Mind Tricks

In the first half of this century, athletes and trainers believed that human body could not run a mile in 4 minutes. Then, in May 1954, one runner ran a mile in less than 4 minutes. In June of the same year, another person did it again. Since then, hundreds of people have run a mile in less than 4 minutes. It shows that the belief in impossibility was in the mind only.

The Russians during the Olympics in the seventies and eighties were famously known for using different tricks to deceive the mind to perform super human feats.  In weight-lifting it was believed that 500 pounds was the limit for the human body. Many could lift 499, but none 500 or more. Then the trainers fooled a Soviet weight lifter Vasily Alexeev: the actual weight was 501.5 pounds but they told him it was only 499, and he lifted the weight. Once the belief was broken, many other weight-lifters were able to lift more than 500 pounds.

The mind is an incredible tool and developing mind strength can take many years of not only physical training, but mental training.  Here we are going to examine a few quick ways to improve your training that are short term, but effective.  Using these techniques not only will work but when you focus on the counting you tend to forget how hard the exercise is, and it will let you power through it.

Examples-
Weight management- write down only one plate weight on one side of barbell. Don’t total the entire weight together.  For example, bench press with one 45lb plate on each side is equal to 135lbs.  Which looks easier to do?

Counting backwards-Instead of climbing a hill with numbers counting 1-10, try counting backwards from 10-1, it like a mental feeling of going downhill.

Segment Counting-instead of counting normal 1-10 or 1-15, try in segments such as by 3s or 5s, or even count 1-5, then backwards 5-1, then back to 1-5.

…For more information and tips, check my website, www.chadamartin.com.