How to get fit by using your mind by Keith Dorringto, Master in Hypnotherapy, Time Line Therapy™and NLP and qualified personal trainer at Cheslsea Natural Health, Fulham Rd, SW10
Recent scientific research carried out by the Institute of Sports Science at the Justus Liebig University Giessen in Germany, showed just how much we can incorporate or replace actual physical training with training in our minds.
Tests were carried out on 5 groups of people. This is what they did:
Group one – 100% of a training program physically
Group two – 75% of it physically and 25% of it in their minds
Group three – 50% physically and 50% mentally
Group four – 25% physical training and 75% mental training
Group five – no training.
The training consisted of doing 4 sets of 2 exercises (bench press and bicep extensions) for 12 sessions.
The results showed that there was only a very small difference in strength gains between doing 100% of the training in the gym and doing just 25% in the gym and doing the extra time mentally. The authors come to the conclusion that ‘high intensity strength training sessions can be partly replaced by mental strength training sessions.’
This means, by purely doing the whole session in your mind, you can increase your strength and fitness levels.
A great way to train in your mind is to visualise yourself doing your workout, looking through your own eyes (associated). Imagine you can hear the music playing (if you listen to music when training), you can feel the weights in your hand, get as much detail as possible. This is because the mind doesn’t know the difference to what is real or what is imagined.
For people with illness or injury, professional athletes or people who exercise just to keep fit, this result is fantastic, because they can visualise working out in their minds. Neuroscience research shows that all the same areas of the brain are activated, whether a person does actual physical training or training by visulisation, and amazingly, the more you use the brain through mental visualisation, the stronger the muscle can become.
Research like this really shows how powerful the human mind can be.
My name is Keith Dorrington and I am a Master in Hypnotherapy, Time Line Therapy™and NLP. I am also a qualified Personal Trainer. If you want to experience for yourself positive and permanent changes in your life, then please contact me on 07764 580438 or email me using the form above.
You can find out more about these powerful techniques and how I use them to treat a wide variety of issues at www.mind-body-fitness.co.uk
