3 Ways to Apply Stoic Principles to Your Exercise Routine to Supercharge Your Results
I’ve been doing some sport regularly for over 20 years.
During this time, I played football, went to the gym, started doing calisthenics, tried American football, cycled, ran, did HIIT, and much more. I got in shape and fell out of it again. And I got to know myself better, like when I kicked against a goalpost and double-fractured my right foot.
Last year, I got more into Stoicism after I learned how difficult life can be. I realized that we have the power to see problems and challenges and make the best of life.
Now, I’ve just realized you can apply Stoicism to your exercise routine to supercharge your results. Here’s how.
Embrace discomfort
Stoicism is all about embracing hardships in life.
Exercise can be one. Why? Because it’s freaking exhausting.
But if you get your mindset right, you can make the best of it.
I once had a classmate who approached sports in the most anti-helpful way: she didn’t want to sweat.
What’s the point then? Exercise is supposed to be uncomfortable.
Does this mean I love pain? No.
But it means I appreciate exhaustion because I know I’ve worked hard for it.
It means your mitochondria and mini-cell power plants grow, giving you more energy in the long run.
Stoicism helps you do that because it teaches us to confront discomfort head-on. In Stoicism, discomfort is an essential part of life. It’s the prerequisite to grow.
Embrace discomfort to become a fitter version of yourself.
Focus only on what you can control
This is a big one.
When I started working out, I was the worst gym buddy ever. Every time I saw someone who started at the same time getting better results, I’d be green with envy.
In my head, I’d talk myself (and others) down.
Don’t do that. Don’t kill your motivation; let your ego get the best of you.
Instead, embrace what you can control and forget what you don’t. Meaning, focus on:
You’ll see tremendous progress if you get these three right most of the time. It may take some time, but life isn’t a race, anyway.
You’re on the right path as long as you feel good about what you do.
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The dichotomy of control is a powerful principle that can improve your life. There’s only so much you can control.
Take full responsibility for what you can control and appreciate what you can’t.
That’s how you live a primarily stress-free life.
Practice mindfulness during exercise
I know you can’t meditate while the spinning class trainer is shouting at you.
And you don’t need to. But do you actually feel what’s happening in your body when you exercise?
I wasn’t for a long time.
It took a yoga girl from my gym to explain it to me. Coming from yoga, she understood how important it is to connect with your body and feel how it behaves. With that, you can:
Sounds like hocus pocus, right? That’s what I thought before, too.
But over time, it became one of the main reasons I stopped working out with weights so much and started focusing more on my body weight.
That’s how I achieved most of my improvements. I learned to understand how I use specific muscles to do what I want to do.
Mindfulness is key. Not only when exercising but in life in general. It helps us be present and experience how beautiful life is.
Doing something without mindfulness is like consuming a fake strawberry aroma. You somehow get the idea, but it doesn’t feel real.
Choose the fresh, juicy, and ripe strawberry instead.
Stoicism and exercise can go in hand to supercharge your results if you:
Thanks for reading.
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