Mind Power Doctrine Of An Iron Warrior

There is an old adage that says, “Think big, act big, to get big.” It is therefore very important to learn about mind doctrine management if you want to become bigger and stronger.

The mind power doctrine of an iron warrior can be broken down into three simple but inseparable factors: Belief, Vision, and Method.

Belief is the degree of self-confidence (trust) a person has in himself or herself. The difference between an iron warrior bodybuilding champion and others is the size of his or her belief.

A mediocre bodybuilder might express his belief like this:  “I’d like to be an iron warrior bodybuilding champion sometime, maybe, if it’s not too hard.” Lee Haney, eight-time Mr. Olympia, puts it this way: “I want to be a champion. That’s what I see Lee Haney as, a Champion.

There’s nothing wrong with having a healthy ego. That’s why there are sheep and there are shepherds.” Notice the difference between the two beliefs?

Vision is appropriate and attainable short- and long-term goals. Adding 1/2 inch to the arms in one day is a short-term goal.

Method is the process used to fulfil the vision. For example, the process for fulfilling the vision of adding 1/2 inch to the arms in one day can be achieved by following the advice in my SPECIAL BIG ARMS-REPORT (available at: www.dennisbweis.com).

It is important that you begin thinking like an iron warrior bodybuilding champion by adopting the mind power doctrine of Belief, Vision, and Method. Doing this will help you access the reservoir of untapped strength within your body.

This is vital, especially if you are into the advanced stages of, say, German Volume Training, where the program becomes such a bully that you may begin to experience self-imposed limitations of frustration, doubt, and indecision. You may even begin to question your energy, endurance, sanity, and willingness to carry a program such as German Volume Training to its completion.

Such self-imposed limitations are indeed major barriers of the subconscious mind and, as a result, can cause temporary lapses of mental concentration. It is abso­lutely paramount that you let go of disruptive influences such as frustration, doubt, and indecision and focus on the light of total awareness or laser concentration (metaphysical) needed to complete a program such as German Volume Training or others.

“A proper mental attitude plays a large role in your efforts to build size and strength. When thinking positive thoughts, one has a happy outlook on life. You should think positively about all your daily activities, physical, mental and moral.  It will aid you in your training in the gym as well as your personal life. A healthy, positive attitude will improve your body and help make you a better person.”  – Bill Pearl, bodybuilding legend

“The mind controls everything when it comes to adding quality muscle. How you program the mind determines your success rate. It’s a real trip to kick back and imagine yourself looking 10 pounds heavier, to visualize yourself possessing much-improved muscle density.”  – Rich Gaspari, former professional bodybuilder from 1980s and early 1990s

Mental-Muscle Imagery-Rehearsal

Mental-muscle imagery-rehearsal and its application to the iron athlete is a thoughtful and intelligent two-stage event consisting of pre-workout and one-set interval preparation. Here’s a brief look at each.

Stage I: Pre-Workout Imagery Rehearsal

Simply stated, you will mentally visualize (like seeing a series of pictures on a movie screen), by bringing images into the mind, all the simple and complex elements associated with the forthcoming workout.

Requisites to Effective Visualization

About 15 to 30 minutes prior to your workout, go to a place of solitude, a dark room, (void of ringing telephones, ticking clocks, people talking, and bright lights). Sit in a comfortable chair. Close your eyes and begin slowly and deeply to breathe in and out through your nose and begin to relax (called relaxed breathing).

Now, begin mentally to empty your mind of all thoughts that do not pertain to the workout.  Don’t let intruding thoughts attract your attention. This could be any thought such as what you did yesterday, what you are going to be doing after the workout. Sometimes a remark that someone made that you didn’t particularly like will pop back into your head, but don’t let it.

Drive away the nagging negative voice from the dungeon of your subconscious mind that might be telling you to skip your workout for one reason or another. Mentally see yourself well rested, recovered, and stronger from your last workout a couple of days ago.

As you continue to progress into a relaxed state, visualize the collective atmosphere of the training energy in the gym that is being generated by the other iron warriors. Feel this sensation and how it gives you a special power to dominate the heavy iron.

Become a master of training by mentally reproducing the tracking patterns of the exercises rep for rep, set for set.  Repeat this process several times in your mind.

Finally, see yourself at the conclusion of the workout with a bone-deep, growth-producing, vein-choked pump in the muscles of the upper arms.

When the mental pictures and related sensations that you expect to see are clear and vivid in the mirror of your mind, ­open your eyes. Your should now have an unyielding commitment, intense desire, determined persistence, and powerful will to succeed moving, flowing, pulsing, and surging through your entire being.

