| Understanding the mind's role in motivation and | | | | press. |
| behavior is one of the most critical elements in | | | | One creative way you can use mental imagery is |
| fitness success. If you struggle with changing habits | | | | called "process visualization." Once you've set your |
| and behaviors or if you can't get motivated, then | | | | goals, it's easy to come up with a list of the daily |
| even the best training and nutrition program is not | | | | habits, behaviors and action steps necessary to reach |
| much help. | | | | your goal. So write down the action steps and |
| A fascinating fact about your subconscious mind is | | | | visualize them - the entire process, not just the end |
| that it's completely deductive in nature. In other | | | | result. See yourself food shopping and grabbing fruits, |
| words, it's fully capable of working backwards from | | | | vegetables and lean proteins, ordering healthy foods |
| the end to the means. If you "program" only the | | | | from restaurant menus, saying no to sodas and |
| desired outcome successfully into your "mental | | | | drinking water instead, and going to the gym |
| computer," then your subconscious will take over and | | | | consistently and having killer workouts. Some people |
| help you find the information and means and carry | | | | visualize their entire "perfect day" as they would |
| out the actions necessary to reach it. | | | | want it to unfold. When you do this as vividly, |
| Many people are familiar with affirmations and | | | | emotionally and in as much detail as you can, you will |
| goal-setting as ways to give instructions to your | | | | be neurologically priming your brain to carry out those |
| subconscious mind. But perhaps the ultimate mental | | | | behaviors. |
| training" technique is visualization. In one respect, | | | | The least known of all mental imagery techniques is |
| affirmation and visualization are the same, because | | | | called "physiology visualization." An example would be |
| when you speak or think an affirmation first, that | | | | picturing the fat burning process in your body or |
| triggers a mental image, being as the human brain | | | | seeing the muscle fibers growing larger and larger. |
| "thinks" in pictures. | | | | Using this technique, could it be possible that you |
| You can use visualization to plant goals into your | | | | might be giving subconscious instructions to your |
| subconscious mind. You simply close your eyes, use | | | | body's cells, organs and tissues? |
| your imagination and mentally create pictures and run | | | | Well, consider the work of Dr. Carl Simonton, a |
| movies of your desired results. If repeated | | | | physician and cancer researcher who taught his |
| consistently with emotion, mental images are | | | | patients (as one part of a comprehensive program), |
| accepted by your subconscious as commands and | | | | how to visualize powerful immune cells devouring the |
| this helps with changing habits, behavior and | | | | cancer cells. I'm not suggesting that you can cure |
| performance. | | | | cancer or materialize a lean and muscular body just |
| Although there are some new and creative ways to | | | | by visualizing, (there's a step in between thought and |
| use visualization, (which you are about to learn), this | | | | manifestation - it's called action - a step that many |
| is not a new technique. Visualization has been used | | | | self help �experts' forget to mention). |
| formally in the fields of sports psychology and | | | | However, thoughts and mental images are the |
| personal development for decades and philosophers | | | | precursors to action and the fact that a mind-body |
| have discussed it for centuries: | | | | connection definitely exists makes this an exciting |
| "If you want to reach your goal, you must 'see the | | | | prospect. |
| reaching' in your own mind before you actually arrive | | | | Scientists have established the mind-body link in many |
| at your goal." | | | | contexts, and not just by the existence of a placebo |
| - Zig Ziglar | | | | effect. There's also direct evidence as in the way |
| "The use of mental imagery is one of the strongest | | | | emotional stress can contribute to physical disease. |
| and most effective strategies for making something | | | | The mind does influence the body! The mere fact |
| happen for you." | | | | that a branch of science has been devoted to this |
| - Dr. Wayne Dyer | | | | area is proof that it deserves critical investigation and |
| "Perhaps the most effective method of bringing the | | | | is not just the domain of infomercial self help gurus. |
| subconscious into practical action is through the | | | | The science is called psychoneuroimmunology. |
| process of making mental pictures - using the | | | | Using "physiology visualization," you could, even in the |
| imagination." | | | | middle of a workout, imagine the fat burning process |
| - Claude Bristol | | | | taking place, and visualize fat being released from |
| "There is a law in psychology that if you form a | | | | adipose tissue storage in your abdominal region or |
