Mind Power Doctrine of an Iron Warrior
Dennis B. Weis
June 4, 2002 02:03 PM
There is an old adage that says, "Think big, act big, to get big." It is therefore very important to learn about mind doctrine management if you want to become bigger and stronger.
The mind power doctrine of an iron warrior can be broken down into three simple but inseparable factors:
Belief, Vision, and Method.
Belief is the degree of self-confidence (trust) a person has in himself or herself. The difference between an iron warrior bodybuilding champion and others is the size of his or her belief.
A mediocre bodybuilder might express his belief like this: "I'd like to be an iron warrior bodybuilding champion some time, maybe, if it's not too hard." Lee Haney, eight-time Mr. Olympia, puts it this way: "I want to be a champion. That's what I see Lee Haney as, a Champion. There's nothing wrong with having a healthy ego. That's why there are sheep and there are shepherds." Notice the difference between the two beliefs?
Vision is the appropriate and attainable short- and long-term goals. Adding 1/2 inch to the arms in one day is a short-term goal.
Method is the process used to fulfill the vision. For example, the process for fulfilling the vision of adding 1/2 inch to the arms in one day can be achieved by following the advice in my SPECIAL BIG ARMS REPORT (available soon at:
www.drugfreebodybuilding.com and
www.trulyhuge.com).
It is important that you begin thinking like an iron warrior bodybuilding champion by adopting the mind power doctrine of Belief, Vision, and Method. Doing this will help you access the reservoir of untapped strength within your body. This is vital, especially if you are into the advanced stages of, say, German Volume Training, where the program becomes such a bully that you may begin to experience self-imposed limitations of frustration, doubt, and indecision. You may even begin to question your energy, endurance, sanity, and willingness to carry a program such as German Volume Training to its completion.
Such self-imposed limitations are indeed major barriers of the subconscious mind and, as a result, can cause temporary lapses of mental concentration. It is abso-lutely paramount that you let go of disruptive influences such as frustration, doubt, and indecision and focus on the light of total awareness or laser concentration (metaphysical) needed to complete a program such as German Volume Training or others.
Bill Pearl, a multi-Mr. Universe, has stated at a number of his super-seminars that "you can't take anything negative you are doing in the sport of bodybuilding and turn it into positive results. It won't work." He goes on to say that "You must condition your subconscious mind to think that you are getting bigger and training with more intensity and your body will respond accordingly."
To condition the subconscious mind in the manner that Bill Pearl described requires the implementation of a couple of self-actualization resources.
First, begin reprogramming your subconscious mind with some very precise, measurable, and powerful motivational affirmations. Here are some examples: Mentally or audibly with full force and conviction, say (to yourself):
- "I will train each occurring set (of the Standing Two-Hands Barbell Curl or the Standing EZ-Bar French Press) with focused intensity."
- "I will conquer and dominate each set with an unchained will to triumph and succeed."
- "I will prevail in the moment and take myself to absolute physical levels that surpass and rival previous ones."
- "I will conquer and dominate every single rep of the upcoming set and get progressively stronger while doing so."
- "I will masterfully succeed in the gym."
- "My upper arms will grow bigger by ? inch."
- "The neural one-day blitz system will be the most intelligent, rigorous, and locked-in priority workout of my life."
Notice the emphasized words in each of the motivational affirmations. They are called "trigger words" and serve as a mental stimulus to unite the muscle fibers in your being to respond to their fullest potential. You can choose other trigger words and specific and concise positive reinforcement phrases if you wish.
Specific and concise positive reinforcement phrases (motivational affirmations) should personally reflect an unchained power and commanding dominance to master the direction of your thoughts. Here are some examples:
- Weak reinforcement - Make my legs stronger.
- Specific/concise reinforcement - to squat 400 pounds slightly below parallel with perfect form for a triple.
- Weak reinforcement - to eat better or really zone in on my diet starting next week.
- Specific/concise reinforcement - to consume no more than 3,000 calories a day with a ratio of calorie intake to be 40% complete protein, 50% complex carbs, and 10% unsaturated fats, beginning next Monday morning.
- Weak reinforcement - to lose weight.
- Specific/concise reinforcement - to weigh 210 pounds and have 10% bodyfat or lower.
- Weak reinforcement - to get my bench press up.
- Specific/concise reinforcement - to increase my maximum single effort in the flat bench press from 300 to 300
pounds in the next 10 to 12 weeks.
Specific/concise reinforcements are measurable, meaning that two independent people should be able to agree within acceptable limits that the reinforcements occurred or did not occur. Weak reinforcements are less defined and much more difficult to measure in terms of results.
The motivational affirmations or reinforcements that I have been discussing are an important power of the mind power doctrine. The subconscious mind cannot distinguish between what is real and what is not. You must therefore, with a commanding dominance, deeply, fully, thoroughly, and completely convince your subconscious mind of your belief in the motivational affirmations. Only then can you create your own realities.
So, with a burning inner conviction,
emotionally, with all of the force, all of the drive, and all of the desire (desire is the font of will power) that you are capable of feeling, mentally or verbally repeat 10-15 times your favorite precise, measurable, and powerful motivational affirma-tions. As you continue to repeat these phrases, you will begin to feel absolute sensations of unchained power flowing, pulsing, and surging through you both mentally and physically.
