More on Mental Fitness — But Think FAST!
Thanks to the readers who offered up their suggestions and experiences with mental training techniques in response to Friday’s post. Much appreciated!
Funny thing, what the universe sends you when something is on your mind. Last week, I signed up for a teleseminar series I read about on Eric Cressey’s blog so I
could “listen LIVE to 16 of the world’s top muscle building coaches and authors as they ’spill their guts’ and reveal their BEST training, nutrition, injury prevention, mental and supplement information EVER… absolutely FREE!”
(Listen, brother: I like to picture Hulk Hogan giving that pitch even though I know the man behind the teleconference is Vince DelMonte, author of the e-book No Nonsense Muscle Building: Skinny Guy Secrets to Insane Muscle Gains. If you’re interested in signing up, too, see details here.)
The email notification I got about today’s interview said:
[T]odays interview is with Pete Siegel R.H., who is the
world’s most foremost mental training coach who has
worked with 100’s of pro athletes and celebrities reach
their full potential.
Hmm, relevant much? Sounds like the emphasis will be on mental fitness for bodybuilders, but since mental training skills are applicable to all sports and fitness pursuits, I fully expect to learn how to develop a “champion mind,” too.
The only thing is, THIS INTERVIEW IS GOING DOWN IN ABOUT AN HOUR, at 3 p.m. Central Time.
If you’re interested in getting in on it, hurry up and click here. (If you have problems with the link, that ain’t my problem. I’m just the unaffiliated messenger.)
If you happen to listen in, too, let me know what you think!
UPDATE: If you missed the call, there’s still a replay up at the same link. If it’s anything like the Bill Hartman call last week, it’ll be up for the next 24 hours, and you can even download an MP3 of the interview.
March 31st, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Thought you’d be interested in something I learned during my Oprah class last week (yes, I’m one of the dorks watching the webinars of A New Earth). This is a quote from Zen master Chuang Tzu:
When an archer is shooting for nothing
He has all his skill.
If he shoots for a brass buckle
He is already nervous.
If he shoots for a prize of gold
He goes blind
Or sees two targets-
He is out of his mind!
His skill has not changed. But the prize
Divides him. He cares.
He thinks more of winning
Than of shooting -
And the need to win
Drains him of power.
Basically, Eckhart Tolle says the most powerful athletes are the one who play in the present moment. Every thought about what the future brings (even if it’s winning the game) weakens him, because it dilutes his focus (and power). He used Tiger Woods as an example of someone who’s figured it out. Thought it was interesting.
March 31st, 2008 at 3:10 pm
oooh I missed it, oh unaffiliated messenger!
hope it was good.
cant wait for details (hinthint)
M.
ps and SO INTERESTING Jane Doe. thanks for typing that out.
March 31st, 2008 at 3:41 pm
MizFit,
I don’t think you’re too late — Vince just posted a replay.
But JIC you don’t have time due to the Tornado I’ll share what I think was the most useful snippet (there weren’t tons of how-to tips): the kinds of questions Pete recommends you ask yourself before each workout in order to bring yourself into intense, focused concentration on the emotions and feelings that act as the “sensory fuel” (nice phrase, eh?) that drives you to mentally unite with the process that allows you to achieve your desired outcome.
Siegel says this sensory fuel acts as a precursor that leads you into “the performance flow known as the zone.” He recommends asking yourself questions like these:
-What do I want?
-How will I go about getting it?
-What would it look like?
-What would it feel like? (How drenched in sweat would you be? How worked would you feel? How good about it would you feel?)
-What would I be doing?
-What will be the outcome I produce by doing it?
One other idea that stuck out: Siegel says concentration isn’t blocking negatives out, but rather focusing your awareness to a laser point (”like holding a magnifying glass up to the sun, to where you can burn a hole through anything”).
March 31st, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Addendum: Two topics Siegel oh-so-briefly touched on that I’d like to delve into sometime were Neuro Linguistic Programming (www.nlp.com) and self-hypnosis. Anyone have any experience there?