When the skill level is as close as it is in organizations like the UFC, the mental edge can make all of the difference. Athletes like Conor McGregor appear to be born with that endless confidence. But McGregor’s coach, John Cavanagh, strongly recommends increasing the mental edge with the help of sports psychology. It’s easy to see that for Conor, the mind work has been well worth it.

The Mind Shapes How the Body Performs

We are fortunate at Renzo Gracie Halifax to have sports performance coach Danny Patterson to help us work on the mental aspect of our game. He began assisting our team members when he noticed the gap between their performance during training and their performance during competition. Danny’s focus is on how the mind can shape how the body performs.

A former powerlifting and strongman competitor, Patterson has been training Brazilian jiu jitsu for three and a half years now. His education and experience in social work and mental health made him the perfect candidate to help us take our games to the next level. In our recent interview, he described his background.

“I got my masters in social work about seven years ago. Since I graduated, the focus of my entire practice has been mental health and addictions. I’ve worked for the Department of Justice for the last five years and I’ve worked for Capital Health community mental health and addictions. So working with people day to day, helping them improve their mental health or addictions. I also became a certified life coach, did a lot of mindfulness training, and trained in logosynthesis.”

Are Your Limiting Beliefs Holding You Back?

Patterson has a developed a process to help clients accomplish their goals. The belief system is where it all begins. Question number one is, “Do you believe in yourself?” He explained typical client reactions:

“People are generally pretty honest. They say, “Yeah, I feel confident in this and that, but I don’t know if I believe in myself to this ability.” The reason I do that is because I want to uncover where the limiting belief is coming from. The sooner we get to where those limiting beliefs are, the sooner we can remove them because they’re often based on perception, not on fact.”

Identify Your Internal Motivation

Once a client has identified his or her limiting belief, Patterson focuses on the reason for their session – what the person wants out of life, whether it is a championship belt, a dream job, or success in relationships. Danny calls this their “desire statement.” Equally important is why the clients want what they want: their “reward statement.” He believes that people who work towards goals that are truly important to them are much more likely to succeed than those who work towards a goal because it is what someone else wants for them. Patterson explained,

“Let’s say you came in and you said, “Well I want to become a doctor because it’s what my parents always wanted for me.” Well, unfortunately when I’m externally motivated to do something, I’m never going to be able to achieve it with the greatest amount of performance and effort as when something is internally motivated.”

Consistent and Planned Effort Yields Results

Writing out desire and reward statements increases focus. Clients can then move forward to the next step: the action plan. The action plan allows clients to emphasize strengths and improve weaknesses. Danny said,

“For a lot of people, sitting down and creating that action plan might be the first time in their life they’ve actually said, “I want to achieve this goal, I’m struggling with it, and I’m writing out the action plan step by step.” We have certain ways of looking at short-term versus long-term goals and what the steps are that are needed. For them it can be almost like an eye opening experience. They’re like, “Wow, I can really achieve this goal, but this is what I need to do.”

Patterson cautioned that creating an action plan is nothing without consistent, resilient action. He said,

“You have to be consistent once you formulate what your goal is and the action plan that you need to get there. If you’re climbing a mountain, it’s going to be filled with a lot of peaks and valleys, so you have to be very resilient. You have to understand and accept the fact that sometimes there are going to be setbacks, but you have to keep going.”

Manage Variables Through Visualization

Patterson guides his clients with in-depth visualization techniques. The goal is to ensure the person feels comfortable and confident as they approach their goal.

“Visualization, to me, is the day leading up to an event. You know, maybe the weigh-ins or the walk out. What do you hear, what do you smell? What do you feel? How do the shorts feel on you? All of those things. The more you can do that day to day, in terms of visualization, the more you are building that into your success history search where you start to feel and visualize. The more you can feel or visualize, the more you can become that experience.”

No one can guarantee success on the day of the event. There are too many variables. Patterson prepares his clients by using a technique called radical acceptance, which focuses more on the process than the outcome. He explained,

“If I’m working with someone and they’ve already accepted their next mixed martial arts match, they should be prepared to go and get knocked out as well as being prepared to knock someone out. Then all they focus on is the process, their plan, what they need to do.”

