In this episode I explore an incredibly simple, but powerful, mental strength strategy which can make a dramatic difference when things get tough.
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Listen to the Training For Trekking Podcast on: Or any other of your favourite podcast platforms! EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: [0:00] All right. Hello, hello, ladies and gentlemen. In today's episode, we are covering episode number 17 of this 20-episode miniseries, which is 20 Lessons Learned Through 20 Weeks of Training. And in today's episode, we are covering a really, really simple mindset trick, which can make an absolute world of difference when things get tough, both in your training and also when you're actually on the trail. So, let me tell you the story of this one, where this one has come about. [0:30] So basically, during that 20-week training process, as we were kind of getting into the meat of the training, meaning we'd gone through the first initial weeks, the introduction, we'd kind of gone the swing of things, we got into the meat of the training where things were ramping up, getting a little bit more difficult, and in all honesty, things were getting tough. And this was probably, you know, after maybe two months in, three months in, or something like that of this five-month process. Now, at this stage, months of training was accumulating. You know, we've been training five mornings a week, every single morning, plus all the extras I've been doing. We've been waking up early, training really, really hard. And the fatigue was there. Like, I was getting tired. I was balancing my energy because we're working really, really hard. [1:12] And there were a lot of points through the training process, particularly as things began to ramp up and get a little bit more difficult, where it felt almost too tough, when it felt like I just wanted to take a break, take it easy, to sort of back off from sessions, to start taking extra rest, to conserve my energy and really, really just not push myself to, you know, as hard as I could, but really, really conserve myself and just to kind of chill out a little bit. There was this massive temptation to do that because I felt like. [1:43] The body just really, really wanted it, or maybe the mind really, really wanted it. But at that exact moment in training, it wasn't really ideal because everything was kind of coming to a head. Everything we were intending to work hard because we had to be ready for this really physically demanding event, and this was the time where we should have been really working hard. So at this point where I was like mentally considering, okay, maybe I should be backing off, it wasn't ideal. Now, this would happen in a lot of situations, you know, in our conditioning sessions or our fitness sessions where I knew I needed to kind of push hard, but I wanted to kind of sneak breaks in when maybe the coaches weren't looking or I wasn't really working to my full potential and I was kind of not cruising but like not really working as much as I could so I could get to the end feeling a bit fresher and not quite as uncomfortable. Or in our sparring session when we're actually face-to-face with people, when I wanted to take my foot off the pedal instead of try things and practice things and push and challenge myself, I was tempted to just kind of to like back off and circle around and do simple things and not really progress what I needed to progress. [2:44] Now, I realized this was happening after a little while and I was like, oh, this isn't ideal. So, what I did was I lent into a trick which I get all my hikers doing or I recommend to at least all my hikers. I came up with a mantra. Now, a mantra is really, really basic. It's basically a simple positive statement which is meaningful for you. Now, a lot of people when they hear the the word mantra, like, oh, hippy-dippy, all of that, but it doesn't have to be that crazy out there. It's literally a simple positive statement, which is meaningful for you. Now, it could literally be anything, but in the training context, because obviously we're talking about training here and hiking here, it's ideally something that you can repeat to yourself when things start to get a little bit tough. So, in my personal example, to give you an example of this, My mantra, which I came up with, was really, really simple. I am strong. I am powerful. I am unstoppable. [3:40] Now, I would repeat this to myself all the time during the training process. I would repeat this to myself in the car while I was driving to the gym when all I wanted to do was be in bed. I would do this during cardio sessions when I felt like my energy was lagging. I would do this in the sparring when I was taking my foot off the pedal or I was in a situation I didn't like. And ultimately, even in the event, when I got halfway through and I was like, oh my gosh, I've never been so tired in my life. I use this there to kind of get me through. For me, this simple statement, it lifted me up. It gave me energy. It reminded me that all the hard work I put into things already, and it reminded me of the best self that I wanted to be in that moment. These words were so powerful for me, and they had so many layers to it. For you, as a hiker, I strongly encourage you to have a think about this and come up with something here. Now, ultimately, the words do have to be meaningful for you. For me, my mantra was simple. But personally, each of those words that I picked out, strong, powerful, unstoppable, each of them had layer upon layer upon layer upon layer of meaning for me. It's kind of like the whole thing of like a picture paints a thousand words. Each of those words have a thousand emotions or a thousand thoughts, each associated to them for me. So I could literally say these few words, and it just meant so much for me. That whole small mantra told a story to myself. [5:03] Now, in the hiking context, well, for you, in all honesty, is when you're coming up with this, it won't happen straight away that you'll get this deep. You'll just come up with some words, some positive words that sound good to you. It might be something like, my legs are strong, I've trained for this, I feel great, or whatever it may be. Just come up with anything that kind of resonates with you and practice it. And over time, it'll probably develop and get more and and more and more and more and more. For me, when I'm talking about this deep thing where it's layer upon layer upon layer, it won't happen immediately. This has been, for me, a development over many, many years. [5:36] So in the hiking context, obviously that's my story there. In the hiking context, you can use this in so many different situations. Now, for example, you can use this in the middle of the hill training session. If you're doing hill or stair intervals and you're like, oh my gosh, I'm over this. My legs are so tired. I'm getting jelly. Well, you just want to rest. You can repeat whatever mantra you want. Or on the trail, when you're going through a rough section of the trail, if there's mud, if there's rock hopping, if there's river crossing, something that that makes you feel nervous and uncomfortable, you can repeat this. And when you're three quarters through the day on the trail and you just start getting these thoughts of, I just want this to be over. You know, we've all been there, counting it down, not feeling like a good time. And a dozen other things. Anytime things get tough, when you're struggling physically, mentally, whatever may be, if emergencies come up and you're absolutely freaked out of your mind or whatever may be, you can fall back on this mantra. It's such a powerful thing and it's such a simple thing. [6:30] So my mission for you is simple. Have a really, really solid think about this. Sometime this week, block off half an hour, get out a pen and paper, just write down a bunch of different ideas. [6:40] And then once you've written a bunch of ideas, just circle the ones that kind of sound good to you and test them out. Write the words which for you are powerful for you and portray the best self that you want to be. For me, as I said, strong, powerful, unstoppable, all of those really resonate with me. me. For you, the words will be different, but that's what you kind of want to be looking at. Write down a bunch. Circle the ones that sound good. And then just try them out. Repeat them to yourself through the day. See how they feel. Repeat themselves during your training sessions. When things are getting tough, see how they feel. And just try out, try out, try out. Because you won't get this right 100% the first time. And as I said, mine evolved multiple times. And I've used, you know, these things have developed over years and years and years. But if you're persistent, and actively use this it can go such a long way and the beautiful thing is even if you have the most basic mantra to start with and it's not even that deep it's still going to be beneficial, and then the more you develop it the deeper it gets it gets better and better and better and better. [7:41] So it's so worth putting some time aside so my strong recommendation for you no matter what type of hike you're training for whether it's a massive adventure or your first day hike or just going out on your regular weekends, have a think about this. Come up with a little mantra, give it a go, try it out, and I guarantee you it will serve you well. So I really hope a few people listening to this can take up on this, and I really do hope it can make a bit of a difference. It's served me so well over the years. It's served so many of my hikers so well over the years, and I really do hope it can serve you well too. So thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you soon. Bye.
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AuthorRowan is an online personal trainer who specialises in training for hiking and mountaineering. He helps get them fit, strong and resilient so they can conquer every adventure. Archives
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