Mental Traning: Beginners.

[Eric Persson]

To prevent people from inventing the wheel, I think a thread that goes through the first steps of mental training would be a great asset to this site.

How to mentally prepare yourself for workouts, setting inner goals for yourself, getting motivated and so on.

Fire at will.

[Titan]

Before you set bigger inner goals, you have to be confident and quite calm on the inside. We get a lot of negative indoctrination from everywhere and we're therefore used to giving ourselves negative feedback instead of patting our own backs.

What I mean by confident is having a mental strength that keeps doubts from getting in the way of your set goals. Staying calm on the inside is a huge help there. As with everything else, you do this by training. Negative thoughts will come, but it's all about how you deal with them and look at them. An easy thing you can do to "retrain" yourself from not getting too down by them is by remembering to in your mind yell "NEXT!" when you get a bad thought. Let your brain skip to the next thought. This lack of confidence that stems from negative thinking really is nothing else than what we're been taught to do and what the brain is trained to do. It does, however, tend to get in the way of everything we do, and for people it causes serious problems. Playing this "association game" in your mind by reminding yourself to say "next" when you start thinking a way you don't like is something that gives rather quick improvements.

Getting spent before a workout, feeling like you can't run so-and-so-far in so-and-so-minutes, or feeling like you can't benchpress 350 lbs is all because of how you approach it. Think about it, when you have an attitude like "I can't benchpress 350", you've already defeated yourself before you've given yourself the chance to test it. You might not be able to lift that much, but should at the very least give yourself the chance. It's the same with math or basketball, people that say "I'm no good in math" create a self-image of themselves that their subconscious help them create. There's lots of research that has been done in those segments. Once you start re-associating your thoughts-actions-associations, you can begin looking at benching 350 lbs as not an obstacle but a challenge to step up to and work towards. Like a motivation for training and a goal to reach through sound training. Not look at it as a chore that you have to press yourself and suffer through training to achieve.

There's some thoughts on the topic.

[K++s]

Before you set bigger inner goals, you have to be confident and quite calm on the inside. We get a lot of negative indoctrination from everywhere and we're therefore used to giving ourselves negative feedback instead of patting our own backs.

What I mean by confident is having a mental strength that keeps doubts from getting in the way of your set goals. Staying calm on the inside is a huge help there. As with everything else, you do this by training. Negative thoughts will come, but it's all about how you deal with them and look at them. An easy thing you can do to "retrain" yourself from not getting too down by them is by remembering to in your mind yell "NEXT!" when you get a bad thought. Let your brain skip to the next thought. This lack of confidence that stems from negative thinking really is nothing else than what we're been taught to do and what the brain is trained to do. It does, however, tend to get in the way of everything we do, and for people it causes serious problems. Playing this "association game" in your mind by reminding yourself to say "next" when you start thinking a way you don't like is something that gives rather quick improvements.

Getting spent before a workout, feeling like you can't run so-and-so-far in so-and-so-minutes, or feeling like you can't benchpress 350 lbs is all because of how you approach it. Think about it, when you have an attitude like "I can't benchpress 350", you've already defeated yourself before you've given yourself the chance to test it. You might not be able to lift that much, but should at the very least give yourself the chance. It's the same with math or basketball, people that say "I'm no good in math" create a self-image of themselves that their subconscious help them create. There's lots of research that has been done in those segments. Once you start re-associating your thoughts-actions-associations, you can begin looking at benching 350 lbs as not an obstacle but a challenge to step up to and work towards. Like a motivation for training and a goal to reach through sound training. Not look at it as a chore that you have to press yourself and suffer through training to achieve.

There's some thoughts on the topic.

Dude, thanks for that "Next" trick.

It works for virtually anything!!! :)

[Cracked_Knuckle]

It works for virtually anything!!! :)


Too true!

[TheDude]

Just get a copy of "Hagakure."

"Even if one's head were to be suddenly cut off, he should be able to do one more action with certainty. With martial valor, if one becomes like a revengeful ghost and shows great determination, though his head is cut off, he should not die. "

"According to what one of the elders said, taking an enemy on the battlefield is like a hawk taking a bird. Even though it enters into the midst of a thousand of them, it gives no attention to any bird than the one it first marked."

http://users.tkk.fi/~renko/hag1.html

[pollux]

Focus on the process, not the product. If you concentrate on how far from your goals you are, you will lose sight of your immediate goal. Instead focus on the process of getting the best workout possible TODAY. The product will be there before you know it.

"To know is not enough, we must apply."
Bruce Lee


"To be willing is not enough, you must do."
Bruce lee

[Njetji]

Very interesting stuff, thatnks for all the contributors. This sure will help.