Focus Your Way to a Fitter Body - By: Eddie

In today’s fast-paced society we’re bombarded by a thousand different things at once. As such, it's often difficult to get anything done. And the same goes for your workouts.

I’ll explain what I mean in just a second but let me first clarify why focus – not multi-tasking – needs to be your modus operandi if you want to reach your fitness goals.

For some reason, we’ve been told that multi-tasking is good and that if we can juggle several “plates” at once, then we’ll get more done. But the reality is that mulit-tasking can take a toll on your brain - and your results.

In a study of 14 participants who underwent fMRI, researchers at Vanderbilt University found that when people try to juggle two tasks at once, a bottleneck occurs in information processing. The posterior lateral prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that is involved in decision making, delayed one task until the other was complete.

Another study, by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, involved 14 participants (mean age 26) who were asked to learn a task under two conditions. They learned one task without any distractions. Then they learned another task while listening to, and trying to count, a series of beeps. Not surprisingly, their ability to recall how to do the task later on was much better when they learned it without distraction.

Preliminary research also suggests that maintaining focus, on the other hand, might help build brain tissue. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital conducted MRI studies of people who regularly practice meditation, and found that compared with controls, they had more gray matter (brain cells) in areas associated with attention and sensory processing.

Okay, so what does all this have to do with you achieving your health and fitness goals?

Well, everything really!

Let me give you an example of a typical person working out in the gym. They show up with no plan. Wander around trying to improvise their workout as they go. Become distracted by talking to other people, reading a magazine, or watching TV – remember we’re still in the gym here.

The result – a sub-par workout. And if this continues....sub-par results!

You see, when most people go workout they don’t have a specific workout that they’re going to follow. So they do a little bit of everything. Their workout is not focused – it is scattered.

As a result, they don’t achieve much other than being able to brag to their friends that they “went to the gym”.

I don’t know about you…

But for me, results speak louder than words any day of the week.

And, in order to get results, you need to be focused – not only on your ultimate goal – but also on the process that will take you there.

Focus is one of the qualities that will help you achieve tremendous health and fitness success.

In fact, it’s one of the greatest qualities of the world’s top fitness pros.

If it works for them, it can work for you too!

To help you get started (if you’re a little scattered)...

Here a few practical tips for fostering focus, even in distracting environments such as the gym or your home (if that’s where you workout):

1. Turn off the cell phone or e-mail

2. Review your goals before working out.

3. Write down your workout plan before you even begin to workout.

4. Visualize yourself going through your workout successfully.

5. Stay in the moment. Don’t allow your mind to drift about what you need to do after your workouts. Just enjoy the process.

About the Author

Want more great tips for building the body of your dreams? Why not learn from the pros themselves? CLICK HERE to discover their secrets!

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Eddie/93935

Additional Articles From - Home | Health & fitness | Fitness training