E65 The mental game of physical fitness

You don’t need anyone to tell you that working out is hard. That’s the whole point. But for many of us, the hardest part isn’t physically lifting the weights or running the laps. It’s getting to the gym in the first place. It’s knowing that we can do hard things. It’s staying motivated to keep working at it, even when day to day progress feels hard to measure.

So how do we work on our mental fitness with the same dedication we bring to our physical fitness?

This episode, we’re joined by Jonathan Jenkins, Psy.D., CPMC, a clinical and sport psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He’s also the Team Clinical and Performance Psychologist for the New England Patriots, and Behavioral Sport Psychologist for the Boston Red Sox. And he’s the author of the book “Mentality Wins: The Athlete’s Playbook for Thriving in Sport and Life.”

The three big questions we discuss with Dr. Jenkins are:

1. What is the "mental game" of fitness, and why is it just as important as physical training?

2. Why do so many people struggle with the psychological friction of staying physically fit?

3. How can we actively train our minds to overcome these blocks and elevate our physical fitness?

Learn more about On Human Optimization and access Pod-Club questions at

https://ce.mayo.edu/content/mayo-clinic-human-optimization

Instagram: @MayoHumanOptimization
YouTube: On Human Optimization - YouTube
Email: optimize@mayo.edu

Sign up to receive Mayo Clinic Press emails.

Find us online at Mayo Clinic Press for more health and wellness articles, podcasts and books.

Do you have feedback, questions or topic suggestions? Email us at mcppodcasts@mayo.edu.