I see the board automatically edits. Those four stars are the "f" word over and over again.
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I see the board automatically edits. Those four stars are the "f" word over and over again.
When i teach my spinning class i tell them Never to think "i think i can..."
think I KNOW I CAN!! i try to teach them to believe in their abilities and they will have success...
:D
This had impact on me in such a positive way! Thank you for posting it. I am around Marines daily and they are so human yet superhuman for the sacrafices. I think I will conquer my next hill with this all in mind.Quote:
Originally Posted by MightyMitre
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hill Slug
LOL...very cute!!!
Love these inspirations, Ladies - keep 'em coming!
Here's one I used yesterday on myself going up a long hill with a brutal, blustery, gusty headwind and a case of dead legs:
"Kim, you've been through childbirth three times which lasted for hours and hours each with no pain meds....this here hill?...is NOTHIN', Girl!! Just go!!"
The out-loud laugh to myself and the immediate affect on my morale got me through the ride. Funny!
This could be adapted, I'm sure, for the as-yet childless, to suit.... :D :D
- Kim :p
Doc wrote:
I swear. I know it's ridiculous, but it actually works.
Then if it's a really long hill, I occasionally switch to:
this is for your butt, this is for your butt, this is for your butt
LOL... I think I might adopt this mantra!!!
Personally, I keep thinking - you did it before, you can do it again - piece of cake... just a bit more...
So nothing terribly exciting.
My sister-in-law has a great one... as she climbs each hill she has a running commentary going in her head... Olympics style....
Something like...
"and who'd have believed it, she's gonna get the gold. This 39 year old mother of three is going to take the gold for New Zealand... look at the power in her legs... what determination... what a woman!"
Thanks also to those that have recommended the book "Women who run with wolves". I have never heard of it, but def going to check it out.
I *love* the Olympic commentary!!
doing plank position in kickboxing class is a pretty difficult one...something that definitely needs a soundtrack. one time I just couldn't keep singing the alphabet song in my head, so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind:
I'm a goddess. you're a goddess. we're all goddesses.
now I add bits about wearing bikinis. by the pool. drinking gin and tonic
etc.
I really have to try that on the next hill!! :)
namaste,
~T~
All this stuff is TERRIFIC! I needed some of the hill climb mantras so much. I love to ride and the angry face won't ever work for me. I smile like an idiot most of the time! I grin harder in the rain or when I am passing a bunch of cars lined up in rush hour traffic. :D Something about getting around on my own power just makes me giddy. I just can't help it. :D "there she goes again --that lunatic on the bike"
....but on the climbs...I'm gasping and wondering if I will make it. (I used to just avoid hills) Now, thanks to you all, I know what to do/think/say/sing to keep me going up, up, up!
I will add a little bit about getting out to ride when thinking we are not really in the mood, it's too wet, cold etc. My daughter (15) often moans about going for a ride -- until we get out there and then she thanks me for dragging her out...because it feels so good! We all need a little nudge now and then to get out the door. I'm thinking of some self talk that sounds a little nike-ish "just ride" might work. Personally, I am getting alot of motivation from this forum, and all of you.
The other day as I pedaled up a steep incline we call Mount Eskota, which is disguised as an area where the interstate access road rises higher than the interstate you could hear me chanting this:
I'll sit this hill
I won't stand
I'll climb this hill
better than a man
I also tend to sing:
I can do anything you can do but better, I can do anything better than you!
Of course, these are my new solo chants and I'd never chant them when riding with Ben....where he could hear me! :D :D :D
Ben chants:
Are you ok?
Doing ok hon?
Drives me nuts! Yes, I'm okay, I'm ahead of you aren't I?! Gotta love him though, he is pushing to buy me a new Specialized Roubaix Pro
Oh, and if I do ever stand to pedal, I try my hardest to at least count my age, each time a foot goes down is one count. Dang....it was hard turning 40!
I sing to myself - if anyone is familiar with Be Bop Deluxe, it's usually Blazing Apostles or Fair Exchange.
