Arnold Schwarzenegger (bodybuilder), known for having the best physique in his days as professional competitor, Roger Federer (Tennis player) and Usain Bolt (Sprinter) have acknowledged that mind-body connection, focus, and concentration during training and competitions are essential to achieving the best possible performance and results, both physically and performance wise. Probably you will wonder, what does this have to do with me, should I care about having an athlete’s mind-body connection even if I am an average person who does not practice sports?
You do not need to be an athlete to achieve mind-body connection. Anyone in the world can practice it. It all begins with engagement, so put yourself out there and make it happen. How do you begin with? Simple try being more aware of each step you take during your daily routine. This will, undoubtedly, help you out begin the great transformation. Once you become more aware even of the simplest thing you do and how your body and mind react to it during your regular activities, the easier to achieve the same level of consciousness when exercising is.
You must keep in mind that it is a process that requires time and patience. In the end your effort will be worthwhile.
How are my physical results related to this mind-body connection? Has it ever happened to you or have you ever seen people who have been going to the gym for months/years and have no physical progress over time? There are, indeed, many factors that affect results. For example, not following a balanced diet, not following a type of personalised training program, or having an unknown health problem related to metabolism. But also, mind - body connection plays a huge role in this. If you don't connect with what you do, you will not give your best.
The most important factor of all is your mind, which has a very strong influence on your actions. When you excessively think about something, you let that thought be part of you and as time goes by, it slowly becomes your true. You have been creating your own reality, unconsciously or consciously.
If there is a secret for success, it's the ability to feed yourself with positive thoughts.
When you are training, be aware of both, the movements you are performing and the muscles involved. If you want to lose weight, every time you are exercising, visualise how you want to see yourself in the short/long term. Also think about the reason that motivated you to take the plunge. Repeat to yourself that you are going to succeed no matter what. Keep working on it, get obsessed with it. It's important that when you see yourself in the mirror, you see your improvements (no matter how small or big they are) and pat yourself on the shoulder instead of blaming yourself for the pounds you still have to lose or what you still need to do.
If your desire is to gain muscle, focus on the muscle you are moving and visualise it growing. Imagine how the muscle fibers work and expand. Also visualise how you will look in a few weeks/months thanks to the effort and dedication you are putting.
In a very short time you will realise that you have discovered things about yourself that you did not know. Likewise, you might notice that your mind-body connection has jumped onto the next level. For that reason, you now know how your body reacts to certain types of exercises and foods. Once that level of consciousness has been achieved, you will be able to make amazing lifestyle changes.
We sabotage ourselves most of the time. Fear, rigidity, self-hatred, and comfort are some examples of self-sabotage. So, how can we overcome our best excuses for not exercising? Stop blaming circumstances such as I have no time to workout or I am exhausted because I work too much. We all have the capacity to achieve anything we want.
Increasing your mind-body connection is not only effective to achieving aesthetic goals. You can also use it for personal growth and improvement in other aspects of your life, in sports or any sort of entrepreneurship. Your mindset is essential in all processes.
I suggest that you can, somehow, have a positive self-talk just before you start your training. This little tip might help you out with hyping yourself up to avoid feeling overwhelmed, even though you are aware that the process will require a lot of physical, mental and focus strength.
Remember something: your mind is the captain of your ship (your body) What you think, will be reflected in your performance and results. If you are not achieving results as expected, check thoroughly the process. Probably you are missing out something or there is something specific you need to identify and focus more on.
Tips for mind - body connection while training or exercising, both in private and in the gym:
Give yourself a chance to get to know yourself better!