GETTING MORE MENTAL IN YOUR WORKOUT

Hi all,

I have had a great couple of days, training has gone well and I got another article published on ezine articles about Recovery for Improved Performance, I was chuffed with that, I never thought it could be that difficult writing a real article but it took quite a bit of thinking about and re-writing. 

I had a go at a 2 minute Dip challenge this afternoon, got 65 dips, so wasn’t that happy really, I am going to have another go in the next couple of days, I want at least 80, so I will have to see how it goes. I did it on a spur of the moment as I was in the Gym taking a rehab session for a couple of mates who have been injured, so didn’t have any time to prepare mentally for it. So the next time I have a go at it, I will do it in my mind first, that will definitely get me a few more reps. So with that, it brings me round to today’s blog about getting mental with your training.

Many people think that using mental training in sport or any type of physical performance is just mumbo jumbo and doesn’t work. I can assure you though that there have been many scientific studies that show that it does and it is very difficult to ignore the evidence.

In one study, done with Basketball Players in a University in the States, showed that one group that did 100 free throws per day for 30 days improved by 24%, amazingly another group of players who were not allowed to do any type of free throws physically,  were asked to visualize (see it in their mind) 100 free throws per day for 30 days and they improved by 23% when it came to physically performing the task at the end of 30 days. Only a 1% difference. In simple terms, this is because your brain can’t really differentiate what is real and what is not, so for skill improvement visualization is shown to work.

Another study, again, done in the States, was done on Little Finger Strength and Elbow Flexor Strength, the group were under instruction to visualize an exercise to increase their strength in their little finger and their Elbow Flexors, at the end of the Study the Little finger Strength average increase was up by over 30% and the Elbow Flexors was 17% if my memory serves me correctly. So you can increase strength by visualization as well.

Visualization means creating or recreating an experience in your mind, and anyone can use it to positive effect. It will also help with building:

1. Confidence
2. Increasing motivation
3. Controlling emotions

So you can see that it is a very powerful tool to have in your armoury.

To use visualization effectively it is important to make the mental picture as vivid as possible, utilizing all your senses.

For it to work at its best you should always see in your mind’s eye the execution of whatever you are trying to improve and you should always see a positive outcome. The more you practice the better you will become at it.

For example let’s say that you have decided that you want to lose some body fat and start training. You have set your goals and have decided that you are going to get started in the morning. You are going to go out and do some body weight training and you know you don’t like exercise and it is going to be difficult to motivate yourself to do it. You know what exercises you are going to do and you know how to do them. This is where visualization may be of use.

All you need to do is go to a quiet room and lie down and relax, there should be no distractions. 

Once you are relaxed start off with a picture in your mind of the following morning, imagine getting up and putting your exercise kit on, going down the stairs and entering the room where you are going to train, think of the warm up you are going to do, how you are going to do it and how great and full of energy you feel. Your first exercise is the Squat, picture yourself doing the number of Squats you have made your target, feel the great aching feeling in your legs as you approach your target number and how your breathing and heart rate are increasing, you can feel the sweat starting to emerge from your body and then you hit your final rep and you have achieved the exact number you wanted to do, with comparative ease. Now it’s rest time for a minute and then move on to the next exercise, The Press up. I am sure you get the picture.

Notice in the above scenario, you set yourself up, carried out the skill and had an outcome which was successful. By doing this type of mental rehearsal you stand a much better chance of completing what you intend to do than if you went with no mental rehearsal at all.

 I have written a PDF Manual that is available for free download on my website click here.  All you need to do is register and it’s yours if you want a more in depth description of how to do it and what VISUALIZATION is good for.

Other mental strategies open to you are positive self talk. Basically this means talking yourself up. If you know you are going to face a difficult situation, positive self talk is a great tool to help you overcome it.

There are certain rules you must apply to Positive self talk and these are must do’s:

1. Your statements should be short but to the point
2. They must be positive statements expressing your intent
3. They should always be in the present tense
4. You should always be kind to yourself and never criticise your performance
5. You should repeat Positive self talk often.

Using the scenario in the bit about visualization, let’s say that you are now doing the exercise and it is getting tough. This is where positive self talk comes in.

Phrases such as “Come on you can do this” or “you’ve got this” or my favourite to myself is “Piece of P*ss”

Never say a statement such as “I can’t do this” or “I am not going to fail this” The Subconscious mind does not recognise the word don’t, so you are basically telling yourself that you are going to fail with statements such as the above.

A good saying for today, to do with positive self talk is:

IF YOU THINK YOU CAN’T, YOU WON’T. IF YOU THINK YOU CAN, YOU MIGHT

Further Mental strategies you can use to name a few are:

1. Distractions. If you are exercising you can use music or video to distract you from the physical exertion you are going through.
2. Set yourself realistic targets to achieve.
3. Use past experiences, where maybe you faced some difficulty and tell yourself you have got through tougher things than this

In conclusion, the mental side of Performance is huge and will ultimately determine whether you succeed or fail at something, so do not ignore it. You have a much better chance of success in anything that you do, and that is whether it is Physical Exercise, Fat loss or you are trying to achieve something in life if you use these mental skills on a regular basis.

Have a good one!

Steve