The poundage is constant even if youre not
6 July 2005If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
The poundage is constant even if youre not
Music trumps mechanical sounds and natural silence trumps music
I have a lot of people ask why I listen to music when I train. The walkman seems out of character. One friend said after training with me one afternoon. Actually if he knew me better he would know that it is very much in character. First off I always try and find a proper selection of music for that particular day. I am interested in mood elevation as it pertains to the workout so ballads and somber songs are out. Music elevates and amplifies my ability to concentrate and get totally zoned in on the athletic task at hand. And to such a degree that my workout results improve by 10%. It relates to the particular psyche-up procedures an athlete uses immediately prior to undertaking a limit or near limit feat.
Wearing a walkman is particularly important if you train at a commercial gym where potential distractions are just waiting to happen. I really dont want to get caught up in a conversation with a well-meaning gym member or staff person when Im blasting away three sets deep into a six set standing press-behind-the-neck sequence. Its counterproductive. If you are a nice person and allow yourself to be interrupted in the steel house then you have a problem: it is not humanly possible to stop mid-sentence during an involved conversation, casually stroll up to a limit poundage barbell or dumbbell and lift it with any hope of success.
The poundage is constant even if youre not. Dont be a thick-headed Gilligan: In order to have a prayer lifting a weight that equals or exceeds current limits you need to develop a personalized psyche-up routine. Whats that? Psyche is a centering process, tinged with aggression and purposeful machismo, (distaff to) because focus and ferocity are required to do tackle something youve never done before. Anything less and youre toast. Bringing your A-Game to the training session and firing yourself up like a berserker is still no guarantee of success but it improves the odds by about 60%. Its damned hard to strike up a conversation with a person wearing a walkman. Select mood arousal music and in about the time the java hits the bloodstream youll be raring to tear up some weights up.
The deeper I get into the workout the better my concentration becomes. I mentally review the about-to-happen lift immediately prior to actually commencing. I was first introduced to the concept of visualization by Mac McCallum in a two-part 1965 Keys to Progress article called, Concentration. Over the past forty years Ive gotten to the point where I can routinely will my body to do more than it is capable of on that particular day. I visualize myself in whatever physical setting I find myself in, I close my eyes and see myself sitting as Im sittingI tell myself, picture the room in detail. What color shirt do you have on? Are there stripes on your gym socks? Crazy detail and focus stuff that requires my complete concentration.
My mental picture is rich and detailed. I see myself stand up and chalk my hands, adjust my straps or do whatever preliminary things I would need to do for this particular lift. I see myself step to the bar and as I grab it and take control, it always (in my mind) feels light. I handle the poundage for the appropriate number of reps in pristine style then replace the weight, open my eyes, take a huge breath, stand up and attempt to turn that visualization into reality. Do I do this on every dink-ass itty-bitty exercise? No way. But on the big stuff, the important stuff, the limit stuff, I make myself use the procedure because it is a surefire way to reduce the chances of injury.
If you want to end up making a quick trip to the emergency room, attempt a limit lift half-heartedly or distractedly. Regardless the rep range, limit is limit and the poundage stays constant and the weight makes no allowances for your spaced-out inattention. The weights will hurt you if you disrespect the precise technical boundaries of a lift. A walkman/ipod discourages conversation and aides in the seriousness and centering that need occur if you are going to safely stretch the envelope.
When I do cardio I love the walkman/ipod because it helps me with pace and stride-step length and cadence and general awareness. I love to glide along breaking magnificent toxin-expelling sweat while listening to some amazing piece of music that provides a dramatic and appropriate soundtrack to the natural beauty I am seeing and smelling. And to think Im burning off body fat, elevating my basal metabolic rate, improving endurance and building a set of lungs like a Porsche turbocharger.early morning aerobics done on nature trails or in one of the wonderful public parks listening to perfectly select music can be a transcendental experience.
My rule of thumb for outdoor walkman use is if I can hear any mechanical sounds or manmade hubbub I wear the walkman. In Marty World, music trumps mechanical sounds or voices every single time. If Im lucky enough to catch a real natural silencebirds and wind, leaves rustling, branches creaking…natural silence trumps music every single time. Do yourself a favor: if you are serious about bumping progress upward a few notches try using the walkman to develop an embryonic psyche-up routine. Try some outdoor cardio. Feel the wind at your back and the sun in your face as you tool along at 80% of age-related heart rate max while some subtle, sultry, siren seductress murmurs though your head phones.its addictive and has incredible physical benefit.
Tags:Popularity: 1% [?]
Related Posts:
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
