Breaking the mental barrier to better performance...

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  Aug 26, 2008 9:43 AM GMT

  I have a slight groin muscle pull that is preventing me from using the treadmill for my HIIT aerobic exercising to burn off the fat!!!!!!
  
  ... but I digress
  
  So I am doing an exercise that I dont know the name of....it consists of sliding a big-ass dumbbell on a towel around the periphery of a Basketball half court by getting down like a sprinter and pushing the damn thing.
  
  This is a highly effective exercise...Holy Jesus! I am so physically blown away by doing this....i am writing over 12 hours after doing this and my metabolism is still up judging from how warm my hands are.
  
  However, for all the effort I put forth doing this exercise 10 times around the court with only a minute of rest in between, I am still not doing all that I can.
  
  My PT was able to show me that I had much more in me, but my mental state is holding me back....and here I thought it was laying on my back gasping for air that was holding me back.
  
  I have tried doing little "head chants" while I am doing the exercise....like..."I can do this" "This is fun" "FAT BE GONE" ... and whereas these may do something, it is apparent now to me that these cognitive tricks are very superficial and don'ttap into the true source of high performance....emotional performance.
  
  Do any of you have a way that you can tap into your emotional motivation to propel your performance....or have you read anything about this? I dont see anything in RJ's resources about this.

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  Aug 26, 2008 3:05 PM GMT

  i've read that sub-conscious could play a big part for a better performance, so doing those little "head-chant" might make your sub-conscious to believe in your own ability and eventually make you to do the move you were having hard time with...

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  Aug 26, 2008 3:36 PM GMT

  muchmorethanmuscle saidI can't picture the exercise you're doing. I'm curious to figure out what you're talking about.

  
  I just emailed my PT to see if this exercise has a name.
  
  In the meantime, let me try to describe it again....
  
  1) Place a small towel on the floor of a basketball court (or room with other suitable slick floor)
  
  2) Put a big-ass dumbbell on the towel, so the dumbbell can slide on the slick floor ....the dumbbell does not roll, btw.
  
  Now you have to push that dumbbell across the floor with both hands.
  
  3) Stand at one end of the dumbbell.
  
  4) Kneel down so you can put your hands on one end of the dumbbell....but dont kneel so your knees touch the floor, cuz you are gonna have to run pushing this dumbbell. Kinda like pushing a car, but you have to get down lower.
  
  5) Now run pushing this dumbbell across the floor.
  
  
  

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  Aug 26, 2008 3:41 PM GMT

  So basically your beginning in the position a sprinter would take at the starting line, but then stay in this position when pushing the barbell right? Kind of like pushing a man mod sled but in a more angular position?
  

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• SuneFL
  
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  Aug 26, 2008 3:43 PM GMT

  It sounds like a modified version of the sled football players push in practice.
  It is probably killer on the quads.
  
  I would guess you'd have to be pretty self-confident. The sight of it must be pretty strange, especially if there's a game on the basketball court.

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  Aug 26, 2008 3:45 PM GMT

  HighVoltageGuy saidSo basically your beginning in the position a sprinter would take at the starting line, but then stay in this position when pushing the barbell right? Kind of like pushing a man mod sled but in a more angular position?
  

  
  Yes. But it is a dumbbell not a barbell....a barbell would add a whole 'nother level of difficulty when trying to turn the corner of the court .....but then, it would subtract from the pushing effort, since barbells can roll. ...
  
  And I have learned to keep my arms fully extended in front of me. Otherwise, I tend to push DOWN on the damn dumbbell and it dont slid so well ... hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
  
  But this is tangential to the true and sublime purpose of this thread. How do guys on here break thru the mental barrier (which seems to be at the cognitive level) and tap into the emotional level to truly be able to perform totally, and not be sabotaged by their own mental traitor?
  
  At my cognitive level, I am trying to think all the positive thingS to keep me going when I CANT FUCKING BREATHE. But obviously, I am not fooling the more powerful source of endurance and dedictation ....my emotional center ....which is saying ....THIS HURTS, JUST STOP IT!
  
  

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  Aug 26, 2008 3:53 PM GMT

  Caslon6000 said

  HighVoltageGuy saidBut this is tangential to the true and sublime purpose of this thread. How do guys on here break thru the mental barrier (which seems to be at the cognitive level) and tap into the emotional level to truly be able to perform totally, and not be sabotaged by their own mental traitor.
  