Patterson’s guidance has led to great success for many professional athletes, notably Bellator Fighter “The Proper” Mike Malott, who trains with Team Alpha Male. Mike began using Danny’s services while he trained with us here at Renzo Gracie Halifax, and continues meeting with Danny regularly via Skype.

Identify and Fill Gaps in Your Mental Game

To see my full interview with Danny, check out the video. If you need help strengthening your own mental muscles, heed Patterson’s advice:

1. Evaluate your belief system. Do you really believe you can accomplish your goal? Do you deserve it?
2. Identify who you are doing it for. Is it something that is truly important to you, or are you doing it for someone else?
3. Identify what has to be done to achieve your goal and break it down into surmountable steps.
4. Use consistent, resilient action to keep moving forward. Visualize success every step of the way.

If you’re having trouble, seek the assistance of a sports performance professional to identify and fill the holes in your game. Remember, if it is important to you, you can’t let small setbacks get you down. Someone has to do it. Why not you?

You’ll Also Enjoy:

• Visualization: The Simple Tool for Even Greater Athletic Success
• Positivity, Consistency, and the Keys to Success as a BJJ Novice
• The 6 Steps to Building Mental Toughness
• New on Breaking Muscle Right Now

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Find the Winning Edge: Believe You Are a Champion appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The Licensing Effect

The answer may lie in something called the licensing effect. It turns out what might be the most important exercise variable isn’t efficiency of calories burned, your heart rate, or whether you’re working muscle or doing cardio, but whether you actually enjoy it.

This is the premise of the licensing effect. When we enjoy exercise and perceive it as fun or leisure, we tend to make better lifestyle choices, particularly when it comes to food. Conversely, when exercise is perceived as work, we make poorer choices.

The science behind the licensing effect suggests individuals reward themselves for previous work efforts like exercise with hedonistic choices (for example, ice cream) as opposed to utilitarian choices (vegetables). But it isn’t just the work effort that our brains process. It’s how we perceive the work that specifically triggers the hedonistic choice versus the utilitarian one. Simply put, if your brain perceives fitness as fun, studies show you are less likely to pursue the hedonistic choice. When you perceive exercise as work, it’s on to the ice cream.

Exercise as Work

Many of us feel we simply have to suck it up and get our exercise done, just like going to work. That parallel between exercise and a job is understandable. If you want to have a sense of purpose and a good quality of life, the odds are that you will have to have some sort of job. Similarly, with fitness, if you want to enjoy health and a good quality of life, odds are also high you will have to move frequently.

But your job is more than a means to an end. It can also be a means to fulfillment, happiness, and purpose. Exercise, too, can be a lot more than burning calories or building muscle. Furthermore, the science on the licensing effect tells us that the most important variable with exercise is whether or not you like it. Let’s examine that science.

4 Ways to Make Fitness Fun

Having fun with your workouts might seem like a stretch, so here are four ways to avoid the licensing effect and find a greater sense of satisfaction and enjoyment.

1. Break the Cycle

One of the human paradoxes is the relation between habit and success. On the one hand, habits create success. On the other hand, breaking a habit by adding variety spices up your routine and makes it more enjoyable. Studies corroborate such a variety/enjoyment connection with exercise. Research from the University of Florida at Gainesville showed those exercisers who incorporated variety in to their routines had better retention and the most reported satisfaction compared to those who did the same workout each session. The moral of the story is clear – when it comes to both enjoyment and sticking with exercise, switching it up is crucial.

2. Remember Misery Loves Company

Studies show that when we show up to the gym with a partner or friend we are more likely to stick with exercise. Accountability is a factor in this, but so is fun. After all, it’s nice to have friends to share the pain with. One word of caution here – be careful not to limit yourself to just one workout buddy. If and when that partner quits, you may find yourself without a reason to hit the gym, trail, or dojo.

3. Get Outside

A study in the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology confirmed that exercising outdoors contributed to a greater improvement in mental well-being than indoor exercise. Participants recorded a greater sense of enjoyment and satisfaction when exercising in nature. Still not everyone lives in or near the great outdoors. Commuting to work on foot or on a bike, participating in outdoor activities with friends, or taking a daily walk with the dog may do the trick.

4. Explore Your True Nature

Finding out if you’re a natural introvert or extrovert may help you determine the best exercise programme for you. Here’s a hint – it doesn’t have to do with whether you’re outgoing or understated. Instead, a natural extrovert feels a heightened sense of energy and fulfillment from group activities, whereas big crowds suck the energy right out of a true introvert.

