Are you struggling to start a workout routine or stick with one? New research from a recent Florida International University study offers some surprising insight: Your brain, not your body, may be what’s holding you back.

But the good news is that your brain can be trained to help you push through.

According to FIU neuroscientist Marcelo Bigliassi, simple, controlled physical challenges can recalibrate how people perceive exertion and rewire how your brain perceives effort, making exercise feel less arduous and perhaps even enjoyable.

“Maybe you think having low tolerance for exercise is just part of your personality,” said Bigliassi, who specializes in AI-driven neuroscience and the brain-body connection. “But our data shows that’s not necessarily true. The brain can adapt and reset its limits when you give it a new point of reference or comparison.”

As Bigliassi explained, the brain is hardwired to learn from stressful experiences. Physical stressors, like intense exercise, activate the systems responsible for reacting to external threats or dangers (the “fight or flight” response) and, at the same time, trigger beneficial long-term adaptations by generating new “reference points” for tolerance and prepare the brain for future stressors.

In other words, just as your muscles naturally adapt to the gradually increased stress you put on them via exercise, so too does your brain when you train it to take on new challenges.

Resetting our tolerance for exertion

Before conducting the study, the Bagliassi and his team conducted “tolerance experiments” to explore the connection between people’s self-reported exercise tolerance and their ability to endure the “cold pressor test” (during which participants dunk their hand up to the wrist in ice water for a maximum of three minutes without moving their hand or making a fist).

Across the board, the people who self-identified as “high-tolerance” endured the discomfort for almost a minute longer than their self-identified “low-tolerance” counterparts.

This was to be expected, said Dayanne Antonio, a Ph.D. student and teaching assistant in Bigliassi’s lab and who helped lead the research. But what the researchers found even more intriguing was this: The low-tolerance group reported feeling more confident after the test was over.

“It made us wonder: If they put their hand in cold water before exercise, could it influence their experience at high intensities?” explained Antonio.

So then Bigliassi’s team recruited 34 minimally active participants and exposed them to short, high-intensity stress tests designed to challenge both mind and body. Participants first submerged their hand in ice water for up to three minutes, followed immediately by a burst of intense cycling. Throughout the process, researchers tracked physiological responses and mood to assess changes in how participants perceived discomfort.  The results of the study, which were recently published in the journal Stress and Health, showed that participants who completed the cold test first found the cycling portion more tolerable.

Some even reported enjoying the activity.

“Pushing our limits changes how we perceive stress, discomfort, and pain,” said Antonio. “It’s the only way to build up the cognitive abilities that make you mentally resilient enough to deal with whatever comes your way.”

How to exercise your way to mental resilience

The researchers emphasize that you don’t need to jump into ice baths or run marathons to build mental toughness. Instead, you can apply the study’s takeaways in your everyday life. Here are a few tips they recommend:

• Find an activity you enjoy. There’s no rule that says you must run or lift weights. If you’re unsure where to begin, think back to childhood. What physical activities did you naturally enjoy?

• Start small. Set a manageable goal, like walking or jogging for 10-15 minutes a day. Over time, increase the duration or intensity at your own pace.

• Use distractions strategically. Bigliassi’s previous research has shown that music and video can help distract the brain from sensations of fatigue or discomfort, making workouts feel easier.

• Set yourself up for success. Use small cues and routines to stay on track like calendar reminders, wearable fitness alerts or placing your workout clothes somewhere visible can make it easier to stay consistent.

• Lean on social support. Workout with a friend or join a group class to boost motivation and accountability.

• Reward your progress. Small rewards like new workout gear or a relaxing activity can reinforce positive brain associations between effort and achievement.

• Visualize positive outcomes. Try to imagine how good you’ll feel — both mentally and physically — after getting in your workout.

The above strategies tap into the brain’s natural neuroplasticity and ability to adapt when under pressure. With consistent exposure to mild stressors, the brain forms new patterns and learns to reinterpret effort and exertion.  “Stress helped shape humanity and it’s one of the primary reasons we are here today,” said Bigliassi. “Now we have to figure out how we can use it to our advantage.”   While cold exposure was helpful in a lab setting, Bigliassi says the bigger lesson is about mindset: Pushing beyond comfort in a controlled, safe way helps create the cognitive framework for long-term resilience — not just in fitness but also in everyday life.

Bigliassi, a lifelong fitness enthusiast who enjoys weightlifting and jiu jitsu, said that he found the study’s results fascinating, rewarding and, most of all, gratifying: “If my work helps someone become more mentally strong and live a healthier, longer life, then it’s all worth it.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FIU study: Pushing physical limits alters brain’s stress perception