Train your mind before your body

Your inability to drag yourself to the gym is only in your head. Here’s how to overcome it and train your brain. Exercise not only makes you feel fitter, happier and sexier, it also increases your tendency of living to see your next meal. At least that’s how your brain’s `pleasure means reward centres’ (the frontal cortex and nucleus accumbens) view the situation. In fact, the brain is wired to allow the body to rest. When we push ourselves, it wonders why.

The hardwiring that promotes voluntary movement or exercising -is tied to the same neurocircuits involved in searching and feeding. So if our bodies have evolved to conserve energy and resist things like fat loss, then it makes perfect sense that our brains will actually defend against moving too much. The solution is to correct your brain’s hardwiring to trick those pleasure-reward centres into perceiving exercise as necessary to your survival. In other words, you need to make your workouts desirable. Here’s how you can do it with just a few simple tweaks to your current fitness regime.

SPEED UP

When you sprint all out toward a goal your brain’s reward is a blast of dopamine thanks to the previous memory of your success and how good it felt.High-intensity workouts have similar effects.Unlike resistance training or even long-distance cardio, it significantly increases blood flow in the frontal cortex.Your Move: Find a slope that takes about 20 to 30 seconds to sprint up, and after a brief warm-up (10 minutes of jogging on the spot is enough), run up to the top as fast as you can. When you get there, do 40 mountain climbers followed by 10 push-ups, and then walk back down. Repeat the entire circuit (sprint, mountain climbers, pushups, walk) as many times as you can in 20 minutes.

SEX DRIVE

Have you ever found yourself doing thoroughly boring activities -spending half a day at a mall, attending random get together parties -only to please a woman? Well, there is science behind it. The neurochemistry in the brain is prodding you to muscle through the anguish to increase your odds of having sex. Similarly, you can use sex as a motivator to keep yourself moving through your exercise routine.Your Move: Each month, take a week out and strike a bargain with your partner -you can have sex only on the days you (better still, both of you) exercise. Besides, increased blood flow from exercise stimulates the genitals, enhancing arousal and pleasure. Sex requires plenty of repetitive motions, especially in the core. So, if you want to sustain that partner-pleasing rhythm, you’d better hit the gym regularly.

FLAUNT YOUR SKILLS

Socialising, playing, and being cordial with fellow human beings can have an impact on workout perform ance. A recent research found that people who worked out together as part of a team exercised harder and more than twice as long as those who pumped iron solo. Their motivation? Fear of being the weakest link.

Your Move: Participate in more group workouts like zumba or aerobics, pref like zumba or aerobics, pref erably with complete stran gers. Or join a pickup game at an unfamiliar basketball court. If you’re playing or exercising with new people, you’ll hustle and work harder to elevate your game.

SWEET SOMETHING

There’s a reason you have a sweet tooth. Your brain rewards you for ingesting sugar, which is a major source of cellular energy once it’s converted into glucose. Energy drinks are meant to replenish those glucose stores. But you don’t need to actually drink them to enjoy a boost.Your Move: When you feel yourself hitting a wall during a spin class or long run, swish a mouthful of your favourite sports drink and spit it out. You’ll get the neurochemical reward without the caloric price tag.