The book Quiet by Susan Cain is a great read on the subject. She explains, “The key to flow is to pursue an activity for its own sake, not for the reward it brings.” Cain asserts that determining your true state can help you find your flow.

Change Your Expectations

The client who comes to my exercise classes shows up regularly and consistently to an activity she despises. But her results are poor and she constantly complains, which isn’t fun for anybody. While I am happy help anyone who shows up, people who hate exercise fight a losing battle due to the licensing effect. For exercise haters, a better use of time would be to find movement their body likes.

Whether fitness is fun or not is up for debate. Everyone has his or her own take as to what constitutes fun. The key is either to change your perception of exercise or find what naturally suits you.

For me, I like the way a barbell feels in my hand. I like the sound of my leather boxing glove makes when it hits the bag just right. I like the feeling of endorphins from doing burpees or a set of heavy squats. But that’s me. You might like a walk through the woods or a long bike ride on a winding country road.

As the licensing effect proves, the long-term success of an exercise program comes down to the simple fact of whether you like it or not.

You’ll Also Enjoy:

• The 5 Key Mindset Qualities of Successful Athletes
• Arousal 101: What “Mind Over Matter” Really Means
• 6 Steps to Becoming a Better Lifter (and Human)
• What’s New on Breaking Muscle UK Today

References:

1. Khan, U. and Dhar, R. “Licensing effect in consumer choice.” Journal of Marketing Research 43: 259–266. 2006.

2. Crum, A. J., and Langer, E. J. “Mind-set matters: exercise and the placebo effect.” Psychological Science 18: 165–171. 2007.

3. Cain, Susan. Quiet: The Power of Introverts In a World That Can’t Stop Talking. New York: Crown Publishing, 2012.

4. J. Thompson Coon, et al. “Does Participating in Physical Activity in Outdoor Natural Environments Have a Greater Effect on Physical and Mental Wellbeing than Physical Activity Indoors? A Systematic Review.” Environmental Science & Technology, 2011.

5. Janelle, Christopher. “Adding Variety To An Exercise Routine Helps Increase Adherence.” University Of Florida, (Oct 24, 2000).

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post The Real Reason Your Hard Work Isn’t Paying Off appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Exercise is a healthy thing. But sometimes our approach to exercise is not. Our mental state when we walk into the gym, dojo, or studio can do more damage than junk food ever could. We train too hard, we don’t listen to our coaches, and we compare ourselves to impossible goals.

This week’s editor’s picks look at our mental approach to training and where it can go wrong. But each article also offers solutions you can apply to your training – and your life – starting today.

Your Mental State vs. Your Success

How You Can Use Comparison, Instead of Letting It Abuse You

We spend a lot of time comparing ourselves to others. And when most of us do this, we come to a negative conclusion about ourselves. Coach Amy D. Hester asks us to examine these comparisons and put them and ourselves into a more positive light.

Are You Addicted to Exercise? The Tell-Tale Signs

Too much of a good thing is still too much. But why do we pursue exercise even when it begins to break us down? Have you been going too hard for too long? Coach Eric C. Stevens explains the symptoms of exercise addiction.

Open Your Mind and Say Yes to Your Coach

Have you ever found yourself saying, “yes, but…” to your coach? Do you ask questions and then not follow your coach’s advice? If this is you, then read this piece from Coach Valerie Worthington on how to turn your “yes, but” into a “yes, and” and improve your performance.

Real Yogis Use Props (And You Should, Too)

Sometimes it sucks to be the only one in yoga class with a pile of blocks holding you up. I totally get that. But would you rather handicap your progress or improve your health, performance, and mobility? Coach Alison Bristow-Wilburn gives props to props.

What If We Thought About Movement Like Nutrition?

Do you fast all day and then binge on food? Because most likely that’s how you treat your exercise. What if instead you treated exercise like you do your nutrition? Coach Chris Garay explains the approach and how it can make you happier and healthier.

You’re Not Ronnie Coleman – Don’t Be Afraid to Tweak

You are a unique butterfly. Okay, maybe you’re not a butterly – but you are unique. So why in the world would you follow any workout plan down to the letter? Coach David Varnes explains how and why you should adjust your workouts to your own body and goals.

