Awareness as it relates to fitness; the psychology of a champion athlete
5 May 2005If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
I might be beating a dead horse with a big stick repeatedly but I want revisit the issue of getting you head screwed on straight before and during a serious physical transformation effort: the mind, the brain, the internal thought process, can become your biggest ally or worst enemy. Psychological positioning is critical; optimally the athlete is enthused and excited and fired up about the plan and the process. First you construct your 6-12 week fitness battle plan with the care and intricacy of a ship-in-a-bottle builder. Once you hatch the plan, ideally you are excited and jacked up and cannot wait to have at it.
This unbridled enthusiasm carries over into the individual workout and by sheer force of mind you are able to amplify physical performance. The successful workout builds muscle, oxidizes stored body fat and intense training causes narcotic-tinged endorphins to be released into the bloodstream. The successful workout is a physically and psychologically pleasing experience and human nature seeks to repeat experiences it deems pleasurable. The enthusiasm quota is replenished and the whole process pushes forward one solid step. String together a series of successful workouts and after 3-4 weeks tangible physical changes begin to manifest. Once change occurs, physical and psychological momentum takes root and the entire process propels itself along.
In May of 1954 Krishnamurti and four other religious leaders were traveling west from New Delhi in an open Mercedes en route to a religious retreat. The vehicle was chauffeured and allowed them to commiserate on esoteric topics of great depth and complexity. The day was perfect as they tooled along a dirt road lined with 5,000 year old shrines and ashrams. The conversation amongst the exalted turned to the subject of awareness, We need be here in the present; we need be alert and aware and alive! said the high priest. Alertness at every instant is the key to living life! The sage responded. The mystic chimed in, You must be here in the here and now! The discussion became heated and intense as each religious leader (quite at ease with persuasive pontification) fought to be heard in the rapid-fire word exchange. Suddenly, remembered Krishnamurti, we ran over a full-sized goat. It impacted the car with a loud thud. No one noticed. Krishnamurti related with wry irony. The seers and teachers were so engrossed with their animated conversation about awareness that they as a group became oblivious to actual awareness.
I often take people hiking in the woods. It is interesting to observe how different people react. Some soak in the scenery and truly absorb the beauty of wild nature while others dont see it at all. They want to talk about bench pressing or the validity of body fat calipers and meanwhile miss the hawk circling lazily overhead on invisible thermals, 50-feet above our head. Talking about weight training or football or anything else while doing a physical activity is the equivalent of running over a goat in a car and not noticing.
Ive noticed that champion athletes have a common ability to zero in on the workout session with a focused intensity that has to be seen to be believed. To a man, they have an ability to literally will themselves to lift more or force out extra reps. They can will themselves to run faster or further, jump higher or longer; the top guys add 10% to their training session results through the use of extreme concentration.
o what does that have to do with running over goats or not seeing the circling hawk? People who are preoccupied, distracted and scattered rarely have the single-minded ability to focus on what is happening NOW! There is a fierceness of concentration that the athletic elite muster that allows them to do more than they are actually capable of. This is a learned skill and improves with time. The idea is to learn to focus on things and events without the continual, unrelated internal chatter that bedevils us constantly. This inky film of continual, unceasing thought prevents clear perception of what actually is occurring in the immediate present. An elite athlete has taught himself how to focus totally and completely on the immediate athletic task at hand.
Dont be talking to your neighbor while you are lifting weights! Please try and actually get a little psyched up prior to the heaviest set of a particular exercise. Learn how to conjure up alert concentration. Mental chatter need be minimal and please, no talking while working out. How are you going to get fired up for the top set of dumbbell bench presses if youre over at the water cooler yapping about the Redskins or American Idol to another gym member? It is great to be liked and social but performance suffers in direct proportion to how much you engage in gab during your precious time in the gym. Can you take athletic efforts seriously enough to make changes in how you conduct yourself during the workout? If you are able to performance and results will skyrocket. Improved results equate to more muscle mass and less body fat. When you are out and about, try and pay attention to your surroundings.
Of Tolstoy it was once said He went through life with his eyes wide open, his nostrils fared and his ears pricked. So should we all. Tolstoy wasnt preoccupied and he would have seen the goat before they ran it over. Alertness, focus, easy concentration, fierceness and tenacity are valuable traits to possess and when it comes to transforming the human body. The ability to focus and concentrate allows you to lift the entire effort to the next level.
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