It’s time then to get up out of the chair and step into the hardcore trenches of the gym.

Stage II: One-Set Mental-Muscle Imagery-Rehearsal

This stage of mental-muscle imagery-rehearsal is conducted approximately 10-15 seconds prior to each set of a prescribed exercise methodic. While standing or sitting, however you feel most comfortable, close your eyes and take in and exhale short breaths of air as you mentally prepare (with selective focus) for the moment at hand.

You must go to that place in your consciousness where there is no pain, no negative influences, no fear, a state of mind where only positive forces dwell.

To avoid a mediocrity of training effort your mind must be time-locked (cohesive) with the muscles in order to do battle with the heavy iron.  Begin by picturing in your mind’s eye the bench, the bar, the plates. Imagine this so intensely that you can smell the sweat, feel the knurling on the bar, hear the plates rattle, and so forth.

If you are going to be performing the classic standing two-hands barbell curl, for example, recreate all of the exercise mastery techniques that are necessary for the successful completion of each gut-wrenching rep of the set.

The more organized and detailed you can make this ritual of mentally focusing in one-set intervals, the better chance you will have for training to the outer limits of muscular size and strength. Here’s another way to explain it. Think of how organized and detailed the ritual of mental imagery-rehearsal would be if it related to making love to a beautiful woman.  The details are never slippery or vague. They’re always clear and vivid.

As the magnitude of mental-muscle imagery-rehearsal for the upcoming set becomes more and more vivid, you will begin to feel torrents of unleashed fury and your heart will beat in a manner that reflects your ability to dominate and prevail in the moment. Open your eyes. You are now 100% mentally focused and psyched. Go for it! It’s time to lift the HEAVY IRON!

Tip: During your workout, play your own favorite high-energy music to trigger strong energy responses.

It is not only important to mentally focus on the muscle action of each and every rep of a set prior to the beginning of your workout, but you must also tune your mind into the muscle reaction at the conclusion of every set.

Stand still for 10 seconds or so, and visualize how the previously concluded set has worked the muscle. You must feel nutrient-rich blood being forced into the muscle, causing the muscle to swell to the point of bursting the skin. You can silently will the muscle to stunning and dramatic growth.

Fine-tuning the mind-body connection through mental training is one of the obvious alternatives to using drugs to achieve peak performance.

Here are some additional insights regarding the Mind Power Doctrine of an Iron Warrior. All of the champion bodybuilders back in the day would to a man tell you that having the right mental attitude is perhaps the most important factor in achieving success in the achievement of massive muscles and strength and everything else is secondary to it.

One of our bodybuilding mentors, 1968 IFBB Mr. World, the late Chuck H. Sipes, taught us the key elements to achieving a proper mental attitude.  Here is what he told me.

“The most important thing to remember in training for strength is that deep concentration is necessary to get the best results. As you progress the poundage’s that you will be handling and lifting will require much of your physical energy and just as much effort from your mental attitude.

Training methods are thought out in such away that they focus entirely on getting results. So when you train you want to apply every bit of concentration you can gather to the application of the energy and effort needed for the movements of the exercises. You want to feel every muscle fiber; tendon, and ligament swell and flex through every inch of the movement.

The use of concentration when exercising sounds simple enough. It would seem that paying attention to what you are doing is all that it involves; you’re wrong!! You have to link your mind to the weight as well as your muscles. Every physical movement must be thoroughly guided by your thoughts.

As the strength builds up in your body you have to feel it. In other words, there must be a deep sense of involvement between the physical and mental parts of your body. “If you think big, so you shall be.”

When you have a training session you don’t want to be interrupted. Your concentration must be kept or you will lose everything you’ve built up to. We feel that deep concentration will enable you to do much more than you could if you just went about your training with other things on you mind. Teach yourself to concentrate.

Pick up the barbell and put everything else out of your mind. Try it the next time you workout and I’ll bet that you will be able to go through your exercises much easier and faster, and no doubt will also be able to increase the poundage’s you use. To aid you in your efforts to maintain good concentration during your training sessions, here are . . .

“9”-Mental-Muscle Pointers

1. Plan your workout so that you won’t be interrupted.
2. Don’t make excuses to miss any workout session.
3. Set yourself a goal for each session.
4. Keep your mental attitude focused on your training.
5. Don’t let your thoughts wander off on other things.
6. Make every movement mentally besides physically. Don’t let weak mental focus let you hide from exerting maximal muscle strength.
7. Rest completely between sets (but limit the time).
8. Pick a training partner who thinks as you do.
9. Always be pleasant to others, just make it clear that you are there to train and nothing must interfere.

