**Hidden Benefits of Intense Training and What it can Teach You**
There is no denying the physical benefits of intense, regular exercise. Pushing your body to the limit week after week and month after month will strip fat, build muscle, and develop unstoppable endurance. Your workouts are also good for your general health and could even help you live longer. Fitness is the REAL fountain of youth! However, the benefits of tough workouts go beyond the physical, and working out affects you mentally and even spiritually. In this article, we reveal some of the hidden benefits of intense training and what it can teach you.
**Discipline**
In the military, discipline means doing what you are told. After all, soldiers generally operate as part of a team, squad, or troop, which entails following orders. However, to us civilians, discipline means taking control of your life and not letting your life control you. For example, you know you have to be at work early, so you need discipline to resist staying up all night watching Netflix when you should be sleeping. Following a workout routine develops discipline. You get used to turning up and doing the work, even when you don’t feel like it. Gradually, this discipline will spill over into other avenues of your life, and you’ll be glad it did.
**Determination**
Easy workouts don’t produce results. You need to force your body to adapt and grow. Take it easy, and you’ll stay where you are. You may even backslide. It takes massive determination to continue repping out even though your muscles and mind are screaming at you to stop. This determination is helpful in other parts of your life. Use it to drive you forward in your career or personal life. When the going gets tough, the tough get going!
**Comfort in discomfort**
Let’s be honest; tough workouts can hurt. Your muscles shake and burn, your lungs heave, and your heart pounds. It’s both terrible and weirdly addictive. So, you start to welcome the pain; it signals that you are triggering the changes you want to see in your body. Pushing yourself in the gym means getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. So, when life gets hard, you are better equipped to handle it.
**Responsibility**
No one is going to do your workout for you. In the end, your progress depends on you. You are responsible for your results. Understanding and developing responsibility mean you understand that you have to work for what you want. Your happiness, financial security, career success, etc., are in your hands.
**Confidence**
Training hard develops self-confidence. Weights that once scared you are no longer so intimidating. You’ve risen to their challenge and moved on to the next level, and the next, and the next. This creates a can-do attitude you can apply to other areas of your life.
**Better organization, prioritization, and time management**
Training hard and often is time-consuming. As well as your workouts, you also need to organize your rest and recovery, get enough sleep, and plan your diet. Eating healthily requires additional time and effort, as you’ll need to buy, prepare, and cook the majority of your meals.
**Creativity**
We all have days when our mental gears refuse to turn, and we cannot come up with new ideas or solutions to problems. A tough workout forces you to focus on other things. You can’t squat heavy while thinking about spreadsheets, reports, or mission statements. Often, doing something intensely physical removes mental barriers, and the solution becomes clear.
The physical benefits of exercise are clear, but it’s important to recognize that intense training can benefit almost every aspect of your health and well-being. It’s crucial to make training part of your lifestyle for long-term benefits.
