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Mental Techniques For More Powerful Workouts
By Kenj | November 13, 2009
We have all heard the phrase “mind over matter”, something that is perhaps best illustrated by the yogis of India who are able to endure unbelievable pain through the power of meditation, basically a mental activity.
A clear illustration of how the mind can influence the outcome of many of the tasks we undertake can be seen in the film, Facing the Giants, the true story of Coach Grant Taylor’s courageous battle against fear and failure both on and off the field. There is a part in the movie where the coach makes his high school football players perform a death crawl on the entire length of the field with another person on each player’s back. The players are able to accomplish the daunting task because they have been blindfolded in order to keep them from giving up before maximizing their potential.
A research conducted recently at the University of Cape Town in South Africa proved that our brains tend to turn on the pain way before we reach our potential. It appears that the receptors in the brain called interleukin-6 attempts to shut the body down as a defense mechanism. What separates elite athletes from regular ones is that they know what mental techniques to use so that they can experience the full benefit of their workout. According to one elite athlete, what is important is to have a specific goal because none of the techniques would be of any help without it.
Using that information as a springboard, let us look at some of the things you can do so that you too can harness the power of your mind to get the most from your workouts:
1. Visualize success.
Consciously make the effort of imagining yourself completing a specific activity that you aim to accomplish, whatever it may be. It can be as simple as adding in an extra rep, or finishing a marathon. Your visualization doesn’t have to be long but you have to do it every night.
2. Make your mind blank.
A successful personal trainer tells his clients to block everything out of their minds when doing a specific activity in their workout routine. When you do this, remember that what is important is to concentrate on performing the activity with precision without allowing any emotions or thoughts to enter your mind, particularly negative ones.
3. Use a mantra.
Find a mantra or a phrase that inspires and motivates you to keep on and say it over and over as you work out. Many athletes have used a personal training mantra with success and exercise buffs have followed suit. If you are having a hard time coming up with one, try Nike’s famous advertising slogan “Just do it!” for starters.
4. Be strong.
Another powerful mind conditioning technique is to assert your superiority over an activity. Tell yourself, “I’m stronger or faster than the weight” if you are about to lift at a poundage that you have never tried before and believe it. You can also do this with endurance training. In this case you can tell yourself over and over that, “This will be faster than my previous time faster than my previous time.” The key is to blast your old assumption of what you think you can do. Challenge yourself, up the ante, you might be surprised at what you can actually do.
About the Author
Charles Alonso Volcolatte is a health and weight loss researcher for www.readysetweightloss.com. He writes and researches actively on Lose Weight Fast and shares his knowledge at www.readysetweightloss.com where he works as a staff writer.
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