When you are through let your mind relax. Talk of other things and put all thoughts of training aside until your next workout. Much of your effort has been channelled through your body mentally and there is a need here for rest, just as there is for your body. You can lose interest in any activity if it is overdone.

It’s time now to enjoy other things that may be of interest to you. Your life will become fuller with this attitude, and you will be able to approach your training sessions with more enthusiasm each time.”

Adopt the attitude of a champion not only in your bodybuilding endeavour’s but in day to day life in general by developing a positive self-image of yourself. Here’s an example of what we are talking about.

The positive self-worth or image of professional bodybuilding champions such as

4X IFBB Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler, Dave Goodin, Natural Mr. Olympia John Hansen, and 6X IFBB Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates doesn’t revolve around the gym rat mentality.

The individuals we have mentioned have a wonderful sense of well being (positive & realistic Self-Image) as a person that is not dictated by their reflection in a mirror or how an out of shape or uninformed sector of the public might perceive them from a physical sense “Gee I can’t believe that he used to be Mr. Universe or Mr. Olympia” as the case may be.

They simply ignore such criticism and consider the source, an also-ran. Destructive negative comments or criticism will almost always come from someone who doesn’t have a good image of themselves, and one thing you can count is that such criticisms are never helpful only punishing.

Constructive criticism, on the other hand, is good because it will usually reveal what you are doing right in your bodybuilding endeavours, what you are doing wrong and what you can do to improve. This type of criticism or feedback will generally never overwhelm or confuse you. And of course, it should come from someone, you respect, and who has more bodybuilding expertise than yourself.

You will INSTANTLY recognize constructive criticism because its applied application will move your bodybuilding progress forward in a new energized way.

MIND REPS VISUALIZED – Become a Master of Training. With laser (metaphysical) concentration focus on doing each exercise in a controlled or flawless manner with perfect form (MAX CONTRACTIONS AND FULL EXTENSIONS) and extreme precision motion.  This means you should never do repetitions in a jerking or bouncing manner.

Here are some action steps you can take to become a ‘Master of Training’.

“The Conscious Mind Is Strong But The

Subconscious Mind Is Even Stronger.”

Psych for MUSCLE GAINS…and put the power of your subconscious mind to work. Mentally rehearsing a workout before you go through it physically will gear you to be more focused during a workout, so you are both physically and mentally in tune with your goals and your performance.

Ten to fifteen seconds should be reserved prior to each exercise set to mentally rehearse each individual rep.

It is not only important to mentally focus on the muscle action of each and every rep of a set at the beginning of your workout, but you must also tune your mind into the muscle reaction at the conclusion of every set.

Stand still for 10 seconds or so, and visualize how the previously concluded set has worked the muscle. You must feel nutrient-rich blood being forced into the muscle, causing the muscle to swell to the point of bursting the skin.

You can silently will the muscle to stunning and dramatic growth. Fine-tuning the mind-body connection through mental training is one of the obvious alternatives to using drugs to achieve peak performance.

Larry Scott, a two-time Mr. Olympia winner, shares a very useful tip on developing maximum physique awareness. Prior to his workout he would set some time aside in a quiet place free of distraction such as noise and phones.     

He would then block out all mental chatter (internal dialogue) associated with the critical voice of negative thoughts, to achieve a totally relaxed state and begin to prepare mentally for his upcoming workout by reproducing the technical skills of the exercises, rep for rep and set for set, several times in his mind.

He actually created a mental image of the things he wanted to happen during his workout. This practice decreased the tension/fatigue levels when he stepped onto the gym floor and began his Mr. Olympia workouts. And the more organized this ritual became; the easier it was for him to get into the right state of mind when he got to the gym.

Listen to your favorite high energy music during a workout. Doing so elicits a strong excitement and contributes to the ‘Psyche’.  And as strange as it might seem music increases metaphysical concentration and indirectly contributes to the release of adrenalin.

-DW

Dennis B. Weis is a Ketchikan, Alaska-based previous top-level titled Power-Bodybuilding champion. He is also a hard-hitting, uncompromising freelance professional writer and investigative research consultant in the fields of bodybuilding, nutrition, physiology, and powerlifting.  During the past three decades, he has established a small but dynamic one-man business to service male and female bodybuilders, fitness buffs, and powerlifting enthusiasts of all types with very personal (one to one or mail order), and highly professional instruction on all phases of physical excellence.  He has coached literally hundreds of select clients, one of the most notable being a personal training advisor to the 1983 Miss Minnesota winner.  One of the training tools he uses as a personal trainer is the revolutionary and famous Samra R.E.S.T. Principle.