Mental Fitness: Training the Mind for Sustainable Performance

Physical fitness is an admirable state and a goal for most of us: whether we define that as a sub-3 hour marathon, a deadlift PB, clothing size, aesthetic, or something else.

We build fitness through practice, time and consistency – maybe by running, walking or yoga. As a running coach, I produce training plans for athletes to achieve a defined fitness goal. We have to repeatedly expose our bodies to stress to cause adaptation, followed by enough recovery to rebuild stronger and increase our tolerance in future.

We spend hours training and invest thousands in pursuit of physical fitness. So, why don’t we train our minds in the same way?

‘Mental health’ is broad and often seen as negative, a problem or something to be fixed: we either have it or we don’t. In reality, it’s not dichotomous. We all have mental health, and we all have periods of good or poor mental health dependent on what’s going on in our lives, even without a diagnosed mental health condition.

‘Mental fitness’ is commonly defined as ‘a state of well-being and having a positive sense of how we feel, think, and act’. Mental fitness is a fairly new concept that helps us to view our mental well-being as important as our physical fitness – and as something we need to proactively work on regularly, too. We either use it or lose it.

Stopping your gym sessions might cause you to lose aerobic fitness or muscle mass, whilst a lack of sleep, recovery and sufficient fuel puts us at risk of injury and illness. The same is true for our mental fitness. Ever felt tearful, low or ‘snappy’ after a poor night’s sleep or a busy week without breaks?

The goal isn’t to remove the challenges or difficult emotions which make us human, but training our mental fitness improves our ability to deal with them and maintain a positive mindset. It prevents sadness or worry developing into a mental health condition such as depression or anxiety, and therefore improves our wellbeing.

Language matters too. At our mental wellbeing charity Mind Over Mountains, we find that men in particular are more likely to take part and engage in a ‘mental fitness walk’ than a ‘mental health walk’ which might carry old fashioned stereotypes and expectations.

So… how do we build our mental fitness?

Establish the baseline

Much like going to the doctors for a check-up, it helps to know our current level and how well we are functioning on a daily basis so we can identify goals and actions to take when our number drops. If we’re currently a 4 out of 10 – what could we do to reach a 5 or 6, and ultimately a 9 or 10? We are not ‘fit’ or ‘unfit’ but somewhere on a spectrum.

Movement is medicine

Naturally, physical and mental fitness go hand-in-hand. The ‘feel good’ endorphins of exercise can’t be underestimated. Small and often is the most beneficial, especially when we show up on the days we really don’t feel like it. Choose something that you enjoy. Movement should be both fun and challenging!

Manage the stress bucket

A level of stress is required for adaptation. The problem is chronic stress or so much that we have no extra capacity to deal with the unexpected. I often tell my athletes that the body only knows stress: whether that comes from running, workload, travel or family issues. We all need ways to empty the bucket before it can damage our physical or mental wellbeing. Exercise is a great stress booster, but as above, breathwork is another personal favourite and is accessible to everyone, anywhere. Slow controlled breathing signals the body to calm down and lessens the ‘fight or flight’ response which many of us live in on a regular basis. Have a look at the free ‘Breathwork’ app.

Mindset is a skill

Our thoughts and behaviours are programmed by our beliefs and past experiences, but with practice our mindset can be re-wired to think differently too. In my talks I use a tool from Gazing Performance called ‘Red 2 Blue’ which helps us to recognise, accept and choose where we focus our attention. Notice catastrophising and unhelpful thoughts, and question what might have triggered them. It helps to ask: What can I control right now? Am I worrying about something in the future that hasn’t happened yet?

Self-care

Granted, running ultra-marathons probably doesn’t scream the words self-care… But what makes you feel good? We all book commitments into our diaries, but how often do we book time in for ourselves? Maybe it’s taking the time for a brew, a lunchtime run, or doing nothing at all. Waiting until you’re already burnt out is too late.

Habits, not goals

Measuring mental fitness is objectively harder to quantify than running a Parkrun in a certain time or hitting a target body weight. But habits are continuous, whereas our motivation tends to wane once we achieve an outcome goal. To quote Peter Drucker: “you can’t improve what you don’t measure”. Yours could be a timed social media break, a daily yoga session before breakfast, or reading 30 minutes before bed each night. I track these in my diary each day to create momentum and motivation.

Mental fitness isn’t about making life easier. It’s about making you stronger. So, what are you going to include in your mental fitness training plan?

This year, Mental Health Awareness Week is all about ‘taking action. I hope this article inspires you to take action!

As always, I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments.