Hail to the Dinosaurs!
(This is part 4 in my on-going series
of articles on Strength Training Secrets.
If you missed parts 1 - 3, you can find
them on the Dinosaur Training Blog.)
"Okay," I said. "I want you to do some
stretching and light calisthenics for a
few minutes, just to get the blood flowing
and your heart beating a little. That's
what we call your General Warm-up. If you
want, you can jump rope for a few minutes
or do some light clean and press or light
power snatches. After that, you'll begin
our actual lifting warm-ups."
"That sounds easy," he said.
"It is," I replied. "And it's supposed to be.
It's a warm-up. But make the most of it by
starting to focus on your lifting. Think about
what you're going to do when you start lifting.
Visualize your entire workout. Break it down
rep by rep and set by set, and see the
whole thing unfolding. It's just like you
were watching a movie of your workout."
"That sounds like hippie stuff," he said. "You
know, like zen Buddhists sitting around and
meditating or something."
"Some of those zen monks were pretty good
athletes," I told him. "Especially the guys in
the Shao Lin temple."
"You mean like kung fu and all?"
"Right. The Eastern martial arts have always
emphasized the mind-body link. And their approach
carries over perfectly for weight training and
weightlifting."
"I didn't know that."
"Well, now you do. But stop talking. I want you to
visualize your workout."
It took a few more gentle reminders, but he finally
managed to be quiet long enough to actually start to
wrap his brain around what he was doing.
"Okay, now do your first warm-up set. 5 reps. But
here's the thing. I want each rep to be PERFECT.
Don't just bounce the bar up and down. We both
know this is a light weight for you, and you can
handle it easily. I want you to handle it PERFECTLY.
And that means, shut out all distractions -- focus --
and concentrate. Use the set as a chance to practice
your mental skills as much as anything else."
"Should I close my eyes or keep them open?"
"Keep them open, but don't look at anything. If you
need to, focus on a spot on the wall. I want your
brain looking inside you. I want you to feel each
rep all the way up and all the way down. Understand
how the muscles contract and in what sequence. Learn
to stay tight. Keep your breathing strong and
powerful."
He did the set. I knew it was different than anything
he'd ever done before.
"How did it feel?" I asked.
"It felt good," he said. "Different. I sort of felt
like I was moving in slow motion."
I shook my head.
"You were actually moving at exactly the right speed,"
I said. "But when you concentrate, everything seems to
slow down."
He nodded slowly. He was starting to understand.
"Ted Williams was the greatest hitter in the history of
baseball," I said. "And part of it was due to his power
of concentration. He said he could see the seams on the
baseball as it came toward him. And that's on a 90 mile
an hour fastball. That's concentration. It's the secret
of any great athlete -- and it's the secret of strength
training."
He nodded again.
"Okay, let me do the next set," he said.
I shook my head.
"No," I said. "Take a minute and visualize it first.
You're going to do 185 pounds for 5 reps. And it's going
to be another PERFECT set."
He nodded, closed his eyes, and began the mental
rehearsal.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Thanks for reading, and keep the feedback coming. I'll
continue with more tomorrow.
If you train today, make it a good one. And remember,
don't just lift with your body -- lift with your mind,
as well.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. When you train with total focus and intense mental
concentration, you get great results in a minimum amount
of time. I cover this in all of my books, courses, and
DVD's -- and you can find them right here at Dinosaur
Headquarters:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
