7 – Make your training count!

PART 7 OF A 10-PART SERIES TO HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS

If you want to start a really effective training regime, you have to realise that training, on its own, is never enough. You have to make your training count. And that means paying close attention to every aspect of your training, not just the actual physical work. The world is full of people who train like they’re possessed, and yet they have very little to show for it. And that’s because too many put way too much emphasis on the actual training. It’s a key element, of course, but it’s only half the story (and maybe not even half).

To be effective your regime will have to take into account various other things. Some, like diet, are pretty obvious. Others, like mental attitude, less so. Here’s a list of some of the things that go to make a successful training regime:

• Training (well, obviously!)
• Diet
• Staying well hydrated
• Mental attitude
• Expectancy
• Self-belief
• Visualisation
• Regularity
• Sound sleep
• Steady progress

The importance of correct diet

Diet is obviously important. You have to fuel your body really well if you’re going to regularly put unusually high demands on it. You have to make sure you have enough of the nutrients you need, and be careful not to overdo it, otherwise your hard-earned muscles will be hiding beneath a layer of fat!

For this reason, you have to start to take a real interest in your dietary requirements.

There are countless websites full of information on diet, and as long as you’re careful to pick a few that are genuine and worth consulting, you can learn a lot just by visiting them from time to time.

The right mental attitude is also vital

Your mental attitude also is of vital importance. You have to realise you’re in this for the long haul, and expect to have to work hard. But you can also look forward to achieving the results you want. Never assume you’ll most likely just get by, get a bit fitter, maybe build up a little, etc. Your attitude needs to be a lot more positive and focused that that.

Write down certain phrases that describe you and your goals. Make them specific, and written with an enthusiastic feeling to them. Make the language you use stirring and emotional. Steer well clear of boring, flat phrases that do nothing to excite you or change your state of mind.

Here’s a few phrases you might use, just as a guide.

“I train hard, I train regularly, and I love it!”
“I put a massive amount of effort into my training, because I expect to see massive results.”
“I’m training with dedication and purpose; my physique is transforming almost beyond recognition.”
“I train hard, but it’s worth it; my health is improving beyond all recognition.”
“I look forward to training. It’s my opportunity to blast through my self-imposed barriers and limitations.”
“I’m more than changing my physique – I’m changing my self-image. The harder and more successfully I train, the more powerful and impressive I become, mentally as well as physically.”

Phrases like these will fire you up with enthusiasm. Use these if they appeal to you. Better still, come up with some different ones yourself, and make them as personal, and as emotionally stirring as you can.

Write them down. Either write them on paper, nice and neat, or type them into a document on your computer. And then, every day, read through them, but do it slowly and with emotion. Really imagine how enthusiastic you are, and how powerfully your training is affecting your body, and your self-image. Never underestimate the power of this positive self-talk. I’m sure you’re well aware how horribly damaging negative self-talk can be. It can ruin your training and make it worthless. Stands to reason, therefore, that if you replace all that garbage with truly positive self-talk you will positively influence your mind in a very powerful way.

To make your training count, get enthusiastic!

“It’s faith in something and enthusiasm for something
that makes a life worth living.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes Snr.

And foster a sense of expectancy. Give yourself a minute or so of highly charged and highly enthusiastic self-talk just before you start training. Imagine you’re a coach and it’s your job to get your man all fired up. Imagine how weakening it would be if you started giving yourself some really horrible, negative self-talk just before your session. Unfortunately, we all too often do just that, but without even noticing.

Build up your enthusiasm for the training by means of this self-talk. Really get yourself excited and emotionally engaged. And create a sense of real expectancy. Literally tell yourself how powerful you are, how amazing you are, how incredible this session is going to be, how you’re literally transforming yourself in so many ways. Don’t skip this, or rush it. For the sake of a minute or so this can actually be one of the most important aspects of your training.

Make yourself believe that you are going to exceed your previous training and reach further down into your soul, dragging out the power within to create amazing results. Make yourself so enthusiastic that you are literally expecting to achieve greatness today, beyond all the hopes of the average man.

Imagine how intent Arnold Schwarzenegger was when he trained. Its well known that he used his mental powers as keenly as his physical strength, and he put his body through extremes of pain, almost torture, because he was so enthusiastic and so expectant. But it’s also well known that the results he achieved were utterly phenomenal.

“Bodybuilding is much like any other sport.
To be successful, you must dedicate yourself 100%
to your training, diet and mental approach.” ~ Arnold Schwarzenegger

Harness the power of visualisation

Visualise what you’re doing, in great detail. Mentally see the muscles swelling and growing, see the blood pumping and flushing into the blood vessels, and imagine it delivering oxygen and other vital nutrients to your millions of cells.

Visualise yourself as you want to be – broader shoulders, thickly muscled neck, wider and deeper chest, powerful back, trim muscular waist, massively muscular legs, manly arms, etc. Visualise yourself lifting heavier weights, and being able to keep going, adding rep after rep, even when the pain is almost literally unbearable. Imagine storming through that artificially constructed barrier, going where no-one else dares, and literally forcing your muscles to adapt to the horrific onslaught you’re dishing out to them.

If you’re a woman, imagine yourself stronger, but leaner. See yourself toned and shapely, with flat abs and feeling fantastic. Feel sexier! More confident … more alluring! Imagine yourself walking with poise and elegance and the bearing of a trained athlete.

Treat your subconscious with positive thoughts and images

Reward yourself with adequate sleep, in the knowledge that your body builds up during sleep, repairing and improving damaged cells and creating additional networks of capillaries in order to help feed nutrients to your hungry, hard trained muscle cells. And spend a few moments before you go to sleep imagining that you’re achieving the results you’re working towards. Feed your subconscious with positive thoughts and images, specially just before sleep, and you can be sure your mind will be working on your behalf, not undermining your progress.

And be aware that unless you are one in a million you will have to settle for steady progress. Meaning, fairly slow and steady progress. It ain’t gonna happen overnight, but knowing that will make you even more determined. Buckle in for the long haul, and don’t skimp on anything. Don’t go by numbers, that’s a mind trick to let you think you’re doing well. If you want to count reps, just start counting when it starts hurting.

“I don’t count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting. When I feel pain, that’s when I start counting,
because that’s when it really counts.” ~ Muhammad Ali

Remember, you’re not dependent on anyone else, so make your training count. It doesn’t matter whether you’re training in a crowded gym or your own bedroom. Train just as hard and with just the same level of commitment and enthusiasm wherever you train, and even if you train alone. You’re not training to impress anyone, you’re training to impress yourself! And that’s your most important audience!

Push yourself beyond your limits … way beyond them!