Visualization

Things have been improving bit by bit as far as diet and training goes. Now that we’re settled into our apartment in Rome and doing our own food shopping I have a little more control over what, when, and how much I eat. So far it’s been a LOT of pasta and a LOT of chicken. It’s surprisingly difficult to maintain a high protein diet in the heart of Italy without auctioning off your first born child, but we’re doing alright as of now.

Training really hasn’t been anything special. Because of the equipment available I’ve pretty much broken my workouts down into a push day, a pull day, and a leg day. Legs have been the toughest to train due to the lack of any type of rack, and dumbells that don’t go above 60ish pounds. I’ve been experimenting with a lot of unilateral lifting because of the lighter weights. Dan John talks about it in his book ‘Never Let Go’ and it’s definitely a challenge. Tomorrow we’ll get our first look at the weight room in the school we’re teaching at, but from what we’ve heard it isn’t anything to speak of.

Now, onto what I actually wanted to talk about here – visualization. It’s a tremendous tool you can use in the gym, or anywhere in your life for that matter. I still remember using it the morning I put up the pull up record at Newell Strength way back in may. Sitting on a bench, eyes closed, I pictured myself standing up and walking to weigh myself. I pictured myself chalking up my hands. I heard what song was going to be playing in my head. I pictured every single rep and how it would feel.

Guess what…it worked. It happened EXACTLY how I visualized it in my head, aside from failing at 23 reps instead of the 25 I wanted.

Before you hit a big lift, practice visualizing every aspect of it. If you’re trying to set a new rep record, visualize each and every rep. It may take some practice, but work on including as many details as possible. It should feel like watching a movie in your head. Give it a shot and reap the benefits.

Train hard, train smart.

P.S.  Shout out to Stacey for allowing me to write these posts on her computer.