Mindset

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‘I haven’t run for 20 years!’

‘I’m not built for running!’

‘I can run for the bus but couldn’t do 5k in a million years!’

So many people have the ‘I’m not a runner’ mindset. A mindset is defined as ‘the established set of attitudes held by someone’, but that’s all it is, an attitude or belief. It is highly likely that you have formed this belief over years, telling yourself you can’t do it. Of course, there are some circumstances, certain injuries for example, which mean running long distances isn’t advised. However, the training programme which you’re undertaking over the next 10 weeks is designed to progressively increase your body’s ability to run. Our bodies gradually adapt to the stresses we put upon them through exercise. As you increase the amount of running you do week by week, your muscles will become stronger to cope with the increased times and distances. Like any other muscle, your heart also becomes stronger and is able to pump more blood with each contraction, which results in a lower heart rate. Lung capacity also increases, and your body becomes better at transporting oxygen and producing energy more efficiently. Blood vessels become wider and more elastic, blood pressure decreases and new capillaries form. This isn’t just what ‘should’ happen, it’s what ‘does’ happen! It is scientific fact, so if you stick with the progressions within the programme, your body will become more used to running.  It will be harder if you miss sessions, so bear that in mind on days when you might not feel up for it. 

We mentioned a little earlier in this blog about mindset. This has a huge part to play when starting a new exercise programme. Many people have a ‘fixed’ mindset, don’t feel comfortable being challenged and take failure to heart. They tend to tell themselves, ‘my abilities are unchanging’, ‘my potential is predetermined’ and ‘I’m either good at it or I’m not’. However, we are much more likely to succeed when we have a ‘growth’ mindset. These people are inspired by the success of others and see failure as a chance to grow. They tell themselves, ‘I can learn to do anything I want’, ‘my effort and attitude determine my abilities’ and ‘challenges help me grow’. It’s important that we try to take on a growth mindset when we are starting out on any new fitness programme. It won’t be easy and we may even fail at times. However, we must keep persevering so we start to see the physiological changes in the body described above. This is when it all becomes worthwhile and you will be able to call yourself ‘a runner’!