4 Ways to Practice Finishing Strong
By: Marx D.
Tags: Health, Life Lessons, Fitness, Running, Mental Toughness

Mind Over Matter

One of the biggest obstacles to get over if you want to start finishing strong is your mind. Your brain calls the shots and if it says you can’t do something then you definitely won’t be able to do it.

So, how do you tell your brain it’s time to buckle down and finish strong? Simple, by doing just that.

A low whisper to yourself or chant while you workout will reach your brain. It’ll tell it that your body needs to finish a task. This is often why you hear runners chanting as they enter the final stretch of a big race. They are telling their minds to buckle down and finish strong.

If talking to yourself in the gym isn’t your forte then you could listen to a motivational podcast or triumphant music toward the end of your workout. It’ll help to convince your brain that it’s time to finish strong and hard.

Convincing your mind that you need to finish strong is the very first step in practicing because everything starts with your brain. If you can trick your mind into finishing strong at the gym or during a run then you can trick it to finish strong on any occasion.

Focus On Rhythm

In my opinion, this is the most important way to practice finishing strong.

Practicing your rhythm means averting your focus from the goal line distance to your body. In layman’s terms, instead of thinking about how many more reps or miles you have left, concentrate on your body instead.

One great way to practice concentrating on your body rhythm is by focusing on your breathing and your technique. Idris Elba says it perfectly in an interview on YouTube.

He says it’s important to: “Keep your head down.”

He talks about swimming 25 laps and how if he counts his laps then he’ll be tired and worn out by 15. However, if he keeps his head down and focuses on his breathing and his technique then the 25 laps go flying by.

This is the best way to look at practicing staying in rhythm. Focus on your body movements during the actual workout instead of the distance or reps you have remaining. You’ll find yourself finishing stronger and harder than ever before.

Stay Loose

At the end of any workout — cardio or weights — your muscles are exhausted and tight. You might be ‘loose’ in the sense of being warmed up, but your muscles are torn, tight from use and exhausted.

If you practice staying loose during the end of your workout, you're more likely to push past your limits and finish strong.

When I say loose, I literally mean like shaking out the exhaustion. You could do it by doing a couple of jumps up and down between sets in the weight room or some trunk twists. Maybe while you run you start to loosen up your shoulder muscles or kick your feet up more.

These subtle motions will help you to stay loose during the end of a workout and demolish the finish line. Getting stressed and panicked because you don’t think you’ll be able to finish will only bog you down.

It’s important that when you think about giving up, you get your body loose. It’ll prepare you to push past your limits.

Stay Resilient

You might find that practicing finishing strong is difficult. Don’t give up. If you give up early on trying to finish strong then it just shows that you really do need more work on finishing strong.

It’s important to stay resilient with your practice if you want to get better at finishing like a champion.

Practice makes perfect and finishing strong is something that can be improved on. You might not even notice that you’re not finishing strong.

I realized it because I kept coming up short on my runs and not hitting my last rep when I lifted. It translated over to not going that extra mile in my life, whether it was giving up too early when looking for my lost glasses or leaving work three minutes early every day.

If you practice finishing strong then you’ll see the rest of your life transform around you. Fewer projects at work will be left undone and you’ll always finish every run you decide to take.