Mental Fear

Piggy-backing off lasts week post on Eat Motivation, there comes a time in health, fitness, and athletics where mental fear attempts to play. Some may see it as fear of failure or fear of success. Mental fear also falls into the preparation spectrum in that it is OK to see yourself fail. Just see yourself being picked up as well. Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer and six-time champion with the Chicago Bulls, often mentioned he took many shots that he missed. He missed buzzer-beaters and more. But, for those that saw him play live in the 80's and 90's know he prevailed after failing.

 He never stayed down...Why should you?

A true failure is not someone who fails. A true failure is someone who continues to fail and settles for it. Practice the mental imagery of seeing yourself progress through a health goal. Sure, in reality there may be mishaps; therefore, practice seeing those mishaps happen. For example, if you are working on lowering your high blood pressure (BP) or high cholesterol, then see yourself with a low BP or cholesterol. See yourself at the doctor's office, and he or she says that your BP still needs to be lower. Also, see the doctor praising your efforts. (Also see: An Exercise, A Wellness Trick, A Focus)

These health issues work like puzzles sometimes.

If you have a human performance goal, for example, making the varsity squad or walking/running up the steepest hill in your neighborhood or favorite park, then see yourself achieving these goals. See yourself sweat, ache, push, pull, cramp, speed through, hot, cold, tired, hungry, and thirsty. Honestly, I would like to say that you will 100% succeed. However, if there were a number to associate with this skill of mental imagery and overcoming mental fear, then it would be too easy and close-ended. Way too easy.

Purpose and Development,
Derek

Derek Arledge, CSCS          TEEM Performance Training         www.teempt.com

Adult Athletics

You play softball. You play volleyball. You play flag football. You play basketball. You bowl. You tough mud it. You warrior dash it. You play ice hockey. You play ultimate Frisbee. You play some kind of adult-post-work athletic sport. 

Redskins vs. Cowboys

First of all, your participation is absolutely...wonderful! I love it when adults continue to be active, and do not seize activity because they are no longer a kid; or they feel like they are out of shape. Have fun for goodness sake! Adults continue to enter into leagues of either the sport of their interest or in a sport in which they grew up playing. My only concern is do you workout for the recreational sport? Or, do you allow the sport to work you out? Either way, you can achieve a goal that you have set. Hopefully, you workout for the sport:

1. Ouch! I hurt. As you sit at work, your muscles tense up. With some strength and conditioning, you can keep your body wanting more activity. Plus, the transition from work to play will be easier as the potential to injure decreases.

2. I have not done this in years! But, if you practice some functional exercises for your given sport, then you will feel more natural. For example, if you play softball or baseball, then doing rotation drills can assist since they mimic swinging. Also, doing some free-press out exercises can help develop core strength - you can see that in this video at the 3:40 and 5:50 marks. Also, unless you are on a bowling, billiards, or skeet-shooting team, then running is great for your sport.

3. I do not know the rules. Let's keep this one very simple: learn them.

4. What do I do before and after the games? You do not always have to be in the gym or ready to take a stroll outdoors in order to warm up. It is still beneficial to break a sweat before a game. Your muscles will thank you. If your sport involves running, especially sprinting, then you need a very good warm up. Otherwise, strains could be your pains. Afterwards, a cool down/static stretching suffices. If you are even more advanced, then you could get away with a minor strength training workout to, at least, preserve strength.

That's it for now.

Purpose and Development,
Derek

Derek Arledge, CSCS         TEEM Performance Training        www.teempt.com

Eat Motivation

Whole Foods Salad $5.91  Kale    

New Hampshire Mountain

           

 

 

Motivation is one of the most difficult things to master. It perhaps offers a valid excuse as to why someone would not like to exercise, eat healthy, and move. Whether you are fighting and striving to buy budgeted food or even physically and mentally climbing a mountain, motivation eats at you. So, two questions: Why does it eat at all of us? And, why don't we eat back? 

A psychologist could answer that question. A sports psychologist could answer the question as it pertains to human performance. But, any one of us can also answer these questions:

1. Practice Mentally. Sometimes, motivation simply involves doing things over and over again...in your mind first. For example, if you have difficulty getting up early in the morning, then try seeing yourself getting up at your desired time. Sure, it might take two weeks, But, that is fourteen days of practice.

