Have you ever wondered how top athletes do it? How they manage to just keep going, running that last mile, pushing past the person ahead of them to take the lead? While it’s true they’ve spent years toning their bodies to be the best they can be, that’s not the only thing that sets them apart and allows them to perform amazing feats of athleticism. The mental component of exercise is an enormous challenge for many people, whether they’re just starting to get fit or pushing themselves to the next level of competition. The greatest athletes have been shown to have exceptionally high levels of mental toughness to help them push beyond their rivals and win the competition. They train both their minds and their bodies in order to succeed. For the rest of us, developing more mental toughness could be the key to building up and maintaining fitness. But why?