Gateways! Religions and Psychologists have often warned us to be wary of what we let through our gateways; the ears and the eyes. We have all heard that there is power in what you hear and see.
Our thoughts, actions, emotions and extensively our behavior can be influenced by words that we let in. This is why a lot of people put a lot of thought into what they hear. From music to audio books, there are varieties of things you can listen to.
You will also agree that a good time to listen to an audio book or music is when you’re working out. This is because it is the period when the body is calm enough to ignore distractions for the purpose of exercise. Music and the use of audio materials during workouts can also improve mood and motivate you to perform better during exercises. However, an audio material that is frequently ignored is subliminal messages.
Listening to subliminals while working out is a great way to boost your motivation and is especially useful as you get into the “Zone” as the subliminals can enter your subconscious even more effectively.
How subliminals can improve your mood and motivation
Subliminal messages are audio and visual messages that are passed subtly underneath noise or soft music or flashed across a screen. These messages are so subtle that you might not even be listening or seeing them consciously. But the beauty of subliminals is that your brain still picks up the messages subconsciously (or subliminally).
Subliminal messages affect the subconscious part of the brain. This part of the brain is directly implicated and linked to the conscious part of the brain that affects the visible actions that we display periodically.
Let me explain. A lot of us think that some of our actions are spontaneous. However, research has shown that a lot of actions we carry out consciously are actually produced (and influenced) by a lot of unconscious processes (up to 2,000 times). This has been proven in research. A study was conducted which showed that even in an unconscious state, like a state of deep sleep in this case, the brain still processes and stores sounds, words and even smells/odors. This is what confers importance on subliminal messages.
Subliminal messages can improve your mood, influence your behavior and thoughts and even make you highly motivated. A research that was conducted showed that subliminal messages had an effect in participants in as quickly as 30 minutes. Subliminal messages improve your mood and motivation using a “delayed response” pattern. The effect of a subliminal messages works on the brain in 30 minutes, but this is because there must have been a memory stored in the brain for the subliminal to have an effect.
A lot of information from subliminal messages is stored quickly in the brain in such a way that guides the conscious response of the brain. This is why whenever you listen to a subliminal message while working out, you will find out that you either start increasing in the workout tempo or you notice that the “tension” you felt before beginning the workout will fade easily.
Why you should listen to subliminals before working out
You might ask “should I listen to subliminals before, during or after working out?” That is such a smart question to ask. Subliminal messages have benefits no matter the time you listen to it. However, it is important that you listen to subliminal messages before working out. There is no hard and fast rule that says you must, but just as it is important that you “warm up” before exercising, it is also beneficial that you listen to subliminals before working out. There are some reasons why you should listen to subs before a workout.
Inspiration
Listening to subliminal messages can “charge you up” and get you started for your day. Some people will take a cup of coffee (or tea) to get them ready for the day. But the advantage that subliminal messages have is that these messages are usually positive (either spoken, written or graphic) that send positivity to your mind, making you feel inspired and ready to begin your workout.
Expanding the mind
Subliminal messages expand the mind in a way that sends information straight to the subconscious part of the brain, thus bypassing the conscious part. But this does not mean that the conscious part of the brain is not functioning actively. The information stored by subliminal messages impact the conscious part of the brain, thus expanding the mind. Some people will affirm that listening to subliminal messages make their “creative juices” flow easily.
Improves focus and prevents distraction
When you start listening to subliminal messages, you might be distracted by external noise and actions. However, as you continue to listen to these messages (or see the images flash across the screen), you realize that you will begin to focus on what is being said (or shown). This is possible because subliminal messages help you focus and prevent distraction. This advantage can even be carried into other daily activities as well.
Relaxation and Calm
An obvious reason why you might want to listen to subliminal messages before you start working out is that these messages can calm you and make you feel relaxed. It may seem counterintuitive but a calm mind is better than a stressed mind when working out.
Why you should meditate and listen to subliminals while working out
As you begin to exercise, you might get distracted or tired. Now, do not feel bad and start saying “Oh! I am such a lazy person! I cannot even carry out a 15-minute workout session without feeling tired!” It is extremely normal to feel lazy or distracted or tired during a workout session. However, listening to subliminal messages (which is sometimes considered a form of meditation) can help you during workout sessions.
Subliminals make you energized enough to get going when you start working out. If you work out without listening to subliminals, you might need an extra effort to stay motivated enough to continue. However, listening to subliminal messages helps you avoid distractions and keeps you motivated and focused.
The advantage of subliminals also extends beyond the physical benefits, as you will soon start to desire exercise and even look forward to working out daily till it becomes a routine. So, subliminal messages create a cycle where you are energized to exercise, you keep exercising, and then stay energized to continue!
Meditation between sets while you are resting is another great thing to add in while working out as it will help regulate your breathing pattern thus making you train better on your working sets
How subliminals can help to reprogram your brain
I am sure that you are surprised to know that subliminals can reprogram your brain. The brain stores information from the subconscious phase into the conscious phase. However, the subconscious part of the brain forms a larger percent of memory storage, up to 85-90%. This is why if you mostly have negative thoughts and action patterns, it is a function of your subconscious mind. You will need to reprogram your mind into positivity, but how can this be done knowing that the subconscious part of the mind is quite hard to reach? I am sure you guessed the answer; with the use of subliminal messages.
We have previously established that subliminal messages are effective through the use of focus. Also, by giving your attention to subliminal messages, you can easily override negativity in the mind. Ways by which you can harness the maximum advantages of subliminal messages is by the use of words (known as affirmations). To do this, say positive words especially using present tense. As you do this, you might feel the negative feelings bubble up again. But there is power in words. Keep repeating these affirmations and you will soon find yourself filled with the power of positivity.
Thankfully, you don’t have to come up with these words yourself. There are numerous subliminal programs and products you can buy with just the right affirmations to get you all hyped up with positivity.
How often you should listen to subliminals for maximum benefits
So, I have reiterated over and over again what subliminals are; their uses and benefits. But how long should a subliminal message be on an average? And how often should you listen to a subliminal message for its benefits? First, I need to point out that each individual is different, so there is no absolute period to which you can listen to a subliminal message. Beyond working out effectively, there might be other reasons why you listen to a subliminal message. Usually, there should be instructions that come with a subliminal message on how long you should listen to it. But it is highly recommended that you listen to one subliminal daily.
Some people treat subliminals like a music mix where they shuffle a list of songs up to a certain length of time that they can listen to during work out sessions. This is wrong, as listening to a series of subliminal messages for a length of time can lead to tiredness (for short periods of time) or oversaturation (for long periods of time). What this means is that your brain will focus and maximize the information passed by a subliminal message when you listen to a subliminal daily.
On the other hand, repetition can become a bore and you will get easily disinterested; this is why many authors of subliminal messages recommend that you change the subliminal messages that you listen to from time to time. You can listen to a subliminal message thrice a week and then switch to another the next day. Follow this pattern till it becomes effective. Do not forget to adhere to the author’s instructions though.