THE RITUAL ADVANTAGE

Worried that you're stuck doing the same old, same old? Don't be: pre-workout routines can prime body and mind

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Why do some of the world's top athletes follow the same sequence of actions before every training session or competition?

From Cristiano Ronaldo's meticulous warm-up drills and unchanging pre-free kick stance to the All Blacks performing the haka before a match, pre-workout rituals are far more than a habit - they're a tool for mental and physical priming.

For many athletes, these behaviours are deeply personal; for others, being part of a shared ritual can catalyse unity and create a type of integrated concentration. But what exactly makes a ritual effective? And how can regular gym-goers design routines that optimise performance?

Routine vs. ritual

A routine and a ritual might, on the surface, seem identical; they are, after all, both repeated actions performed before an activity. But there is a powerful distinction, and it lies in intention and psychological impact.

A routine is practical and goal-directed: putting on gym clothes, filling a water bottle, performing mobility exercises. It's a series of actions you complete to get a task done.

A ritual, however, is a routine that has been elevated. It's a more meaningful, often symbolic practice that primes both brain and body for action. A ritual can carry personal significance, social meaning, or cultural symbolism, acting as a psychological switch that signals it's time to perform.

Interestingly, a simple routine can become ritualistic over time. When an athlete repeats the same actions consistently, the brain begins to associate them with high performance, and the body prepares itself almost automatically for the task ahead.

“A good pre-workout routine can help the brain understand that it's game time,” says Dr. Jessica Bartley, Director of the Center for Performance Excellence (CPEX) at the University of Denver. “The more that the routine is completed before a workout, the more the brain connects it to the workout.”