Jiu Jitsu Is Awesome (Athlete Journal 35)

Sometimes you do have a great approach when you’re at the gym. It feels right and it feels like where you’re supposed to be. When you find that flow, everything just goes right. You’re open to success and accomplishment. Athlete Jess Papi explains how this feels for her in jiu jitsu class.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Your Mental State vs. Your Success appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Achieving the mental state to lift heavier weights for longer may be a lot simpler than you think. Pre-workout supplements and your favorite music are nice, but being “pumped up” may not be as helpful as being equanimous.

Amplifying Pain with the Mind

Lifting weights or performing any type of high intensity exercise is going to result in pain and soreness no matter what you do. Often the physical pain is amplified by the mind. Your physical capabilities are finite, but thought processes will diminish your abilities. Try to keep your mind in the present rather than the past or the future.

Equanimity is a state of mental balance that comes from an understanding of impermanence. While under physical strain you may feel pain, but it is not permanent. The pain will end. So do not judge the pain as either a good or bad thing. Many people feel the pain and have aversion to it (i.e. pain is a bad thing) or craving (i.e. crave an end to the pain or exercise). Both of these feelings are judgments the mind creates that amplify the physical pain.

Shakespeare once wrote, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Learn to let go of the thoughts that are often associated with pain and you can enhance your physical capabilities. Equanimity does not increase strength – it only allows you to remove mental barriers in the way. If you continue to resist the pain, it will persist and compound. Stop resisting.

How to Stop the Resistance

There are many methods of stopping resistance in the gym, but these are a few that have helped me. Consider starting with these and testing them until your mind stops interfering with your physical capabilities. It is a lifelong process, but the more you can stop thinking in the gym, the better.

1. Focus on Breathing

Before you start an exercise, spend a minute or so focused only on your breathing. Try your best to remove thinking about the exercise, other people in the gym, your previous training, or getting a new personal record. Your focus should be on the simple “in” and “out” of your breath. To provide oxygen for the upcoming exercise, you can even take deeper breaths if needed. Sometimes this also helps to maintain your focus.

2. Feel Your Sensations

While you are exercising, there are plenty of sensations that you can focus on. Your heart rate will accelerate, your abdomen will contract, and obviously the targeted muscles will be strained. Through it all, just focus your attention on these sensations and avoid judging them. In other words, turn off your thinking brain and feel all the different sensations along your body.

3. Close Your Eyes

Traditional meditation is done in with eyes closed in a dark environment to prevent any kind of visual stimulation and distraction. Before and during your exercise, it is a good idea to close your eyes so that you can prevent yourself from being distracted.

4. Sense the Tips of Fingers and Toes

Before a particularly rigorous exercise, you can feel sensations in your fingertips and toes. Because these regions have so many nerve endings compared to other areas of the body, it is a great place to focus your mind. It will allow you to better feel the subtle sensations throughout your body while you are under strain.

5. Turn Off the Music

Although listening to music can often improve your state of mind, it is a distraction from your senses and feelings. The first attempts to lift weights without music may be difficult, but it takes time to reach a clearer mental state without it. Over time, you will find that doing exercise without the distraction of music will help you far more.

6. Meditate Outside of the Gym

When focused on breath and sensations, you are essentially meditating. By meditating out of the gym, you will increase your ability to focus in the gym. As you get more experienced outside of the gym, you will become better inside the gym. If you cannot sit in a fixed position, just take a walk and focus on your inhaling and exhaling.

Using Zen techniques and philosophy in the gym is one of the best changes I have ever made to improve results. Removing self-made barriers is not easy, but with practice it can be an effective way of accelerating your strength and muscle gains.

References:

1. Ranganathan VK, Siemionow V, Liu JZ, Sahgal V, Yue GH., “From mental power to muscle power-gaining strength by using the mind.” Neuropsychologia. 2004;42(7):944-56.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Removing Thought From Exercise: How to Stop the Resistance appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The funny thing is that when things get tough, it’s often not the natural born freaks that you’ll see succeed. Instead, it is the guy or girl who always seems to struggle who can grind out a great performance. Why is that?

Are some people just born with more mental toughness than everyone else, or can this skill be cultivated and improved, just like any other quality we look to improve in the gym?