| picture in your mind of what you would like to be, | | | | elsewhere. You could see the free fatty acids |
| and you keep and hold that picture there long | | | | entering your bloodstream, being carried to the |
| enough, you will soon become exactly as you have | | | | working muscles and being burned for energy in the |
| been thinking." | | | | muscle cells. You could also visualize the physiology of |
| - William James, 1842-1910, Psychologist and Author | | | | muscle growth. |
| Despite these glowing endorsements and a long track | | | | To make your imagery as accurate and detailed as |
| record, some people can't get past feeling that this is | | | | possible, my best suggestion is to refer to an |
| just a "hokey" self-help technique. Rest assured, | | | | anatomy & physiology textbook that shows pictures |
| however, that visualization is an effective and | | | | of fat cells, blood vessels, myofibrils, motor units, |
| time-tested method for increasing personal success | | | | sarcomeres, and cell organelles like the mitochondria, |
| that has been used by some of the highest | | | | so you know what the structures look like. You could |
| achievers the world. | | | | also get more details about the processes by looking |
| The Soviets started to popularize visualization in | | | | up lipolysis, hypertrophy or beta oxidation. |
| sports psychology back in the 1970's, as detailed in | | | | Even if you had no idea what the internal structure |
| Charles Garfield's landmark book, "Peak Performance." | | | | and workings of the body were like, you could still |
| They dominated in many sports during that period, | | | | use this method. Your body responds to mental |
| which validated visualization anecdotally. | | | | imagery even if it isn't anatomically correct. We know |
| In the last 10-15 years, there has been some | | | | from the field of hypnosis that the subconscious mind |
| groundbreaking new brain research which has | | | | responds well to metaphor � maybe even |
| validated visualization scientifically. Here's something | | | | better than literal suggestions. Facts and logic are the |
| that was written recently by Dr. Richard Restak, a | | | | domain of the conscious mind, while emotion and |
| neuroscientist and author of 12 books about the | | | | metaphor can slip right past the conscious and into |
| human brain: | | | | the subconscious. Dr. Simonton often wrote about his |
| "The process of imagining yourself going through the | | | | young patients who created (metaphorical) mental |
| motions of a complex musical or athletic performance | | | | images of immune system cells as "knights in shining |
| activates brain areas that improve your performance. | | | | armor", slaying "the dragon" of cancer cells. |
| Brain scans have placed such intuitions on a firm | | | | One of your greatest mental powers is imagination. |
| neurological basis. Positron emission tomography | | | | You can visualize anything you want and you can |
| (PET) scans reveal that the mental rehearsal of an | | | | embellish and exaggerate your imagery as much as |
| action activates the prefontal areas of the brain | | | | you want. For example, you could imagine the free |
| responsible for the formulation of the appropriate | | | | fatty acids being burned for energy in the "cellular |
| motor programs. In practical terms, this means you | | | | powerhouse" - the mitochondria - and you could |
| can benefit from the use of mental imagery." | | | | imagine the mitochondrion as a fiery furnace... |
| So much for being a "cheesy" self-help technique. | | | | "incinerating" the fat! I think it's a pretty cool idea to |
| Although visualization is widely used today, even | | | | "see" your fat cells shrinking and visualize your body |
| people who are familiar with it often don't realize its | | | | as a "fat burning furnace." |
| many applications. Arguably the most common use of | | | | Should you not believe that there's anything to the |
| visualization is by athletes, musicians and other | | | | physiology visualization technique, that's ok, because |
| performers as a form of "mental rehearsal." Research | | | | we know that the subconscious is deductive. Just |
| shows that "practicing in your mind" is almost as | | | | give it a goal, tell it what you want and it will get you |
| effective as practicing physically, and that doing both | | | | there automatically by altering your attention and |
| is more effective than either one alone. | | | | behavior. Therefore, we can be confident that |
| A common use of visualization in the fitness context | | | | physiology visualization will be effective even if only |
| is "goal visualization." In your mind's eye, you can see | | | | as a subconscious directive about your desired goal. |
| yourself having already achieved your physique goal | | | | If science someday provides us with conclusive |
| or your ideal goal weight. You can also visualize a | | | | evidence that visualization actually does cause cellular |
| specific performance goal such as completing a | | | | - physiological changes in the body, well, that's just all |
| difficult workout or a heavy lift like a squat or bench | | | | the better. |