How Training Your Mind Is Just as Important as Training Your Body
- Brainz Magazine
- Mar 26
- 5 min read
Lauren Saint-Louis is a fitness and nutrition coach and founder of LSL Fitness. She specializes in helping today’s high-performing professionals build fitness-forward lifestyles and sustainable habits and overcome the “all-or-nothing mentality” when it comes to behavior change.
When most people think about getting fit, they focus on workouts, meal plans, and maybe even tracking their steps. But there’s a deeper, often overlooked element that can make or break your consistency: your brain.
Why your mindset is the key to fitness success
Ever wonder why two people can start the same fitness program but only one sticks with it while the other falls off? The reason is part discipline and part willpower, but ultimately, neuroplasticity plays a big role.
Your brain has the ability to rewire itself based on habits, behaviors, and experiences. These factors impact whether you stay consistent or remain stuck in the cycle of stopping and restarting. You need to train your brain just as intentionally as you train your body. Let’s break down the science of how rewiring your mind can help you stay consistent in your fitness journey, and how fitness itself reinforces neural pathways and habit confidence.
The anatomy of inconsistency: Why your brain resists change
Have you ever set a goal to work out consistently, only to find yourself skipping sessions, negotiating with yourself, or feeling guilty for falling off? A disconnect between the goals you set and your actions toward achieving them can occur when two key brain regions conflict with each other:
The prefrontal cortex (PFC): This is the “CEO” of the brain, responsible for decision-making, rational thinking, and self-control. Your PFC makes ambitious plans, like committing to a fitness routine.
The insular cortex (IC): This is the emotional processor, responsible for how we perceive discomfort, effort, and even guilt. Your IC creates the feeling of resistance when a new habit is difficult or when a setback occurs.
When these two regions are misaligned, inconsistency occurs. The PFC makes the plan (“I’m going to train five days a week”) and knows what it needs to do, but when the IC perceives discomfort (fatigue, stress, or a negative mood), it can cause you to “do nothing,” which can result in guilt and disappointment.
This cycle can lead people to self-sabotage. They start strong, experience resistance, feel discouraged, and quit, reinforcing the belief that they’re not disciplined.
But you can rewire your brain and reduce the friction between intention and action.
The science of habit formation and rewiring neural pathways
Neuroplasticity is the reason we can form (and break) habits. Every action you take strengthens a neural pathway, making it easier to repeat over time. The more you engage in a behavior, the stronger the connection becomes.
The problem? Many people try to rely on motivation, which is fleeting. To truly integrate fitness into your life, you need systems and identity shifts that make it smoother. Here’s how:
Reduce the all-or-nothing mentality
Many people either go all in or completely fall off when life gets busy. By rewiring neural pathways, we reduce the emphasis on the intensity of the action and instead focus on the action itself. Progress isn’t about perfection; it’s about consistency.
Engage in repetition to strengthen neural pathways
The more consistently you exercise, the easier it becomes. This is why showing up for even just 15 minutes is so crucial. You’re strengthening the pathways of the desired behavior.
Shift your self-talk
If you miss a morning workout, instead of spiraling, shift your self-talk to align with an identity-based belief: “Missing one day doesn’t erase my progress; I’m always in motion.” This reinforces confidence and prevents self-sabotage over time. Instead of “I have to be perfect with my meal plan,” shift to “I choose meals that fuel me, and I adjust when needed without guilt.” This reinforces autonomy while keeping you on track.
Know that discipline begets dopamine
When you’re able to act first regardless of how you feel (your motivation), you show up for the habit and stimulate that “reward chemical” we all love. Then your brain starts to associate consistency with pleasure instead of pressure. Structured flexibility (e.g., adjusting a workout instead of skipping) helps you build an “Act then Feel” approach rather than relying on fluctuating motivation. With this method, you’ll feel great in the end.
Your brain is adaptable, but it thrives on repetition and structure. Training consistency is about intentionally reinforcing the neural pathways that make fitness an automatic part of your life.
The key to lasting fitness: Behavior change, mindset, and my approach
Most fitness programs focus on workouts and nutrition, but these factors make up only half the equation. Without addressing mindset, behavior change, and habit formation, long-term success becomes difficult.
For years, I thought in extremes, operating like an athlete, training in seasons of intensity followed by burnout, and not knowing how to operate outside of that. When I finally rewired my own mindset, I found sustainability. I had to let go of the idea that fitness success meant rigid seasons and instead embrace a structured, yet fluid, approach.
This philosophy is at the core of my coaching. What makes my method different is that it isn’t just about giving my clients workouts and meal plans; it’s about teaching them how to think differently. My coaching curriculum integrates science-backed mindset training with behavior psychology so that my clients can break free from inconsistency with confidence.
Here’s why this matters: If a program doesn’t teach you how to integrate fitness into your real life, travel, work deadlines, and social events, it’s setting you up for possible failure. True transformation happens when fitness becomes fluid, adaptable, and ingrained in your self-image. When your brain recognizes movement, nutrition, and consistency as part of who you are, not just something you “do,” you unlock lasting progress and genuine confidence.
Your brain is just as adaptable as your muscles. When you approach fitness as a mindset and behavior shift, not just a physical one, you remove the barriers that have kept you stuck in cycles of inconsistency.
If you’re ready to elevate your fitness, performance, and mindset, subscribe to the LSL Insider for more expert strategies to stay consistent.
Read more from Lauren Saint-Louis
Lauren Saint-Louis, Fitness & Nutrition Coach
Lauren Saint-Louis is an Exercise Physiologist and fitness & nutrition coach based in NYC. She specializes in behavior and lifestyle change, habit development and is passionate about helping clients overcome the “all or nothing mentality”. She founded LSL Fitness to help today’s high-performing professionals elevate the version of themself that they bring to their career and life.
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