How to think like a champion, and train like one.
tough, exercise, perseverance
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Ever since I have been interested in fitness, I have always been interested in the mental side of it, as well as the physical journey involved.
I read on an interesting article online on mental conditioning that one of the 10 mental tougheners was regular, hard exercise. When I first read this, I was a little skeptical. I had the attitude that everyone knew how to exercise, they just needed to get off their asses and do it. However, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me.
If exercise is physical conditioning, why can't it also be mental conditioning?
You see all the greatest athletes in the world, the champions, the gold medalists, not only are they great physical specimens, they are strong willed, ultimately disciplined people. They train very hard, grinding day by day, pushing themselves out of their comfort zones, always with their number one goal in mind, to be the best. When was the last time you saw an athlete who was a weak minded pansy? I certainly have never seen one, and if anyone has let me know because I will be very interested. They are not born with the "give up" brain mechanism, quitting is not a word that they understand.
The toughest athletes in the world are usually involved in the most demanding sports e.g. Mixed Martial Arts, Amateur Wrestling, Boxing, Football. The one exception to this is Tiger Woods. The one thing that the champions of these sports have in common is that they all train ridiculously hard, exerting themselves physically for up to 6 days a week, minimum 6 hours a day, cardio, strength training, endurance training, power training, mental conditioning etc. In the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, which I believe has the best example of strong willed athletes, there is a training camp, run by a man named Greg Jackson. He trains alot of top level UFC fighters and has a strong reputation as one of the best MMA coaches in the world. One day per week, he has a long session called "mental conditioning". He gets his fighters to run up a HUUUUUGGE mountain in Albuquerque, NM. It is an intense long, gruelling session from hell from these fighters, who have to exert every last drop of will, vitality and energy to get up the mountain. It is commonplace for them to puke from the lactic acid buildup, and even not out of the norm for them to breakdown and cry. As tough as it is, they do not give up and they usually all make it to the top of the mountain, tired, sore and in pain. This is the perfect example of exercise being the ultimate mental toughener, as Greg Jackson says: "If the mountain cannot break you, no man can break you".
This brings me to my final point: How does a champions mind work?
Here are the following characteristics that a champion will possess:
> Extreme, undauting PERSEVERANCE, the will to win.
They will absolutely never consciously quit. Even in the most dire of circumstances they will keep fighting. Their mental toughness is unrivaled.
> Delayed gratification.
They are happy to wait months, even YEARS to reach their goals. They do not mind waiting, and are non impulsive.
> Self awareness
A champion knows what motivates them and what will hold them back. They are able to get in the zone at will, and block out any negative thoughts before competition. Muhammad Ali is an example. When he was young he worked very hard to save up for a new bike, and it got stolen the day after he bought it. Whenever he stepped in the ring to throw hands he would point at his opponent and say: "that is the man who stole my bike". He used this anchor to get him in the zone to fight everytime.
> Confidence
When was the last time you heard a boxer say at the pre fight interview "Man, this dudes gonna kick my ass". Never. This is a must for all competitors.
>Humbleness
A person who stays champion for a long time, does so because they are humble. They are always willing to accept they still have more to learn, and continue to evolve even after they are considered best in the world.
There you have it folks, my 0.02 on how champions tick. Feel free to comment and give me your thoughts and opinions!
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on 6/25/2008
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