This story published in the Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research demonstrates that you can improve your fitness just by thinking about the right things.

Researchers had students think about either the “reasons” they wanted to become more fit or the “actions” they could take to become more fit. For 8 weeks they had subjects write down their answers. The “reasons” group would write stuff like ‘to lose weight’ or ‘to be healthier’. The “actions” group wrote down things like ‘join a gym’ or ‘work out with a friend’.

It turns out the people who were in the “action” group ended up doing more exercising than the ones in the “reason” group. They also improved their cardiovascular fitness level.

What’s it mean for jogglers?

If you are just getting started with your fitness program and you are using running or joggling as part of that, try the following exercise.

1. Each morning for a month, think about 5 different places you could joggle that day.
2. Think about how you would fit your workout into your schedule.
3. After a month, see if you’ve run or joggled more than usual.

You may even surprise yourself and become a better juggler.

Joggle on.

Filed under: Training Tips