Cycling hasn't been much different from me than hiking in that respect. I'm competetive and I guess kind of like a guy in my head when I'm doing something tough. So, the bad language comes out...it usually goes something like this: (from yesterday's ride up a moderate hill)
"Get your f*ing butt up this hill! Oh, that is so BS...you KNOW you can do this hill and you KNOW you can do better than this! Get it up there...get your butt up there, NOW!"
Works every time.
Also, I've never ever let it enter my head that I could do anything but bike up a hill....I don't even let the thought enter my head that I could stop. And really, it's true; if you stop, it's way harder to start (going down followed by a sharp turnaround usually ends up with my foot hitting the tire, not good). Since it's not an option in my head, it's just a matter of how fast I can get there and how low I need to go on my gears (usually the lowest one, unfortunately...but oh well...still gettting my butt up there). And, when I get to the top, if I start to think I should rest, I remind myself that it's good to "cool down" and not to stop right away...and that gets me pumping again and I'm off to the next hill. It seems to be working so far.
Last, I often find myself chanting "for my butt, for my butt, for my butt...need to get into those short-shorts, need to get into those short-shorts....I'm gonna be like 5 lbs lighter when I get home, I swear I am..."
ROFLMAO!!!
Lynne... that was exactly how I was talking to myself this morning on my way to work - early winter rain, cold and my legs just didn't want to work... but I was damned if I was gonna let them get the better of me - my brain said "cycle at 30km/hour regardless of the s**te weather" so I swore at my legs til they did...
Sometimes cursing works a treat - just pleased I was riding on my own! I'm such a 'potty-mouth'!!!
hahaha
potty mouth works for me too...
but I do have a new one:
(this goes with my toaster analogy: "if this body were a toaster I would have sent it back for one that works ages ago!")
" I am my own warranty "
heh
now, that's motivation!!
cheers and namaste,
~T~
Wow, I'm completely opposite. If I were to cuss at or degrade myself, I'd never make it up a hill.
Dogmamma, I don't curse myself... I knew I could do it! Just my legs didn't believe me :p
Mostly I don't become a potty mouth though... mostly I tell myself... you've done it before - this time you can do it better/faster/steadier... or I count down til the top of the hill.
I've tried my sis-in-laws mantra a few times (the olympic gold I mentioned earlier) but that doesn't really work for me.
Hi there,
Haven't been here in a while, but I lurk from time to time :)
Glad to see this thread still running :) Yay!
I have been doing affirmations, but have noticed something different that helps with the riding...Riding with cute guys! LOL I can ride so much faster that way...I don't even notice I am going 19-20 mph, talking the whole time...having fun, checking out the er hem...physiques LOL...then, my hubby finds out and says, 'Why can't you ride that fast with me?' LOL
Just a theory right now, but maybe they could study this...heh heh...hee hee!
Bear hugs,
Lisa
good grief... how did I miss this fantastic thread???
OK- here's the one I chant on climbs... compliments of Lance Armstrong from "It's Not About the Bike".... PAIN IS TEMPORARY, QUITTING LASTS FOREVER
Yep, that one works for me every single time... it's sorta become my life motto... :)
On the flats I like singing the "Moving Right Along" song from the Muppets, or in bad weather, "Always Look On the Bright Side of Life". Uphill I've found that if I remember to shift into an easier gear instead of mashing, I can then just look off the side of the road and watching the scenery while I spin. May not be very quick, but boy I'll glance back up and be like wow, I'm this far along already?! Hey not much more to go! As my legs have gotten stronger, the hills don't seem quite as big either. They look huge till I get to them, but once I'm there, they aren't too bad (except Highland Rd...that's when I just start chanting "I'm not gonna walk, I'm not gonna walk!")
One of my spinning instructors told me: "we walk dogs, we don't walk our bikes". That's usually stuck in the back of my head! Have to agree with Yogabear about the cute guy influence--it added another 6 miles to MY ride last night! (and he really wasn't that cute) :o
~~AG~~
I thought I would revive this thread. Great ideas, here!
