News Bulletins

Reality Check

Do You Really Have What it Takes

C’mon, one more rep! Its you, all you, I didn’t touch it! Push it, drive it!

These are some of the familiar phrases often heard in the weight room. Do they help? Or, are we just wasting our breath.

No doubt you’ve seen a movie (or perhaps even been involved with) scene where a military officer verbally beats someone into submission while doing push-ups. The thought behind this torture is that it toughens someone up. Is this a good approach?

It has often been said that sport is 90% mental. While that that may be an overstatement (there has to be more then 10% physical contribution), often the difference between success and failure lies in the person who has more dedication, a better commitment and a bigger heart.

Perhaps more than ever before the field of Sport Psychology is beginning to see an emergence as a real component of training. Getting that competitive edge maybe as easy as closing your eyes and relaxing! In fact, most sport psychologists will tell you that Mental Imagery is the key to success. Follow that with some audio cues and you got yourself a recipe for success.

Mental Imagery

Steps in Visualization

1. Find a quiet place with no distractions.
2. Close your eyes and relax.
3. Try to just sit there without being distracted for several minutes - think of plesant thoughts.
4. If you cannot do 1-3, do it until you can
5. Try to clearly see yourself at your competition or performing a task- if color if possible
6. Zoom in on your movements and be specific as possible. See yourself do the movement.
7. Slowly, increase the intensity (add weight- go for a max, etc.) and contunue to be specific in the movements and skills
8. Repeat several times, adding in cue words adn trying to make the scene as real as possible.
9. A variation to watching yourself, is actually performing the activity, and looking through your own eyes. From example, if doing a movement in the fitness competition, you see the crowd (or whatever you are looking at)
10. The rest of the teps for 9 are the same.

Aka Visualization, this technique teaches you how to see yourself (visualize) performing various skills, tasks, movements, etc. There are several different methods but the bottom line is that if you can visualize success and visualize doing better (lifting more, for example) than you have done before you will inevitably have a “déjà vu” when you go to do it. Typically, failure is a result of negative thinking, such as “I can’t”! By having already achieved success (as you will do in visualization) when you go for it, you will believe you can. You should understand however, that like anything, it takes time to perfect. You also should not visualize the impossible, rather take realistic steps. The more precise your imagery is, the more accurate and beneficial the results will be. For those of you engaged in athletics such as Fitness Competitions, this should be part of your training. For those of you just trying to get over a hump or plateau, give it an honest shot. What is the worst that can happen?

Reality Check

Mental Imagery

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