  

  
  
  For me, it's not wanting to go back to 200lbs of flab that I once was in high school. I was unhappy and depressed. I knew that if I wanted to change my life, I needed to do something drastic. Emotionally I had a mindset of "you can do better, one more rep, two more sets, 15 more minutes!" It's stuck with me ever since.

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  Aug 26, 2008 4:00 PM GMT

  HighVoltageGuy saidFor me, it's not wanting to go back to 200lbs of flab that I once was in high school. I was unhappy and depressed. I knew that if I wanted to change my life, I needed to do something drastic. Emotionally I had a mindset of "you can do better, one more rep, two more sets, 15 more minutes!" It's stuck with me ever since.

  
  I have that same mindset....LOSE THE FAT! ....but you know what they say about when you are up to your ass in alligators!
  
  I am thinking of printing a small color pic of the body I am striving for and placing it on the towel so I see it while I am pushing....(chasing it while I am pushing ...hahahahahahaha).. The idea is that maybe the visual image will transcend the cognitive level of my psyche and motivate the emotional mental forces directly.

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  Aug 26, 2008 7:20 PM GMT

  Here is a vid of what I mean....except I dont use that sled, I have to bend all the way down and push a dumbbell. I sound like the dude in this vid and I do just what he does....fall on my back trying to suck in some air.
  
  

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  Aug 26, 2008 7:22 PM GMT

  That move is KILLER on your quads and glute. I've done the picture thing before and it definitely helps. I've put them on the fridge to help me make better food decisions as I open the door.

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• SuneFL
  
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  Aug 26, 2008 7:47 PM GMT

  Cas...
  I thought you mentioned you were doing this exercise because you have a pulled groin muscle.
  If it's anything like that video, I don't see how that helps you avoid the pull. To me, it looks like you'd need to engage nearly every muscle in your legs and core to push the weight around the room quickly.

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  Aug 26, 2008 8:40 PM GMT

  SuneFL saidCas...
  I thought you mentioned you were doing this exercise because you have a pulled groin muscle.
  If it's anything like that video, I don't see how that helps you avoid the pull. To me, it looks like you'd need to engage nearly every muscle in your legs and core to push the weight around the room quickly.

  
  Dare I point out the obvious that it doesnt? ...I dont want to have my ass handed to me on a platter again. ...

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  Aug 28, 2008 12:05 AM GMT

  Ok, I really hit the wall working on this today. I only had one last lap around the court. But I said fuck it...I was over pushing for the day. So he just let me sit there and stew in my own juices. Eventually, I half-assed pushed it the rest of the way.
  
  I do realize now that I am still coming off of the last anti-depressant and maybe that has something to do with it.
  
  But when I got home and see the changes in my body, I have to admit that god damn it it is working.
  
  I guess I better buy my PT gift certificates to an organic restaurant around here for putting up with me. ...Actually, I wanted to give him restaurant gift certificates in Oct on the first anniversary of our association.

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  Aug 28, 2008 1:01 AM GMT

  muchmorethanmuscle saidCas, what changes do you see?
  
  If you can see noticeable changes quickly like that this alone should be a big motivator for you to keep on plugging away. Not many people can say they notice changes like that in just a workout or two.
  
  I'm one of those people as well that notices changes quickly.

  
  Oh yeah,....I will have to print this and put it down next to the dumbbell when I am dying pushing that damn thing.

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  Aug 28, 2008 1:29 PM GMT

  I've done some with this. When I was younger I called it "deciding." Where you reach down deep and "decide" you're going to be faster, the weight's going to move, etc.
  
  It's a little hard to explain.

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  Aug 30, 2008 5:41 AM GMT

  Ok, I tried something today...and it seemed to work. ...Now I want to see if it keeps working or if the positive effect wears off with the novelty.
  
  I took the pic of a lean, well-built torso of a guy in his 50s (I needed him to be in the same age group to give the body validity)....great pecs, nice abs, great guns...printed it off in color ....and placed it down on the towel and under the handle of the dumbbell...
  
  This way as I pushed the barbell I had this image of the abs and the lean body I want to have.
  
  My thought is that, unlike reciting little chants of encouragement or having my PT yell at me, this pic will bypass the analytical, reasoning left side of the brain ...and with no conscious effort on my part....shoot right to my emotional, motivational right brain and induce a positive mental state.
  
  It seemed to work....keeping those abs before me...distracted me from thinking about the effort, my mental state was positive with no effort on my part, and I didnt feel mental drag during the exercise.
  
  Maybe I should use 2 or 3 pics to prevent ennui from setting in...
  
  or maybe after a while, I will become positively conditioned, and the brain will just associate the postive mental state to the exercise.

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