Come prepararsi per una Spartan

That’s right. It’s science. Exercise boosts your body’s ability to make certain chemicals that have been shown to enhance mood and decrease negative feelings like depression and anxiety. Christopher Bergland, author of The Athlete’s Way: Sweat and the Biology of Bliss, describes seven happiness-inducing chemicals in his article, If you read closely, you will notice that each of those chemicals is closely related to training—from the physical impact of moving to the psychological effects of setting and achieving goals.

One of these well-known neurochemicals is dopamine, the chemical that reinforces reward-seeking behaviors. In Christopher Bergland’s words, “If you want to get a hit of dopamine, set a goal and achieve it.” If Bergland is right, then Spartans must be swimming in dopamine every day. In training for a Spartan Race, athletes set and achieve short-term goals on a daily—even hourly—basis. When they finally reach the finish line, dopamine is activated again, telling their brains that crossing that finish line was the most amazing thing in the world, and they need to do it again.

Besides dopamine, training releases endorphins and adrenaline. Once your brain learns to associate endorphins with the feeling of a “runner’s high,” endorphins act like a natural, internally-produced form of morphine. the fight-or-flight hormone, exercise can help both increase its production and release built-up tension from excess adrenaline caused by chronic high stress. In other words, doing your burpees can help relieve and reduce stress as well as release chemicals that improve your mental and physical health.

Not only will exercise make you stronger and more physically fit, but it will also boost the feeling that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to, on and off the course. The physical exertion of exercise causes a spike in serotonin, a chemical that is associated with a heightened sense of confidenc in the face of challenging tasks.

According to James Maddux, Ph.D., who teaches positive psychology at George Mason University, self-efficacy “is one of the most important ingredients—perhaps the most important ingredient—in the recipe for success” (Maddux, 2005). Because of the relationship between exercise and serotonin, training is a great way to cultivate a belief that you can set and accomplish your goals. As you train more and more and overcome greater and greater obstacles, your sense of self-efficacy will rise. As Maddux says, “To have a resilient sense of self-efficacy requires experience in overcoming obstacles through effort and perseverance.”

What better way to build this than by training for and conquering a Spartan Race?

Not only will exercise make you stronger and more physically fit, but it will also boost the feeling that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to, on and off the course. The physical exertion of exercise causes a spike in serotonin, a chemical that is associated with a heightened sense of confidenc in the face of challenging tasks.

According to James Maddux, Ph.D., who teaches positive psychology at George Mason University, self-efficacy “is one of the most important ingredients—perhaps the most important ingredient—in the recipe for success” (Maddux, 2005). Because of the relationship between exercise and serotonin, training is a great way to cultivate a belief that you can set and accomplish your goals. As you train more and more and overcome greater and greater obstacles, your sense of self-efficacy will rise. As Maddux says, “To have a resilient sense of self-efficacy requires experience in overcoming obstacles through effort and perseverance.”

What better way to build this than by training for and conquering a Spartan Race?