Dave Robson wrote in The Guardian recently that it’s possible to reframe exercise pain into exercise gain.  (Did we really just write that?  Sorry)

But in our defence, the article is titled, The mind gym: five ways to make exercise a pleasure.  

Here are the five ideas quoted or summarized.

Select music that moves and distracts you.

Avoid pictures of perfect bodies for inspiration. In one study, “The sight of the fitness gurus had left them feeling less attractive and more concerned about their weight and shape, which put a downer on the whole experience.”

One study found that “reframing muscle aches as a positive signal can ramp up the production of the brain’s endogenous cannabinoids and opioids, natural analgesics that could mask the strain.

“The use of mental imagery can improve the accuracy of our movements, and even our overall strength. Studies show that people who spend a few minutes each day visualising the lifting of heavy weights see bigger strength gains than those who did not practise an imaginary workout.” 

Have trouble getting to the gym?  “Try temptation-bundling, which involves packaging the things you don’t want to do with one of your guilty pleasures. The technique was developed by Prof Katy Milkman at the University of Pennsylvania, who gave people iPods loaded with four addictive audiobooks to enjoy while they worked out. The simple strategy increased their gym attendance by 29% over the following seven weeks.”

Let the trickery begin!

– Jet Cannon