Working out is as much a mental exercise as a physical one, which is why many athletes are incorporating mental techniques, like meditation, into their routines. Below, we’ll discuss why you should consider meditating before working out to achieve your fitness goals.
Increases Your Stamina
Something that many of us struggle with during workouts is having enough stamina to make it to the end and still push ourselves. It’s why many of us take pre-workout supplements that promise to give us more energy, and while many offer a bolt of stamina at the beginning, they can cause us to feel like our energy is crashing before the end of the final set.
Meditation has helped many increase their athletic stamina by calming their mind and putting their body into a state of focus that’s ideal for pushing the body longer. Meditation helps to put your mind into an environment for maximum performance and energy.
Helps Build Muscle
It may be hard to believe, but meditation has also helped many build their muscles faster and achieve bigger and better definition. Meditation helps to lower stress, and less stress means more balanced hormones in the body, especially growth hormones that are integral to building muscle.
Meditating before exercise calms the mind and balances growth hormones, making our bodies more suited for muscle-building. If you feel you’ve reached a plateau in your bodybuilding regimen, consider meditating before working out.
Meditation Tips for Beginners
If you’ve never meditated before, starting can be difficult. However, we have a few tips to help you get started on the right foot.
Be Consistent
Consistency is crucial for meditation, especially for beginners. Meditating will likely feel strange initially, but if you’re dedicated to it and make it part of your daily routine, it’ll feel more natural and beneficial to your body and mind.
It’s no different than exercising every day—after a while, your body adapts to the habit and naturally readies for it. Along with the time of day, try to be consistent about environmental factors when meditating, like what you feel, hear, and smell.
Burn Incense
It’s helpful for many to use consistent environmental factors when mediating, including burning incense. One of the many powerful benefits of incense sticks for many is that they enhance your meditation practice.
The scent and routine of burning incense while meditating help many find inner peace and harmony as the warm and pleasant scent surrounds them. Using the same scent as part of your meditation routine is an excellent way to train your mind that it’s time to meditate.
