If you are reading this right now, I want you to raise your
hand as high as you can. Go ahead and do it right now if
you haven't already, I am going to make an important point
here. OK, keeping your hand as high as you can, I want you
now to raise your hand a little bit higher. What's my
point? Most of us have no idea what we are truly capable
of, and we tend to often cut ourselves short.
If you are interested in building muscle and gaining some
raw strength beyond what you thought was capable for
yourself, or maybe you just want a little trick to get some
better results, then try visualization. You have probably
heard someone at one time say, "I have to see it to believe
it." Well, any successful person in life in any category
thinks the exact opposite, they believe it first and then
they see it. Apply this to your training and your results
will shoot through the roof.
Two ways in which you can use visualization are what we'll
call long-term and short-term. Let's use the bench press
for example. Let's say you currently can bench press 185
pounds for 10 reps and your goal is to eventually bench
press 250 pounds for 10 reps. Long term visualization is
when you take some quiet time at night when you are lying
in bed, relax your body and mind, and after a few minutes
when you feel relaxed, you begin to visualize yourself
bench pressing 250 pounds for 10 reps.
The key is to make it as real as possible, as if you are
really in the gym working out. Use your senses to make this
visual as real as possible; recall the smell, what the gym
looks like, the feel of the bar in your hands, what it
sounds like in your gym, everything. See yourself
completing each and every one of the ten reps in good form.
Repeat this visualization every night, making it more and
more of a real experience.
Another trick you can use is to see someone else perform
ten reps with 250 pounds. When I was squatting around 300
pounds and had my goal of 415 pounds, I went on YouTube and
watched videos of other people squat 415 pounds with ease
and this totally gave me a new perspective, and the 300
pounds I was currently squatting no longer seemed so heavy.
Short term visualization works like this: when you are
actually at the gym and getting ready to bench press, lie
down on the bench and close your eyes. If you are going to
do 10 reps, then visualize yourself doing all 10 reps in
good form. It is important that you go through each rep in
your head - and that you finish! Once you see it in your
mind, snap open your eyes and perform the set; and repeat
what you've already done in your imagination.
A final little trick you can use is to visualize yourself
as being your favorite bodybuilder or anyone with a lot
more muscle and strength then you have while performing a
set. Convince yourself as much as possible at that moment
that you are really that person; visualize having those
muscles and the strength that comes with it, and then
perform the set. This technique also works when doing
exercises that might not be as challenging on your
strength, such as pumping out your pectoral muscles with
some dumbbell fly's; I'll bet you'll be able to pump out a
few more reps then usual acting like a pro bodybuilder.
Practice these visualization techniques and over time you
will be getting a heck of a lot better of a workout then
you were without them, thus bringing you closer to
performing your best, meaning you'll get better results.
----------------------------------------------------
Derek Manuel is the author of the best-selling, How to Gain
Weight and Build Muscle for Hardgainers. If you want to
learn how you too can gain 20 to 30 pounds of solid muscle
in as short as 8 weeks, or if you just want more quality
information on how to gain weight and build muscle, please
visit http://www.hardgainers-weight-tips.com
No comments:
Post a Comment