do one more. 

[iatetheyeti]

I'm another one for the "Just X more left..." thing, and most of the time I'll count reps forwards until halfway, then begin counting down. Makes it seem like there's less to do.

 

.And when I'm not counting I'm treating myself to what will either be motivational self-talk or a slew of insults, depending on the mood I started off in. The former does the motivation trick nicely, and the latter gets me angry enough to prove myself wrong. Not the healthiest method in the world, really...

[downsfzbk16]

 like that strategy.  

[fizzifish]

When I'm trail running, I have random tracks of recorded zombie noises (like they are coming out from deep within the forest) in my playlist. Freaks the hell out of me when the tracks play randomly especially if I'm running in the evening. I then proceed to run. FAST. No kidding.

[iatetheyeti]

^^That is actually amazing!

 

Stealing for bike rides

[Spark]

When I'm trail running, I have random tracks of recorded zombie noises (like they are coming out from deep within the forest) in my playlist. Freaks the hell out of me when the tracks play randomly especially if I'm running in the evening. I then proceed to run. FAST. No kidding.

 

o.o

 

This is exactly why I started this thread. =D

[ContractSoldier]

Good Afternoon,

 

   

     When needing a quick pick-me-up during my regimen I always think of a state of panic. For example when I'm running and I'm starting to fatigue badly "I envision a loved one hurt or in a car wreck, your cell phone is not working and no one is around. You have to make it to that call box or gas station because their life depends on you!" I do the same when lifting, When that fatigue sets in "I envision pulling off wreckage or debris from a loved one because no one else is going to save them."

 

Not being able to perform when a loved one needs me the most is one of my greatest fears and thus my greatest fuels.  Just my two cents..

 

Good Luck and Godspeed 

[Dandizette]

I'm a musician, so when I'm working out with weights, I break things down into multiples of 3 and 4.

"Gotta keep going! If I can do four more, then I can break!"
But then I get to 4 (8, 12, 16-whatever! Exponentials!) and I feel like I can do more, so I just keep doing little bursts of 3 or 4 until I can't anymore.
 

When I'm cycling or walking though, I find my old marching band habits picking up though. So, I'll pick a song to start humming and match my cadence to the beats (or subdivided beats) of that song for the duration of my time. It really helps me set a manageable pace, and if I know the music well, makes me wanna finish so I can enjoy all of it.

[Spark]

Two more!

 

First was one I stumbled upon while working sets of 12. When I get to five reps, I start doing the math in my head to figure out what percentage equals 5/12. By the time I get to "Um, well, you'd have to do the division into...wait, I did twelve already?" I'm done!

 

Also, if a rep is being particularly recalcitrant, I glare at the bar and think, "You're nothing but iron. Just Atomic Twenty-Six, you can't beat me." So far I've been right.

[Vella]

Listen, I like having worked out, but the actual working out part is a little more difficult when it's happening. I've got a mental trick that I use when I'm doing multiple reps, particularly when I'm doing more than, say, fifteen in a set.

 

For example, today I did three sets of 22 squats. First set, I just counted.

 

Second set, I got to 12 and then started over, counting to 10.

 

Third set I got to 12, then started over. I got to 5 and then started over again, counting 5 one more time.

 

I find that when I look at what's needed to finish the set can sometimes seem to take forever. I get to 12 and think, "Oh my GOD there's no way I can make it to 22, that's forever from now!" but if I tell myself that I'm at one and I just need to do ten more?

 

Well, hell. I can do ten. If it turns out that five is feeling really rough, I can start over counting again because no matter what's going on, I can do five squats. Or at least that's the way that my mind seems willing to fool itself.

 

Yeah, I'm still doing all 22, and on some level I know that, but it really helps me to start over counting halfway through sometimes.

 

So do you folks have any thoughts about mind games that you play on yourselves?

 

Hah - I use exactly that trick!  Just keep counting fives...

 

 

Hmmm, what other tricks do I use on myself .... It sounds really stupid, but I like to really concentrate on the particular muscles that I'm using.  Sometimes it helps me focus on my form (oh, hey, I'm engaging that muscle and I shouldn't be/not engaging it and I should), but if things are getting really tough, I like to imagine I can feel it growing and getting stronger  Nothing like dangling the carrot of getting stacked to help out with motivation...

[Rebel Pilot Gar]

Started doing this one back when I did track - When running certain distance loops and I feel like I want to stop I make myself run to the next mailbox/tree/intersection/etc. Then just before I get to that landmark I pick one that's a little further ahead and say I just need to get to that one. I keep doing this until I'm done or the urge to stop running goes away.

 

I also reset the number of reps when I feel like I need to. Say I'm going to 10, when I reach 5 I'll either start over or start counting backwards to get those last reps in.