- Lee Haney
Steps 1 & 2
Bodybuilding has had a reputation of being a "dumb" sport pretty much since it's birth. The media have done their job just fine in ruining the sport (at least in the past), and to outline it further it has always attracted the wrong kind of people. It's the small percentage that trains to become big and bad to hide their insecurities - and when they make progress they have to thump their chests by bullying smaller guys. But that stereotype is fortunately fading. Slowly, but steadly,
as more and more "ordinary" people find their way to the gym. Good. Excellent. The couch potatoes are off their butts and in the gym. And the next thing you know they start making actual progress! That means the myths are slowly fading, such as that you just grab a barbell and start pumping - and voilà - pounds of muscle just jumping onto your body! Personal Training is becoming big business. Why? Because people understand that it's more to it than just training HARD - you have to do it RIGHT, to get results!
Let's call this realization step 2, where just getting them into the gym in the first place was step 1. I think you are beyond steps 1 and 2. Are you ready for step 3?
Step 3
Since the '70s, the best pro bodybuilders have been talking about the importance of letting your mind into the action. Arnold Schwarzenegger used to visualize how his biceps grew as he trained them, focusing on the images of huge, peaked mountains. Shawn Ray, one of the top pros of today, uses the same kind of visualization to get in shape for a competition.
And why not? Willpower can move mountains! Think about it - when you hit the gym without any real enthusiasm, perhaps with problems at work and your spouse in a bad mood, can you honestly say that you get the same kind of soreness in your muscles as when everything has been "right" the day before? I don't think so, for obvious reasons - in order to get 100% out of your training, you MUST remain focused and push yourself beyond the limits all the time. Having your mind elsewhere just won't do.
All right, so we can conclude that we must be focused. Then what? Studies show that positive thinking can make people heal faster after injuries. Positive thinking brought Arnold not only 7 Sandows but also a career that I believe we all agree can be classified as "successful." And if Shaolin monks can use the power of their minds to smash slabs of concrete with their foreheads, would it be THAT much of a miracle if YOU could add an inch to your arms tapping a little of that power? C'mon, think about it!
