Since this section is about the mind-body connection, I was wondering how much your state of mind influences your performance in the gym? Today, when I working out, a lift that I can normally do with a little struggling was out of my range. I always lift alone so I didn't have a spotter and didn't seek any help with it so I eventually had to drop my weight back to finish the set.
I tried once more and tried to psych myself up to finish it but then this kid came up and asked, "how many more sets you got, Pop?" Just kidding, he didn't add the "Pop" part but he did just stand there and stare at me as I was struggling with this weight I had failed on once so I never did get back to where I normally top out at. With him standing there and having missed it once, I was probably dead in the water anyway.
Also, this was an exercise that I normally start off with and I didn't today so I may have just been more tired than usual by the time I got to the top out weight.
So, how does your mind-body connection impact your lifting?
For me anyway, the mind body connection most definitely manifests itself in the weight room. I would even go so far as to say that variable has almost as much of an effect on my performance as do physical factors like muscle fatigue, etc.
It seems certain days I can 'will' myself to get through a set, weight, rep, whatever. Usually I have to be pretty positive about the set (not just have a lot of energy or desire). I find this interesting because I have gone into the gym all gung-ho about lifting and yet had a question in my head about whether I could lift the weight and, lo and behold, I don't. Other times I have gone in with a bad mood, fatigued, but with a positive attitude and have been able to lift successfully when, by all rights, I should have failed.
When I was in 10th grade I researched and wrote a paper on mind-body synergy and athletic performance, specifically talking about Bob Beamon's long jump record that seemed to be 20 years ahead of it's time. Beamon talked about how everything clicked for him on that jump...a definite mind-body connection.
This topic interests me, and I have something to say, but it might deflect attention from the original topic, as it strikes out into some new territory. So I'm starting a new one, "personal trainer—his mind, my body."
__________________
"It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in an argument." William Gibbs McAdoo. US Vice-President under Woodrow Wilson.
So, what's your final conclusion? Is peak performance a matter of chance? Do all the stars have to be in alignment? J/K, of course, but is it just fate or luck when something like that happens... when everything "clicks" and Bob Beamon produces a long jump record that's 20 years ahead of it's time?
Or is it manageable and can we truly psyche ourselves up for a momentary athletic performance that's above our normal limits?
Like you said, I know that I definitely can develop a mental block or an optimism that seems to have much more impact on the end result than anything else that might be going on.
I think it's a little bit of both. If you read some of the stuff Michael Jordan has to say, and also what Phil Jackson says, you'll get a interesting perspective on it.
One of the things I remember Jordan does is rehearse things in his mind...that way, he says, they are not new when he is actually thrust into the situation, and therefore no cause for panic. Certainly, visualization has been used by many athletes to some degree of success.
But ultimately, it may be the discerning factor at the elite level, since these guys are all blessed with an incredible amount of physical talent. In my own experience, I often found that the 'weekend warrior' who was physically fit and gave 100% all the time would usually beat out a more physically gifted player who didn't give it his all. Now you can argue whether it is the mind of the body doing this for the less gifted amateur. I would say a bit of both.
Linear Mode
