Meditation and exercise have both been proven to be beneficial for our bodies and minds. But you may not realize that when combined, the two are even more powerful. Meditation can actually improve your workouts as well.
Here are just a few ways that meditation can help your workouts.
1. Mentally Prepare for Exercise
Meditation helps with focus, and one of the best things you can do before exercise is getting focused on the activities that you are about to perform. Due to the increased focus, meditation can help you get the most out of your workout. Meditation can also keep you from feeling bored during your workouts and keep you motivated.
Another benefit of mentally preparing for exercise with meditation is that you are more likely to be able to push through any discomfort you might feel. While you definitely want to make sure that you aren’t doing anything that hurts, you can get through uncomfortable lifts or stretches due to the ability to focus your attention on something other than the discomfort.
2. Increase Stamina
Stamina is incredibly important to achieve goals in the gym. You need to be able to both start and finish your workout with some energy. Prevent yourself from getting too tired to complete your workout by starting your routine with meditation. Meditation can help you push past the mental barriers that often pop up during difficult workouts and leave you feeling extremely proud of yourself for finishing something tough.
3. Build Muscle
Strangely enough, meditation can help you build muscle. Growth hormones are balanced during the practice of meditation. These hormones are essential for muscle growth. One study found that men who meditate produce more of the growth hormone than those who practiced other types of relaxation techniques.
4. Increase Confidence
When you are trying something new or out of your comfort zone, it is easy to lack confidence. With the help of meditation, you can remove some of the self-judgment that you are feeling. Instead, you can put your focus on the task at hand and move through it with a bit more confidence than you would have otherwise.
5. Cool Down After a Workout
You need to cool down both your mind and body after a tough workout. Meditation is a great way to do both. You can do some gentle stretches while you focus on your breathing and mindfulness. Not only will you help your body relax, but you will also help your mind settle back down. This is also the perfect opportunity to acknowledge the importance of everything that you have just done and thank yourself for taking the time to take care of your body in such an important way.
Other Benefits of Combining Meditation and Exercise
While meditation is known to help improve workouts, when you combine the two practices, there are additional benefits as well.
Together, the two are said to reduce the symptoms of clinical depression by about 40 percent. Since millions of people in the United States deal with depression, adding both meditation and exercise into your schedule could prevent you from feeling depressed and reduce the intensity of any symptoms you are feeling. Other benefits of meditation include boosting mood and happiness.
If you have trouble sleeping, meditation with exercise could be helpful to you. Exercise is a great way to expend energy, which can aid those who have difficulty sleeping. Additionally, meditation has been shown to help those who battle insomnia and other sleep disorders.
To get started on an exercise routine, contact Plunkett Fitness today at 913-390-3360. Our personal trainers offer both individual and group training classes that will help you get the results that you are looking for. Additionally, our personal trainers are also experts in nutrition. Set up a consultation to discuss your lifestyle, goals, and fitness experience, and our trainers will come up with the perfect plan for you!