One of the things I’m a big believer in is that the things we do in the gym should carry over to the rest of our lives. Discipline, toughness, stubbornness, and perseverance all have relevance to everything else we do. Knowing you have to finish with an all-out Airdyne sprint session can leave you dreading the rest of the session, just as looking at a pile of paperwork can be daunting. But once you start you soon realize it’s not as bad as you think. (Except Airdyne sprints really are as bad as you think).

I have some tricks I use on myself as well as my clients to work on improving toughness:

1. When the alarm goes, get upright ASAP.

Never, ever hit snooze on the alarm. I believe all adults should train early in the day, as that way there is no chance of a missed workout later when the boss drops a pile of paperwork on the desk or requests one more meeting for the day. But many struggle with getting going first thing. My trick is to get upright as soon as possible. I find once I am vertical with my feet on the floor the rest of my body just switches on. Before you know it, being able to get up, even when you’re absolutely dog-tired, will become habit. And when getting up is a habit then getting to training will be easier.

2. Trust your trainer.

As a trainer nothing makes me madder than when people tell me they can’t do something. “Yes, you bloody well can,” I say. “Which is why I picked this particular workout for you.” While it may be a stretch, you absolutely can accomplish what your trainer is asking you to do.

This always reminds me of things that seem dangerous, like abseiling (rappelling). There is a high-perceived risk, yet the actual risk is nearly zero. Realizing that while you may be incredibly challenged by a particular workout, your trainer has suggested it knowing you can finish should calm you. If they believe you are capable of finishing, why don’t you? And if it was you who picked the session, then you should never second-guess yourself when you’re faced with the reality of what’s to come. Stick to the damn plan.

3. Use some proven tricks and tools.

Sometimes, as a trainer-entertainer-babysitter-psychologist I need to come up with ways to get people to do the things I know they’re capable of without looking like I’m leading them. My goal is not just to lead the horse to water, but not even let the horse know I was there.

One of my favorite ways to develop toughness is an SMMF session. Static holds are awful. They’re just painful. But they breed coping ability. Once someone has suffered through twelve to sixteen minutes of static holds they soon learn that they can cope with far more pain than they knew was possible.

Other ways to use this same idea is something like 100 get ups. There’s a lot to be said for a workout that is a single movement done for many, many reps. Similarly, take one movement and do it for time without putting the bar down. They’re all equally awful, and used in the right doses they help a client acclimate to harder work – like easing yourself into a steaming hot tub, taking time to get used to the hot water.

There’s something to be said too for longer duration sessions. The fatness industry keeps trying to tell people that short, thirty-minute sessions are great for whatever ails them. The problem is that in today’s MTV-Twitter fueled world people can’t stay focused for long. A two-hour run will fix that. People fool themselves with their fitness by doing a short, heavy session. It’s easy to do ten hard, heavy reps and put the weight down huffing and puffing. But go on a long run and learn to cope with your heart rate being elevated for a sustained period. Learning that you won’t die from it is a valuable tool in teaching toughness. I’m a big believer in training volume. It fixes a lot of issues, massively increases fitness, and seems to work wonders for the mind’s ability to cope with duress.

An old military favorite, and not surprisingly a Spartan and Gym Jones favorite too, is to lie about workout volume. In the army it’s not uncommon to finish a massive pack march only to be told that the trucks are needed elsewhere. So despite having hauled ass for a day to get where you are now you need to haul ass back to the barracks. This is always good for temper tantrums and guys will pout and chuck their toys out of the pram only to find the trucks parked up around the corner. Or maybe you really do need to march all the way back too. In either case, the next time it happens you won’t even bat an eyelid.

We can use this same set up in training in two ways. Firstly, by lying about what we’re doing for the day. It may be something as simple as telling the class your plan is to do four rounds of a workout when your actual plan is to do six. Wait until they get to the fourth round before telling them though. The alternative is to only write up the section of the workout you are currently about to do. I find people will pace themselves if they see a lot of work in front of them. However, if you just write up something short they’ll give a greater effort. This does lead to all kinds of moaning and whining from clients, but they learn to overcome adversity on a small scale. This ability to keep a flexible mindset will be important when things go awry during an event (and the longer the event the worse these things can seem).