I read somewhere once some corny email about there was always someone thinking of you, somewhere. Someone worrying whether you are cold, or sad, or lonely, or happy. Someone cares whether you exist.
So recently I took to thinking:
Someone out there gives a s*** whether I make this hill or not.
Someone is wicked proud of me.
("Someone" is really me, but in a parallell universe, maybe?)
Someone is inspired by what we are all doing, here.
I have only ridden 3 miles in the last 3 months. At the end of April I was riding to work and was distracted by blossoms blowing off a tree. I caught 1/2 inch of handlebars on a post, and crashed. I shattered my left wrist. It now has a titanium plate, pins and wires in it. It doesn't bend very well.
My motivation for therapy is to be able to ride again at all. As summer progresses I see everyone else out for rides, and it just makes me want to go more. I am trying to be patient, but it is HARD to not be able to ride. Once I can ride again, my mantra will be "pay attention to the road, pay attention to the road, pay attention to the road"
Great discussion...
I sing to myself in my mind. Whatever melody I choose (usually whatever upbeat song I happen to have stuck in my head) but the lyrics are always some version of "I am flying up this hill, just like a feather floating right up, no one can catch me because I'm flying" Silly, but it works.
If I don't feel like singing to myself or I'm feeling particularly aggressive... well, I have a running commentary from Phil and Paul that is very motivating.
:)
wow, sandra that sounds painful. hope you start feeling better so you can bet back to riding:)
i know this sounds dorky but i kinda talk to my bike. "'come on selene, we can do this, lets go...." what ever works eh?
The crash was painful, as was the news from the surgeon that I probably wouldn't ride for 6 months. He did relent and say I could try some easy rides, but I can't bend my wrist enough to grip the handlebar/brakes very well yet. Physical therapy is a beatiful thing-but I need the motivation to keep working on my own.
My motivation/mantra for going up is is "firm thighs, tight ***, firm thighs, tight ***.....over and over.
Can you at least do a spin class??Quote:
Originally Posted by sandra b
My new mantra is "TTFU":D
Sandra, smooth healing vibes for your wrist.
I know it sounds silly, but I sing a little parody of "This little light of mine" to myself:
This little bleeming (insert appropriate curse word) hill, I'm going to make it mine...You get the idea. Till I get to the top.
Or I start doing the internal coaching - "ok Shubie, you got it made, just a bit further. Keep cranking. Etc."
Great ideas out there!
For 30 years mine has been:
"The only way out of this is to go on"
Works for childbirth too!
(having the baby I mean, not being the baby! Obviously I dint think that then as I was a forceps delivery with Mum anesthetised a la cutting edge :eek: gynecological practice ie the 1950's
Hadn't seen this thread before, it sure gave me a laugh :D
Up big hills or in bad weather I try to just zone out. Get into some kind of steady rhythm, keep the gears light and the legs moving smoothly. Think as little as possible.
When I need to go fast I'll try to tap into the joy of it, pretend I'm some kind of aggressive speed demon. This is fun but looks kind of weird. And might explain why I don't ride much with other people... ;-)
When I need affirmation is when I'm going to do something scary, not something tiring. Climbing (rock climbing) something scary I tell myself the "There is a time for planning, and a time for doing"-mantra. I plan as much as I can, then I try to just do it.
If I still start freaking out cursing at myself helps. "Coward! What the **** do you think you're doing? You can do it! You're good at this, so what the **** are you thinking of? Just get UP there!!"
Getting scared freezes me up, getting angry gives me energy ;)
Glad to know I am not the only one who uses profanity while climbing!
For some inexplicable reason I always sing the John Prine song "Angel from Montgomery" in my head - totally involuntary, just pops in there. I've never stopped when singing it though. Kind of grim and gritty but it works.
Occasionally I sing the first few lines of the Patti Smith song from Horses but I can't remember past the first few lines. Sometimes I try to switch to switch to Blue Moon, but John Prine just pops back in.
