Focus on Yourself For Best Workout Results

You’re at the gym, squeezing in a workout and managing to work up a sweat… but are you reading a fitness magazine as you do so? Believe it or not, it could affect your workout and how you feel about it after you’re done.

This article from MSNBC notes an interesting study that says if you work out while looking at photos of ultra-fit people, (whose job it is to be fit) you might eliminate one of the best benefits of working out – feeling good about yourself.

“The post-exercise feel-good [effect] that we usually see was pretty much wiped out when people were looking at the magazines with ultra-fit images in them,” says study author Ann Wertz Garvin, a professor of health and physical education at the University of Wisconsin in Whitewater.

It’s not rocket science – the same thing has been happening to women since they began printing fashion magazines. Photos of impossibly perfect people are hard to live up to… but difficult not to compare yourself to. It makes sense that the same would go for regular people working out and looking at fitness models. According to the study, it’s even more discouraging when you’re actually working out.

If you can’t stand the thought of working out without something to read, the article suggests reading fluff magazines or those that have nothing to do with fitness (think O, Better Homes & Gardens, etc.) Even better, though, is not to read at all and to concentrate on your workout. Take it outside or try something new. Focus on your body getting stronger and concentrate on each muscle you’re exercising.

You’ll get more out of your workout if you focus on yourself. Hard as it may be, don’t compare yourself to models in magazines. The only comparison you should be making is how much better you feel when you workout versus when you don’t.