The second Self-Actualization Resource is mental imagery-rehearsal of any training protocol you are currently following (e.g., German Volume, Titan Training System, etc.). It is said that
what the mind can conceive and believe, the body can achieve. And so it is with this thought that I'll begin with an explanation of mental imagery-rehearsal by borrowing some of the commanding and dominant insights and expressions of mind doctrine techniques that many world champion bodybuilders use to access peak performance in the gym.
Mental imagery-rehearsal and its application to the iron athlete is a thoughtful and intelligent two-stage event consisting of pre-workout and one-set interval preparation. Here's a brief look at each.
Stage I: Pre-Workout Imagery RehearsalSimply stated, you will mentally visualize (like seeing a series of pictures on a movie screen), by bringing images into the mind, all the simple and complex elements associated with the forthcoming workout.
About 15 to 30 minutes prior to your workout, go to a place of solitude (void of ringing telephones, ticking clocks, people talking, and bright lights). Sit in a comfortable chair. Close your eyes and begin slowly and deeply to breathe in and out through your nose and begin to relax (called relaxed breathing).
Now, begin mentally to empty your mind of all thoughts that do not pertain to the workout. Don't let intruding thoughts attract your attention. This could be any thought such as what you did yesterday, what you are going to be doing after the workout. Sometimes even a remark that someone made that you didn't particularly like will pop back into your head, but don't let it.
Drive away the nagging negative voice from the dungeon of your subconscious mind that might be telling you to skip your workout for one reason or another. Mentally see yourself well rested, recovered, and stronger from your last workout a couple of days ago.
As you continue to progress into a relaxed state, visualize the collective atmosphere of the training energy in the gym that is being generated by the other iron warriors. Feel this sensation and how it gives you a special power to dominate the heavy iron.
Become a master of training by mentally reproducing the tracking patterns of the exercises rep for rep, set for set. Repeat this process several times in your mind.
Finally, see yourself at the conclusion of the workout with a bone-deep, growth-producing, vein-choked pump in the muscles of the upper arms.
When the mental pictures and related sensations that you expect to see are clear and vivid in the mirror of your mind, -open your eyes. Your should now have an unyielding commitment, intense desire, determined persistence, and powerful will to succeed moving, flowing, pulsing, and surging through your entire being.
It's time then to get up out of the chair and step into the hardcore trenches of the gym.
Stage II: One-Set Mental Imagery-RehearsalThis stage of mental imagery-rehearsal is conducted approximately 10-15 seconds prior to each set of a prescribed exercise methodic. While standing or sitting, however you feel most comfortable, close your eyes and take in and exhale short breaths of air as you mentally prepare (with selective focus) for the moment at hand.
You must go to that place in your consciousness where there is no pain, no negative influences, no fear, a state of mind where only positive forces dwell.
Your mind must be time-locked (cohesive) with the muscles in order to do battle with the heavy iron. Begin by picturing in your mind's eye the bench, the bar, the plates. Imagine this so intensely that you can smell the sweat, feel the knurling on the bar, hear the plates rattle, and so forth.
If you are going to be performing the classic standing two-hands barbell curl, for example, recreate all of the exercise mastery techniques that are necessary for the successful completion of each gut-wrenching rep of the set.
The more organized and detailed you can make this ritual of mentally focusing in one-set intervals, the better chance you will have for training to the outer limits of muscular size and strength. Here's another way to explain it. Think of how organized and detailed the ritual of mental imagery-rehearsal would be if it related to making love to a beautiful woman. The details are never slippery or vague. They're always clear and vivid.
As the magnitude of mental imagery-rehearsal for the upcoming set becomes more and more vivid, you will begin to feel torrents of unleashed fury and your heart will beat in a manner that reflects your ability to dominate and prevail in the moment. Open your eyes. You are now 100% mentally focused and psyched. Go for it! It's time to lift the HEAVY IRON!
Tip: During your workout, play your own favorite high-energy music to trigger strong energy responses.
Closing ThoughtsI have explained the mind power doctrine of an iron warrior in very general and broad terms. This is thoughtfully done, because accessing peak performance is highly individual. To awaken the sleeping giant within, I suggest you visit the following websites for more information on mental training:
Develop the positive mental attitude of a champion Iron Warrior by thinking BIG and thinking SUCCESS. Never give in. Conceive, Believe, Achieve your goals and dreams. Commence positive action. Do this and your muscle size and strength can't help but grow, Grow, Grow, GROW!
Stay flexed!
* * * * *
Dennis B. Weis is the author of three critically acclaimed books: Mass!, Raw Muscle, and Anabolic Muscle Mass. For the past 27 years he has also been a frequent hard-hitting, uncompromising writer to many of the mainstream bodybuilding mags published worldwide.
Contact Information:
Dennis B. Weis
P.O. Box 9485
Ketchikan, Alaska 99901-4485
Phone: (907) 225-4569 (non-collect)
e-mail: yukonherc@hotmail.com
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