3 Jedi Mind Tricks to Improve Your Workouts

Recently, I posted the details of my unique morning ritual on BenGreenfieldFitness.com. A large part of that elaborate routine involves stress-relieving and focus-enhancing tactics I’ve learned throughout my years working with the top athletes on the face of the planet.

Today, you’ll get 3 techniques that I use nearly every day, whether it’s to simply get better results and more motivation for my daily exercise routine, or to perform at my highest possible capacity in a triathlon or a Spartan race.

Add these to your morning and watch what happens:

Tip #1: Affirmation

What you dwell on each morning helps to shape you as a person and drives your  motivation and priorities the rest of day. You can use this to your advantage by forming your own daily mantra, which can change from day to day, or be the same all year long.

For example, one of my daily affirmations is “I believe that every little win counts.” This reminds me that no matter how stressed I am or how much there is to do, everything counts just a little bit towards my productivity or towards making me better – including squeezing in just 5 minutes of a workout because I don’t have time for 45!

To see the power of having a daily purpose like this, just look at this statement from Buster Douglas, who upset fighter Mike Tyson in February of 1990 when Tyson was an indestructible world champion:

“My sole purpose in life these last 6 months was to beat Tyson. That’s all I thought about.  He was the first thing on my mind when I would wake up in the morning and the last thing on my mind when I went to bed.  When I’d fall asleep, I would dream about beating him.  If there was anything else going on in the world the last 6 months I didn’t know about it, because my mind had just one thing on it…beating Tyson.”

That’s powerful stuff.

Now, stop for a moment and ask yourself: What is my personal “Tyson”? Is it those extra 20 pounds? is it the triathlon you signed up for? Is it your high blood pressure? Begin to dwell on it and use affirmations in the process. Try something like, “Every day, I’m getting just a little lighter…” or “I love to swim, to bike and to run….” or, “I am calm in the face of stress…”

Tip #2: Visualization

When she was 16-years-old, gymnast Mary Lou Retton won the gold medal in the 1984 Olympics. But just 6 weeks before, she had suffered a major knee injury that required surgery. The surgery was minimally invasive and allowed her to walk immediately and begin training a week later. By the time she went off to the Olympics, Mary had fully recovered, was stronger than ever, and attributed much of her success to her ability to visualize her gold medal:

“In the weeks before the Olympics, Mary Lou often lay in her bed with her eyes closed and let her imagination romp. She would visualize herself on each piece of equipment, performing her best routines and hitting every move perfectly…Retton even went as far as to imagine receiving the gold medal, while hearing the ‘Star Spangle Banner’ booming in the background. Her creative visualization would prove to be prophetic.”

Michael Phelps is another perfect example of visualization:

“…each night before falling asleep and each morning after waking up, Phelps would imagine himself jumping off the blocks and, in slow motion, swimming flawlessly. He would imagine the wake behind his body, the water dripping off his lips as his mouth cleared the surface, what it would feel like to rip off his cap at the end. He would lie in bed with his eyes shut and watch the entire competition, the smallest details, again and again, until he knew each second by heart. During practices, when Bowman ordered Phelps to swim at race speed, he would shout, ‘Put in the videotape!’ and Phelps would push himself, as hard as he could. He had done this so many times in his head that, by now, it felt rote. But it worked. He got faster and faster…”

How about you? Can you see yourself at the gym conquering that weight you’ve always struggled underneath? Can you see yourself hitting the perfect tennis serve during a clutch point in the match, or running on the trail and feeling as though you’re flying through the air? Can you see each individual drop of sweat coming off your nose? If so, then you’ve tapped into the power of visualization!

If not, then it’s time to try this powerful technique.

Tip #3: Box Breathing

Box breathing is something that I sit down and do for 3-5 minutes before big, scary workouts that I know are going to be hard, before stressful tennis matches, and even with my kids when they’re nervous about something like a soccer game or they simply need a few minutes to calm down (they’re 6-year-old twin boys, after all!).

The breathing pattern is simply a “box” of 4 different sections of a breath. You inhale to a count of 2 (or all the way up to 8 for a more advanced method), hold for a count of 2-8, exhale to the same count and hold again for the same count.  You can start at 2 if you find 4, 6, or 8 to be difficult, or you can take it up a notch if 2 is too easy. 

How do you know how long to make each section of the box? You should be uncomfortable on the exhale hold and be forced to fill the entirely of your lung capacity on the inhale hold.

See also: A Breathing Trick to Improve Your Running

The benefits of box breathing include reduction of performance anxiety, control of the arousal response, increased brain elasticity (through enhanced blood flow and reduced stressful mental stimulation), enhanced learning and skill development, and increased capacity for focused attention and long term concentration.

Wow! That’s worth a try, huh?

There are even a variety of apps that you can use to help guide you through box breathing, including the Pranayama app (this is the one I personally use) and the Box Breathing app.

That’s all for today, but if you want even more powerful Jedi mind tricks to use for workouts or life in general, check out these three books that I’ve found very valuable:

• Psycho-Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz
• Psych by Dr. Judd Biasiotto
• Unbeatable Mind by Navy SEAL Commander Mark Divine

Enjoy, and may the force be with you!

Do you have questions about these Jedi mind tricks and how they can help you in fitness and life? Then head over to Facebook.com/GetFitGuy and ask your questions or join the conversation there!

Wishing image courtesy of Shutterstock.