Finishing Strong

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One of the things I emphasize in my own training and whenever I workout with others is the concept of “finishing strong”.

Now, what do I mean by this?

Simply put, whatever type of workout that I do is that during the last few moments of the exercise, you PUSH YOURSELF AS HARD AS YOU CAN.

It could be:

• The last 30 seconds of a round on the heavy bag…
• The last rep of a set when you’re lifting weights…
• The last few meters of a run…

Whatever it is, (assuming that you’re not injured) you just have to finish strong and give it your all…even if you’re out of breath, winded and your muscles are screaming at you to stop doing what you’re doing.

How does this benefit someone who trains in martial arts?

Habit Formation

Finishing strong at the end of a workout forms the habit of giving it 100% in whatever you do, especially during the last moments of that activity.

Most people do not like pain (even if, in the end, it’s good for them), and they take it easy when they’re feeling tired.

I’ve learned from experience that if you lay off the intensity at the end of an exercise, you’ll actually form a habit of doing that all the time!

But, I also learned from experience that if you push yourself hard toward the end of your workout, you’ll form a habit of doing that too.

It’s really all a matter of what habit you choose to do.

Mental Toughness

I personally believe that with just about any activity, including any martial arts training, much of the “game” is played inside your head.

You have to mentally toughen up and not act like a wimp when things get hard.

You have to fight that inner voice in your head that’s telling you to take it easy or to quit prematurely during those final few moments of an exercise.

To finish strong, you need to fight that inner voice inside your head telling you to quit and give it your all, especially when you’re in pain.  This builds mental toughness.

Respect

One thing that I’ve observed is that those who finish strong commands the respect of other people.

If you’ve watched a fight (I can’t think of one at the moment, but feel free to give examples in the comments section ) and you see a fighter giving it their all, swinging-for-the-fences and trying to finish the match with only a few seconds left, people will respect that fighter, even if he/she loses.

On the flip side, someone who lays back at the end of the fight, not showing any aggression or intention of finishing, they won’t command the same respect as someone else who finished strong, even if they end up winning.

So my advice, the next time you’re hitting the heavy bag, thai pads, running, or any sort of workout, and your mind is telling you to quit early, justifying itself that you’ve already worked “hard enough” already, and there’s only a few more seconds to go…

DON’T LISTEN TO THAT VOICE IN YOUR HEAD!

Finish strong.  Build that mental toughness.  And if there are other people around you, take a look at their reaction.  Beside the look on their face that expresses that they think you’re absolutely crazy, you’ll probably get a little bit more respect from them too.