Maybe its time for a new song - I actually bought the sound track to Dream Girls thinking I could memorize "I'm not Going" or "Listen"-- will report back if it works.
I love this thread!
Glad to know I am not the only one who uses profanity while climbing!
For some inexplicable reason I always sing the John Prine song "Angel from Montgomery" in my head - totally involuntary, just pops in there. I've never stopped when singing it though. Kind of grim and gritty but it works.
Occasionally I sing the first few lines of the Patti Smith song from Horses but I can't remember past the first few lines. Sometimes I try to switch to switch to Blue Moon, but John Prine just pops back in.
Maybe its time for a new song - I actually bought the sound track to Dream Girls thinking I could memorize "I'm not Going" or "Listen"-- will report back if it works.
I love this thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bklynmom
"I am an old woman..."
Great song, especially when Bonnie Raitt sings it but not exactly empowering:eek:
I learned this slogan from teaching and use it when I'm tired of riding and need a mental pick me up, simply "focus".
Angel from Montgomery starts "I am an old woman, named after my mother...
Wonder if John Prine was a roadie :rolleyes: (kind of doubt it!).
I found the lyrics on line:
http://www.lyricsdepot.com/john-prin...ontgomery.html
I am an optimist in most things, but with music, I do like an edge!
Lisa
I went for a ride yesterday! I rode the 1.67 miles to my moms-first time on my road bike since the crash. Wasn't happy. But it did motivate me to go get a trainer today. I miss moving, and figure the trainer in front of a fan, with a movie, is better than nothing at all, and it does not require any holding of the handlebars-or I could get into a sprint position with my elbows on the bars instead of hands!
I don't think or mantra or sing on rough spots, I just ride.
I can't chew gum and walk at the same time, either. ;)
But when the going is smooth I do find myself singing, often at the top of my lungs. Either made-up songs or whatever my latest favorite song is. (on my commute yesterday it was "Let my love open the door" by Pete Townshend.)
years ago, my motivation was to motorpace next to a car full of small kids and I would wave to them. Kids thought it was funny (there were places where cars would travel at < 25MPH). These days, I just mosie on down the road. and enjoy the scene.
smilingcat
This isn't exactly a mantra, but lately when I'm whining to myself, I make myself laugh by talking to myself like I'm Bear Grylls (from Man vs. The Wild on the Discovery Channel). His British accent, with one of his lines like, "If I'm honest, I just want a hot shower..." but then I launch into some parody of his understated descriptions of mortal danger, and before I know it, motorists are wondering who this maniacal, giggling woman is suffering up the hill.
PS: and this week, while I'm in Shasta waiting for the summit century on Sunday, I'm reading "Swimming to Antarctica" by long distance, open water, swimmer Lynne Cox. I'm planning to keep myself going by reminding myself that ANY of the stuff she describes in her book will make my ride look like a walk in the park!
I haven't seen "Man vs Wild" but I heard about his little forays into cushy hotels during his *adventures*.
Getting up hills... before TOMRV which has a lot of them, I memorized a wonderful song about a widow who lived on the moor who never turned a traveler from her door ... who had more endurance than the devil, who could not last the night with her. (At sixty-nine the widow laughed... "again, again!" she cried... the devil said, "well I can see just how your husband died.")
So the ride comes along and I'm chugging up the hill... and the song that comes out is "Ain't no grave gonna hold this body down!"
THe other thing I tell myself when the little voice starts to question whether I can do something (especially keeping up with a fast pace) is "well, of *course* you can't do this. What a completely absurd notion! I fully agree! You just can't stop right NOW!"
I observed that when I was in the middle of thinking "I can't keep up with these guys" that I was holding my body tensely and when I said, "no, ride like you know what you're doing even if you can't" - kinda calling on the Marine idea of *looking* like you're not trying - d'oh, I went faster.
"Can't Never Could".
I was a whiney child and would tell my mom "I cannnn't". See always snapped back "Can't Never Could!" Whenever a ride is getting tough and I am thinkign "I can't" I just think of that. Apparently it came from her Grandma, such a wise old woman. :D