Fred Hatfield, renowned lifter, coach and educator, once told me, “Training is all about being either good, better or best”. How true! If you are really aiming to be the very best, then you must train every aspect of athletic development. Everyone can train the physical part, but not everyone takes the time or effort to train the MENTAL part! It truly can make the difference whether you reach your goals!
Mental training, which includes relaxation, visualization, goal setting and positive reinforcement, should be as important a part of the lifter’s training as any of the physical training. Unfortunately, it is often ignored altogether. The great athletes know that ALL aspects of training make the most complete and efficient lifters. If you ignore one or more of these important aspects of training, you will never reach your full potential!
I have put together a two disc set to help you on your way to developing skills to get that mental edge. They are designed specifically for the weightlifter in mind. One disc is for pre-workout or on non-workout days and the second disc is for immediately after doing either the snatch or the clean and jerk.
Disc One: Pre-Workout
Use this disc before the entire training session starts or between training sessions. It begins with relaxation to make you more receptive to the information being processed and then visualization starts. Remember, you can either visualize from the “outside looking in”, like viewing yourself in a video, or from the “inside looking out”; with this technique, you look outside your body to perceive your surroundings, your focal point, the sights and sounds and smells, etc. Either way is fine. For this session, position yourself in a comfortable, reclining or seated position. You can even perform the session before you go to bed.
Disc Two: Post-Workout
This disc is used between lifts. You would actually stop after one lift workout (either snatch or clean and jerk), and take 15 minutes or so to listen to the disc, relax and do the mental and kinesthetic imagery. While performing this visualization exercise, you can either be seated or reclining, but you will not be able to get as comfortable as the other disc since you will be in or near the gym. Also, touching the bar, chalk, etc. tends to enhance the effect of the training. After the session is complete, then finish your workout. By performing the exercise after the lift, you reinforce what you have just done. Part 1 (the first 15 minutes into the disc) is for the snatch and Part 2 (about 15 minutes into the disc) is for the clean & jerk.
To get the Mental Training CDs, check out our store.
KEEP WORKING ON GETTING STRONGER BOTH MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY!!!
WILL YOU GO FOR GOOD, BETTER OR BEST??
Originally posted March 14, 2014
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