2. Practice Patience. Again, the excuses are going to drop like rain in a rain forest. Before hindrance arrives, just wait and see what else can be accomplished before quitting. For example, take a goal of getting in shape. Frustration may kick in when certain methods do not work. Instead of quitting, check to see what maybe missing - are you putting work outs on your calendar? Are you working around a nagging injury that needs addressing? Do you need a group?

3. Practice the Impossible. Ask yourself if you can achieve a cold-turkey state? Yes, just like a smoker who decides to quit when he/she says, "I am quitting today/right now." Can you bypass the gradual zone? In terms of health, fitness, and athletics, can you take your swag (see: Fat Swagger - Blood Diamond as a reference) from freshman status to senior status in a short amount of time?

Purpose and Development,
Derek

Derek Arledge, CSCS          TEEM Performance Training       www.teempt.com
 

You Fit People, You.

You do not have to read this article if it does not apply to you: 8 Habits of Insanely Fit People. In fact, if someone does not think they are fit, this article directly applies to you. Why not adopt some or all of the 8 habits?

Just a small hint on the habits: two of them involve the habit that insanely fit people cheat - they have cheat days with nutrition. Also, insanely fit people do not compare their bodies to other bodies - you are only asking for frustration if you would like to look like Rambo or G.I. Jane, but that goal is unrealistic in a short amount of time.

So, why can't a non-physically fit individual adopt these 8 habits?

Enjoy.

Derek

Derek Arledge, CSCS          TEEM Performance Training          www.teempt.com

Wall Sits: Add Some Wall Spice

 

Wall-Sit Chop Down Position

Wall-Sit Lift Position

Your knees hurt. You hear clicking around your menisci (knee shock absorbers). You feel grinding of your knee joints. You want to do full squats, but the pain is unbearable. You really want to work out your legs, knowing that they give you a good workout. You have heard of wall-sits thought perhaps you remember them for the painful reason: they were used as punishment in gym class, during sport practice, or for a contest to see who could hold wall-sits the longest. Because the pain was uncomfortable, you were deterred from doing, not only wall-sits, but leg exercises in general. Therefore, leg day was skipped and in came upper body day...everyday. The connection between legs and arms and lower body and upper body was broken, cracked, and unfriendly. Your arms received all of the attention while your legs just dangled from your hips like a punished child sitting in the corner of the room as everyone else happily played.

Don't skip leg day.

Wall-Sit Diagonal Chop (over left shoulder)

Wall-Sit Diagonal Chop (over right hip)

Wall-sits are absolutely boring to many people. Yes, they are also painful. But, wall-sits benefit leg strength. If you cannot squat to 90 degrees, then you can do a wall-sit to 90 degrees or around 90 degrees. They are an isometric exercise, which means once your joint angle (your knee) reaches its maximum length for the given exercise, then you simply hold that position. The positive effect is that you do not have to fight through joint pain that degrades knee cartilage. In this case, the wall-sit becomes a test of how long can you hold up. This particular isometric exercise is a great primer for additional leg exercises. For example, doing a wall-sit and immediately following up the exercise with squats or even lunges will give your legs a better workout. However, if you are not ready for this muscle load, then do not force it. Otherwise, you will neglect the legs.

Don't skip leg day.

Wall-Sit Diagonal Chop (over left hip)

Wall-Sit Diagonal Chop (over right shoulder)

The arms are a part of leg day. To glamorize the wall-sit exercise, a few things can be done:

- Use a medicine ball to either throw to someone or to bounce off a wall that may be in front of you.
- Use dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, towels, yoga balls, etc. to maximize your upper body potential in a wall-sit.
-- Use a BOSU ball, dyna disc, balance board, or other lower body balance apparatus to challenge your lower body.

Then, there is the option to use nothing as depicted in the photos. You can only use your arms to challenge yourself.

Wall-Sit Right Rotation

Wall-Sit Left Rotation

Purpose and Development,
Derek

Derek Arledge, CSCS          TEEM Performance Training          www.teempt.com