4. Don’t fall for your own or your clients’ tricks.

Many people are so inundated with noise in their daily lives they struggle to be alone with just themselves and their own breathing. These people will speak up – maybe to give themselves a break and maybe just to satisfy their own need for noise. That’s one of the reasons we don’t have music at RPT – I want to get rid of the noise in their heads. If you need a soundtrack to row 2000m you’re going to be out of luck when the zombies come.

All those little client tricks you need to be vigilant for – the water break during the warm up (because they’ve become so dehydrated in the first five minutes of class they may expire), the coming late to avoid the warm up (because they’re trying to stay fresh for later in the workout), or starting a conversation mid-set with someone else (to cause a necessary break by entering into a social obligation not to appear rude) – all of that needs to be crushed on the spot by a trainer to help these people. Learning to work hard and avoid distraction will be needed later in the day when they have a deadline but Facebook beckons.

5. Remember, like anything else, it’s a process.

Finally, the best way to develop toughness is to realize that it’s not an overnight process. Just like no one walks into a gym and squats double body weight their first time, no one just waltzes through something like a 2000m row for time when they first start training. Learning to embrace the suck, to endure and hold pace even when everything in your body is screaming at you to slow down, is not a quick skill to learn. Even accepting that you look like a dribbling mess can be difficult for some. But slowly over time you learn to handle the pain and vanquish the voices in your head until the only sound left is the rasping of your breath.

6. The final step is simple: Quit being a pussy and get it fucking done.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post The 6 Steps to Building Mental Toughness appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

I hope you know the feeling. It’s that state people enter when they lose all track of time, when it feels like every cell in their bodies is focused on the task or event at hand. It’s when words and ideas bubble over in the mind and fall all over themselves to be expressed, like students frantically waving their hands, begging to be called upon in class. It could happen on a first date, during a gripping movie, or, as in my case, during the pursuit of athletic practice. When I train, I get into that flow state, and then when I’m done, the afterglow lasts sometimes for hours.

This is in BJJ. In some parts of the rest of my life, however, it turns out I have historically been a black belt at whatever is the opposite of present. If left to my own devices, I have a tendency to live in the past, which I can do nothing to change, and in the future, which may or may not actually come to pass the way I worry it will. I worry a lot, and I know I do so to my own detriment. It’s exhausting to replay imagined missteps when everyone has forgotten except me, or anticipate the worst when the best is just as likely. Sometimes I even catch myself yearning to be in places I was in recently, despite the fact that I know that when I was in those places I was thinking about how nice it would be to be someplace else. (I’m not saying I’m crazy, but I’m not not saying it either.)

In the past, my capacity to be completely present in BJJ and my inability to do so in other parts of my life was actually painful. I was in the wrong situation for me – many wrong situations, in fact. And at that time, feeling the utter focus and joy that BJJ gave me was almost worse than never feeling it at all, because it was in such marked contrast to the rest of my life. I would feel that sense of presence in BJJ, and then when it was over, I’d wish I were still there and look forward to being there again, effectively living in the past and the future the rest of the time.

Over several months and years, and with much trepidation, I decided to make changes in my life that helped me feel that sense of presence more and more, in situations other than BJJ. In addition to giving me that sense of presence in the first place, then, BJJ has also given me the courage to seek and insist on it elsewhere. This means I must also insist on it in myself.

What I mean is, while I have made changes in my life to facilitate my own presence in it far more easily and often, I still experience times when I wish I were elsewhere or doing something else (like training). I suspect we can’t get away from that entirely, because we all have obligations. But I do have choices about how I experience my life, even the parts I believe are beyond my control. So I owe it to myself to choose to be present, whether I’m at the dentist, writing, working, or any of the other things I do.

So when I find my mind wandering, or when I start to worry, I make a conscious decision to snap out of it and bring myself back to where I am. There are all kinds of platitudes about how we only have the here and now. I know because I’ve heard them in songs like Up Where We Belong. And if it’s good enough for Jennifer Warnes and Joe Cocker, it’s good enough for me. I’m not perfect at redirecting my attention, but I’m getting better with practice. And that’s its own kind of present.

Do you have a tendency to “leave the building” at times? How do you bring yourself back to yourself? Post your observations to comments.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Being Present: How to Give Yourself the Best Present Ever appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

But how on Earth do you come up with something in training that teaches you to suffer, to persevere no matter how hard?

