How To Talk To Yourself During Hard Workouts

Why self-talk genuinely matters during difficult efforts

Research on self-talk and athletic performance has found that the internal dialogue used during challenging physical efforts genuinely affects both perceived effort and actual performance, not just the subjective experience.

The difference between harsh self-criticism and constructive self-talk

Harsh, critical internal dialogue ('you're so weak, you can't even do this') tends to undermine both performance and the broader psychological relationship with exercise, compared to firm but constructive self-talk ('this is hard, and you can push through it').

Second-person self-talk, an interesting research finding

Some research suggests addressing oneself in the second person ('you can do this') rather than first person ('I can do this') may provide a slight additional psychological distance that supports better performance under pressure.

Building better self-talk habits over time

Consciously noticing and adjusting harsh internal dialogue during workouts, replacing it with firm but supportive language, is a practice that improves with deliberate attention over time, similar to any other skill.