How well can you focus?
How long can you stay 100% engaged without your brain wandering or getting distracted?
Missing a PR (personal record) and poor performance in a workout isn’t always because you haven’t been training “the right way” or “enough”. Sometimes it comes down to a lack of focus.
Being able to focus properly can go a long way in fitness and performance. Want to learn how? Keep reading!
Here are some tips that have greatly helped me increase my focus while training.
1.) Map it out
Chances are, when you start a workout…you just start. Maybe a little stretch and warm-up, but no real focus before the workout occurs.
Time to add a little strategy to your workouts. Adding your brain to the fitness equation can help you achieve great things.
What to do:
Add a 5 minute “pre-game” to all workouts.
- Plan a strategy for the workout.
- Make sure everything is planned and written down.
You can read more about a workout strategy and an example here.
2.) Visualize
Have you ever tried visualizing workout performance? Does that sound ridiculous to you?
Try it!!
Picture yourself doing that heavy lift, or going to the pain zone. Familiarizing your brain with where you are going and how you will get there is the only preparation you need.
What to do:
Immediately before a lift, PR attempt or intense workout visualize…
- How hard will you push your self?
- How will it feel?
- Imagine the entire movement or workout from start to finish.
The key is to visualize it ALL the way through. This will help you, mentally, go in with a battle plan. When you plan to really push yourself, this will act almost as a contract with your brain. If you tell your brain how tough something will be before it happens, there will be less resistance to get there than normal.
Seriously, try it!
3.) The concentration dot
I first wrote about the concentration dot in 14 Days to Fitness Freedom: The Garage Gym as one of the mandatory garage gym items.
That was almost two years ago, and I still say…You NEED a concentration dot!!
The CD is primarily for heavy lifting. Some coaches want you to look to sky when you squat. Don’t do that. Look at your concentration dot…and FOCUS.
The CD is nothing more than a piece of tape stuck to a wall with a dot drawn on it. Or if you don’t care about drawing on walls…just a dot drawn on a wall.
What to do:
Put a dot on the wall in front of where you squat or deadlift. The dot should be about chest height.
- When squatting or deadlifting focus on the dot.
- Never let your eyes leave the dot.
- Clear your mind and FOCUS.
You want to concentrate as much as you can. Sometimes just a little extra concentration WILL get you that PR without any additional training.
4.) Shut out the environment
Who cares what he is doing, what she is wearing or what music is playing.
Once the workout starts you are not interested in your job, what’s for dinner or how you will pay your bills.
You are only interested in the next rep, the next set and the next second. Thinking of anything beyond that time frame is useless and damning.
What to do:
- Block everything out
- Concentrate and focus on seconds and reps, nothing longer or further in time.
This is harder said than done. But if you truly master this, people will almost not recognize you when you are working out and you will feel like you just came back to the gym after the workout is over. The rest of the world is a blur.
5.) Shut off your brain
Your last battle. You.
Workouts hurt, they are not fun and they are not easy. Each workout reveals a small piece of who you are. Who you will be when the cards are down?
Time to shut off the brain.
What to do:
The internal battle with yourself. The one more principle!
- Every time your brain says stop, you say one more.
That’s it. No secret and no long-winded explanation. Every time your brain says stop, try to do one more…and see how many “mores” you can get.
Fitness focus is not easy, and getting distracted is very easy. It is my belief that at the end of every workout you should not only feel physically fatigued, but also mentally fatigued from the level of concentration and focus.
Easier said than done, and something I aim for everyday.
Good luck with your fitness focus!
-Jerred
PS
If you haven’t noticed, or been to the site in a while it, has undergone MAJOR renovations. I have been trying some new looks that help add a little character to the site. The new look also comes with a brand new End of Three Fitness Store!! No new products, but a new look.