Quote of the Day: Become Your Vision

"The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart - this you will build your life by, and this you will become." --James Lane Allen

1. Visualisation is important as the mind is primary.  You require determined self-belief before you can commit to your goals.
2. The mind is not enough, consider the heart.  Be passionate and create an emotional attachment to your ideals.  This will give you the strength to combat moments of weakness. 
3. The heart and mind being in unison will lead to action, the more steps you take on the journey to your ideal - this is the person you will become.

Motivation: Be SMART in 2011 - set yourself goals!

Question of the Week: How can I keep my New Year's Resolution?

Q: Marc Jones, Cape Town, South Africa.

I never manage to keep my New Year's Resolutions past a few weeks, any tips - Darryl?

--

A: The Fitness Explorer

As most of us embark on a New Year's Resolution, it is important to set goals.  We often choose goals that are quite vague such as 'I want to lose weight' or 'I will get fitter this year'.  No wonder 90% of us fail to achieve our resolution goals!

Making yourself accountable is the key to success.  One method that can help is the use of SMART goals.  This is not restricted to the start of a year, but useful at any time.

SMART stands for making goals - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timed.

Specific - specify exactly what you want from your goal, don't be vague.

Measurable - can you measure and track its success?

Achievable - set an objective you can realistically attain.

Relevant- is this a suitable goal for YOU and you alone?

Timed - set a time frame for this goal.

Here's a couple of SMART goal examples:

“I will lose 7lbs of body fat, decrease my waist size by 2 inches and improve my body fat percentage from 18% to 13% by 31st March”

"I will increase my deadlift from 1.5 to twice my bodyweight by the end of 2011"

Other ways to increase success: 

• make your goals public and enlist the help of friends and family;
• set yourself small, measurable sub-tasks so it is easier to track progress;
• setting a goal isn't enough, nothing can be accomplished without taking action!

 --Darryl

Mental Imagery

During physical activity the old adage of "mind over matter" has often been quoted as a motivator during exercise regimes. Using mental strength to push us on, long after the body gives up. Can this really help?

There is some truth behind this, with scientific studies demonstrating that visualising engaging in strength and conditioning training brings about quantifiable improvements as well as physiological changes. Research has also shown that using mental imagery for muscle movement can create similar electrical activity as that seen during actual movement.

I am interested in this for two reasons:

• Using your 'mind' to perform an activity can stimulate muscle activation, and prepare your muscles for physical activity;
• Physical competence can be maintained (or even improved) by visualisation when practice isn’t possible e.g. - due to illness or injury.

To summarise use positive mental imagery before, during and after physical activity to help produce the results you desire. This is nothing new to sport stars and professional athletes. I am aiming to enhance this aspect of my training regime to achieve my goals too.

References:

Motor Control and Learning, Human Kinetics, 1999