Roger Bannister breaking the 4 minute mile

How many people are seeking an answer to their fitness quest? Everyone is searching for the formula that will guarantee fitness success. So whether its a particular exercise, a piece of fitness equipment, a certain instructor, different training regimes we keep looking believing the answer lies out there somewhere. If only we really understood the answer we’re searching for is so simple, so close to home and completely within our grasp, and is available to all regardless of age, ability and independent of financial wealth.

The answer, the one thing that will guarantee your success, is your ATTITUDE. That’s it, pure and simple; your attitude, your beliefs about yourself, will determine your success, or lack of it, when it comes to achieving your health and fitness goals. Yes, you can buy the very latest bit of kit, attend the swankiest gym, and work with an exceptionally skilled trainer but if you have the wrong attitude, if you doubt yourself, if you believe fitness isn’t your thing and nothing ever works for you – then you know what? You’re absolutely right! Henry Ford understood this simple concept and was famously quoted as saying “Whether you think you can or think you can’t you’re right”.

So take a moment of your time to examine your belief system. What do you really believe about yourself and why? Perhaps you didn’t enjoy games at school and have forever labelled yourself as “bad at exercise”, maybe you sabotage your attempts to get fitter by following extreme approaches such as exercising everyday for a week, getting injured or too tired and stopping again. Perhaps you believe you’re lazy and will never enjoy exercise. Try to get to the route of your beliefs and then ask yourself is this really true, can I be absolutely sure about this, what evidence is there to support this and how about I just drop this belief right now and start to feed myself some positive thoughts?!

Need further proof? How is it possible octogenarians and even men and women in their nineties and over hundred run marathons? Are they superhuman, are they blessed with special powers? No, these aging runners simply believe it is possible and inspire others into believing it is possible too. And anyone who has ever taken part in any kind of endurance event will testify that the right mental attitude is almost as important as the right training programme. But the story of how the 4 minute mile barrier was broken provides the ultimate inspiration. In 1954, when Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile, he successfully exploded the widely held belief that it was physiologically impossible for a human to run the distance under that time. Within three year another 16 runners had also broken the 4 minute mile. By showing the world that it was possible to run a mile under 4 minutes Roger Bannister didn’t just prove it was a physiological possibility, he also successfully challenged the psychological barriers of other runners. Their belief system changed from “impossible” to “possible” and hence the number of runners who have completed this challenge continues to grow.

I’ll share my own example. It took another female trainer to make me challenge the belief that I would never be strong enough to complete a whole body weight pull up. Her approach was somewhat dogmatic and her insistence quite overbearing. Nevertheless, her assertion – there was no physiological reason women shouldn’t be able to complete full body weight pull ups – made me question my acceptance that  it simply wasn’t going to happen for me. So my belief changed and, once I’d dropped the notion that I couldn’t do a pull up, amazingly I could. Not overnight, but over a period of about six months with steady training and a belief that the end goal was within my grasp.

So go ahead, challenge your attitude and your beliefs and remember “Whether you think you can or think you can’t you’re right!”

Tags: 4 minute mile, Health and Fitness Goals, positive thinking for health and fitness, Roger Bannister