What separates the best athletes in any sport is what is going on between their ears. There are plenty of Games quality movers out there, but it is those who have the right mentality that ultimately succeed. Here are a few tips to help you make those mental gainz.
- Don’t be a baby
Miss a lift and land on your butt? Rather than yelling and swearing about it, take a deep breath or even laugh at yourself. I am 100% guilty of letting my temper get the best of me, and while sometimes it can pump me up, most of the time it is just a waste of energy that would be better focused elsewhere. In a competition setting, it is essential to stay calm or you will crack under pressure. Rarely do you see the best throw a tantrum because they failed a rep. They just get on with it.
- Have a goal
If you have a goal, you can get satisfaction from training to get there. Even when you’re hurting and you just want to quit, if you focus on how that one workout is going to get you closer to your goal, it will be easier to keep going. While ‘being fit’ is valid, having a tangible goal like an upcoming competition or race, or 20 strict pull-ups, is going to be more motivating on bad training days.
- Visualize
Imagine yourself standing on the podium. Picture yourself making that PR lift. Don’t walk up to the bar and think about the possibility of failing. See yourself succeed. While hard work and practice are still essential to success, visualization helps remove the barriers we create with our mind. It is also a way to practice when you are not in the gym. Run through a mental rehearsal of a workout or a lift, thinking about how it looks and feels, what muscles you engage and what cues you tell yourself. Imagery is a proven way to impact cognitive processes, so you can train the brain for performance without physical action.
- Positive self-talk
This goes hand in hand with visualization. Have a motivational phrase that you can focus on before and during a workout. Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali famously said “I am the greatest.” “I am”, not “I hope to be”. Be definitive with your affirmation. Those at the top don’t get there by saying ‘I’m going to give it a shot.’ They say ‘I’m going to win.’
- Play dumb
Sometimes, the best thing can be to just switch off. Stop thinking about the clock and about how much it sucks and how you have another 35 thrusters to do. Play dumb and just move. Don’t get in your own head.
- Rationalize
One of my favorite ways to get through a workout is contradictory to number 5. Rather than switching off, I break up the workload into manageable chunks. 15 burpees become 5 sets of 3. I like to remind myself that I have completed 25%, 50%, 75% of the task. I tell myself ‘you’ve already done it once, just two more times.’ By rationalizing the workload, a 20 minute work out, or 5 heavy lifting sets, become much more manageable.
Different mental tricks work for different people. Find what works for you, because if you want to be successful, you need to train both body and mind.