Enter the SMMF – the Single Movement Mind Fuck.

SMMF is a Gym Jones specialty – the use of a single movement to challenge mental strength. Think about this from a study: A team of rugby players was asked to cycle at maximum intensity for a period of 5 seconds, averaging 1,075 watts. Next, they were required to pedal at a fixed rate until exhaustion. The average for this was 242 watts for 12 minutes. But then, as soon as they had quit they were asked to repeat the same 5-second test they had originally done.

What was the average power output after exhaustion?

731 watts.

That’s right. Despite being “exhausted” and unable to continue at a lower pace they were somehow capable of immediately hitting 75% of their previous best. Clearly they weren’t exhausted, but more likely mentally fatigued or maybe even just plain bored.

Mental strength is often what separates winners from losers in endurance events, as well as fights. Those who just seem to want it more will usually prevail in instances where skill and fitness are close. We all know someone who is so doggedly determined that they break competitors before the match has even begun.

I have a friend like this who has become one of the best volleyball coaches in the world. When he first started playing I told him one simple thing to focus on – don’t let the ball hit the floor. Little did I understand just how far he would take this concept or how ruthless he would become to prevent that happening. Without lying even a little, I can say that he can beat world-ranked pairs playing on his own; such is his desperation to keep the ball off the ground. Not many people are willing to push themselves into the dark places he goes when he plays as they’re scared of how much it hurts. Their brain just shuts them down.

How can we develop that attitude of his? Recently I was subjected to some absolutely awful ways to use this concept in training thanks to my friends at Gym Jones. Perhaps the most awful I had to endure was the following:

10 minutes without putting the bar down, doing 5 front squat-push presses (thrusters) every 30 seconds. For those who can’t count, that’s 100 reps unbroken.

Here’s the video of me trying desperately not to cry on camera, and keep the bar from falling on my head:

At the start of the video everything is easy, and I even get rest periods where I held the bar in the rack. But as time progresses and I needed more time to get each rep done I pretty much just had to continuously work. The goal is easy – don’t put the bar down. Even if you can’t get any more reps, you need to stay there with the bar off the ground for the ten minutes.

The weight I used was 30kg (65lbs). It makes me wince when I say that because it sounds so light, but as you can see from the video I definitely don’t need any more weight. I missed a few reps on the way and ended up with a total of 94 reps. (There was another, worse, challenge that dealt with my missed reps as punishment.)

So much like Project Mayhem where I asked you guys to sign on for something that scared the crap out of you – I’m going to ask you to do this workout and post your results below. Let’s go with 30kg (65lbs) for men and 20kg (45lbs) for women. Who’s up for it?

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post The SMMF: Mental Training – Gym Jones Style appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

There were three experiments done on various types of athletes in the study. The first experiment consisted of 30 semi-pro soccer players. These players took penalty shots one day, and the next day they attempted to make the same shots in an auditorium packed with more than 300 university students. The players who squeezed a ball with their left hand performed as well under pressure as they did in practice, whereas the players who squeezed a ball in their right hand actually missed more shots.¹

The second experiment included 20 judo experts who performed a series of judo kicks into a sandbag during practice. The next session, the athletes were told that their kicks would be videotaped for evaluation by their coaches. Again, the athletes who squeezed a ball in their left hand prior to the session outperformed the group that squeezed a ball in their right hand.²

The third experiment consisted of badminton players who completed a series of practice serves. They were then divided into teams to be evaluated by coaches. This time the athletes squeezed a ball during one phase, and clenched their fist for the next phase. As expected, those who squeezed a ball or clenched their fist with their left hand performed better than those who used their right hand.³

The right hemisphere of the brain controls movements of the left side of the body, and the left hemisphere controls the right side. Consequently, the squeezing or clenching technique is thought to activate the right hemisphere of the brain and reduce the likelihood the athlete chokes. This study is unique in it’s discovery that something as simple as squeezing a ball or clenching a fist in the left hand can improve performance for right-handed athletes when they are under pressure.

This study only focused on right-handed athletes due to the fact that some relationships between different parts of the brain are not entirely understood for left-handed players. Until further research is conducted, it’s worth a shot for those lefties to experiment with the squeeze/clench technique in their right hand.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Clenching the Left Hand Prevents Athletes from Choking Under Pressure appeared first on Breaking Muscle.