Getting into a sauna, feeling the sweat melt off you, is something that you kind of suffer through to get the feeling after you cool off and hydrate a bit. It’s like all the toxins have just come out of your body and cleaned your pores on their way out. I’ve always been a fan but have found that sweating during a solid training session seems to be leaps and bounds better. One thing that I’ve learned is that training hard for something you’re preparing for, goal you’re going after or just putting in work to work, is a different kind of sweat. Its almost like you’re sweating from your soul. There is something about pushing through your physical, and more often, mental barriers that makes you feel more accomplished and immediately validating to the effort you’re putting in. When I was training to keep my body in optimal fighting fit shape, there was a mantra that has been the key to how I’ve broken through barriers in all aspects of the things I do. “The more you sweat, the less you bleed!” It is a not so subtle nod to putting in the work on the front side so you don’t pay for it on the backside. This holds a lot more true to fighting in wars, a ring or just fighting the daily battles that we experience in different ways. If you’re constantly pushing past your limits, you get a mental toughness that allows you to go up against something that may otherwise seem impossible, with a confidence that can prevail. What is something, that you knew with all your being, was impossible to accomplish but were able to achieve, regardless of the obstacles? How did you feel when you were up against it? How did you feel when you made it? How do you feel now looking back at it? Most importantly, how did that experience affect your attitude and mindset looking forward? I need to constantly push my physical limitations to break through my mental limitations. Not sure if that’s healthy or what that says about who I am…
